Both Orient and Maho Beach

[brandylaw]

Ok experts,

What is the best way to see both Orient and Maho Beach.

Taxi, Rental cars, atv's or a guided excursion?

Not sure if there is any excursion that includes both of these with actual beach time.

 

Thanks guys for all of your tips.

[texancruzer]

We rented a jeep wrangler from Hertz when we where there on our 11/26 Serenade sailing. We booked ahead of time using the 800 international number from their website. (also booked on Antigua and San Juan).

Island is very easy to drive around - good roads, signs ok and traffic was great once outside of Philipsburg.... they give you a pretty good map altho I had already ordered one online before we went and had familiarized myself with the island. We went to Marigot, Grand Case, Orient and back to ship...basically a big circle with lots of time at each done easily (9 a.m. pickup and we were back on ship by 4 and that included a little shopping time at the pier.....

[SCcouple4fun]

Orient Beach is fantastic. I put it way up there on top Beaches for fun & sun in the Carib islands. My wife & I were there Jan 25, 2006 as part of the Carnival Victory cruise..

 

You can catch a cab from the beautiful cruise port, takes 15-20 minutes at the most...

 

Cabs drop you off at the beginning of the beach, restaurants/beach huts line the sand...so if you enjoy $2 Heinekins, grilled lobster on the beach ($20 bucks) and your own private beach chair (w/ pads) and umbrella ($10)...then this is the place to be!

 

You can Parasail, Jet Ski, drink , eat, shop...people watch, as the European topless look is definitely in!

 

Take a cab back around 3:30 to town, take a leisurely stroll back to the port while shopping and stopping for more drinks! haha

 

Tip about cabs there..they like to wait and see how many other people they can cram in the cab for extra fares...If you are on a time crunch, or just want the cab to yourself, pay the cab owner 20-25 bucks...He'll get you there quick then, without picking anyone else up..

 

Orient Beach is one of those places you will definitely want to come back for a week someday!

 

Enjoy!!

[The Big Booper]

Assuming you want Maho for the plane landings, I would get to Orient first since the majority of plane action happens in the afternoon. If you leave Orient at 1:30 PM, you would get to Maho in 30-45 minutes. This would give you an hour + for the planes. and time to get back to the pier.

 

The most economical way is to rent a car at the pier, especially if there are more than two in the group. The only problem here is that the pier car rental places close at 5 PM. If your ship leaves at 7 PM then blow for the three cab rides (Pier to Orient; Orient-Maho; Maho - Pier.) You gain a lot more time on the island. And don't even think about the bus; they don't go to Orient.

 

 

Whooooshhhhhhh..........

[brandylaw]

Thanks guys!!! :)

 

Sounds like maybe rental is the way to go for us ( 4 of us )

The independence sounds ideal.

Just checked RC's site and the ship is docked from 07:00 am to 06:00 pm.

 

The Big Booper - Thanks for the tip that Maho is approx 30-45 min from Orient, that info helps.

 

SCcouple4fun - Thanks for the cab tips, if we decide to go that route, that info we help us out. Grilled lobster......yummy.

 

Texancruzer - Thanks for the rental tips, they will probably help us out.

[Codfish]

2nd the idea of renting a car. That's what we did. Went to Orient first for jet skiing and parasailing. It was still pretty quiet and not at all crowded in the morning. Then took "the long way" through Grand Case and Margo, we didn't stop, but you will probably have time to stop for a bit if you wish. We got to Maho around 1:30-2ish and stayed for about an hour or so. enough to see several small planes and a couple big ones land. then a quick drive back to Phillipsburg for some quick shoping then back to the port in plenty of time for our 5pm sailing.