How much time?-Baie Rouge beach to Bayside Stables? - Kal? or Anyone who knows!

[blloyd23]

We'll be in St. Martin in April. Our ship docks at 9:00. I've finally decided on what we want to do for the day - just me and my hubby. We plan on renting a car for the day and driving to Baie Rouge beach. Spend the morning there and then drive to Bayside Stables for an afternoon horseback ride. We have to be at Bayside by about 1:30. How long will it take use to get from Baie Rouge to Bayside Stables.? What time should we leave Baie Rouge? Also, is Baie Rouge a good choice of beaches if we want an uncrowded beach with beautiful scenery. I've seen pictures of it and it looks beautiful. The other choice would be Mullet beach. Which would you chose? If we go to Mullet how long will it take us to get to Bayside Stables?

[kal]

It sounds like you're on the Jewel arriving at 9:00a. If so there will be other big boats already in port so traffic from PBurg will be busy. Between Mullet and Baie Rouge, I would pick Baie Rouge. You'll drive by Mullet so maybe stop and check it out on the way. There will be little or no traffic between Mullet to Baie Rouge, but you'll have to check the map to make sure you know the route. It's a little tricky at the end.

 

Traffic thru Marigot will be heavy at noon, so leave some extra time. There is a shortcut in Marigot, but that's another topic. I would probably leave Baie Rouge before noon just to be safe. If you have a little extra time at the end of the route you can swing by Orient to check that out.

 

If you leave from Mullet, it will take longer as you'll have 2 or 3 major bottlenecks - the Simpson Bay area, entering Marigot and leaving Marigot.

[blloyd23]

Thanks for answering my first question so quickly. What's the best source for us to get directions from the port to Baie rouge - you said it's tricky? What's the shortcut to take when we get to Marigot if we're going to Bayside Stables from Baie Rouge? One other question. How long will long will it take us to return our car and get back to the port? We'll be back at the stable by no later than 4:15. I'm told the car rental agenies close at 5:00 sharp and I'm concerned that we won't get back by 5:00. Should we not rent a car and take a taxi instead?

[kal]

Go Here for a good map of St. Maarten. To get to Baie Rouge, just follow the signs to Princess Juliana Airport. Then, follow the signs north to the "lowlands" and Marigot. The road will curve around the north end of Simpson Bay Lagoon. Watch for the sign to Baie Rouge (it's a left turn off the highway). This is the "tricky" part to not miss that turn-off. Follow the signs to the public beach access entrance.

 

The shortcut around Marigot traffic is a side street (on the left) just before you reach the Marigot Tourism Office. Go Here for a map of Marigot. The turn is marked on the map as "P". Follow Blvd de France until you reach a T intersection (restaurant La Vie en Rose is on the right). Turn LEFT, and continue past the West Indies Mall along Galis Bay, until you reach a round-about. This ties you back onto the main road leaving Marigot.

 

Under fairly light traffic, the time from Bayside Stables to Philipsburg is 20 minutes. It's do-able to get to the rental car place by 5:00p, but you'll have to work a deal with the agency telling them your plan.

 

You can go by taxi, but you would have to make sure a taxi shows up at Bayside to take you to the ship.

[SnorkelAway]

I agree with everything Kal said except when to depart from Baie Rouge. Unless you want to stop somewhere along the way, enjoy lunch at Baie Rouge (I like Raymonds best - no offense to Gus) and don't worry about leaving for Bayside before 12:30. It really should not take more than a hour at the very most.

[blloyd23]

Thank you so much for your help with my plans!

[gtaylor]

To get to Baie Rouge, just follow the signs to Princess Juliana Airport. Then, follow the signs north to the "lowlands" and Marigot. The road will curve around the north end of Simpson Bay Lagoon. Watch for the sign to Baie Rouge (it's a left turn off the highway). This is the "tricky" part to not miss that turn-off.

 

kal is right. Check out this map detail: The 'tricky' part is the turn at the top of the map where the road takes a hard right heading into Marigot, right under the 'M' in the label 'Morne aux ...'. Turn left there, into the parking area for Baie Rouge. To catch your eye, there have been recycle bins on the left of the road at this turn during past visits.