Sea Grape Tours Review

[KeyKeyVT]

Just visited the island March 11, 2020.  Signed up with Sea Grape Tours to take their History Hike and Snorkel Tour.  Sounded like a good mix of everything.  A way to see the island and get some beach time in.  Found SGT through a search on Trip Advisor I believe.  Checked out their website and decide to try them.  Online booking was easy. Small group sizes are really important to me especially on days when four or five ships are scheduled to be in port and that is what really swayed us.  David met us exactly where he said he would be, an easy walk from the cruise ship.  The directions were easy to follow.  Turned out we had a private tour that day since our fellow passengers were off a different ship that did not pull in that day.  Off we went in a very comfortable and well air conditioned van.  David was a very good driver, no complaints.  Just casually talked to us along the drive telling us he history and pointing out other items of note as we drove.  A couple of overlook stops for pictures.  We ascended one of the hills to take our hike up to the top of the mount.  David had water for us, bring your refillable water bottle, though he did have glasses if needed.  I appreciated their reusable approach as he stated trash has become a big problem on the island.  Along our short hike he talked about the local flora and fauna and pointed out different species as well walked along the road.  The view was beautiful from the top.  We then walked back down. no more than 10-15 minute walk each way though it was a bit steep. David did point out it was not a race and to go at our own pace.  After that he brought us to a Natural History Museum that highlighted the local and invasive species on the island.  I especially appreciated their small exhibit on island architecture and contributions of islanders in the study of nature and science.  On to the beach!  David tries to find the best beach of the day which is constantly changing.  We went to a local beach inside a park on the French side.  I think we were guests 7, 8 and 9.  Very very local spot which I appreciated.  He put out the tablecloth on the picnic table for our picnic.  Iced coffee, lemongrass iced tea and banana bread.  All vey delicious and after consuming too many rum punches the day before I appreciated the lack of alcohol.  David broke out the snorkel gear and let us loose.  The snorkeling wasn't great but the seas had been rough making non of the beaches that great to visit.  We were blessed to find some construction debris in the water that made for excellent fish viewing as the fish turned them into small reef areas.  Just as we were finishing up our hour of snorkeling my husband spotted the sting ray.  hooray!  a good find.  David had towels for us, a bucket of water to wash off our feet at the car.  Dropped us off in town as we said we had wanted to shop a bit.  All in all a delightful tour that I would not hesitate to suggest to anyone visiting St. Maarten.  https://seagrapetours.com