Would love to try to answer as many St.Maarten questions as possible...

[beverland]

Okay as for the masks, there are several places where I think you will be able to find masks and the like. There are lots of local stalls in the market behind the court house which have t-shirts, souvenirs, masks and other types of gifts. I think you might be able to find something there. If you can't find the court house, just ask anyone from any of the shops on Front Street and they will direct you towards it. Also, there is an African store somewhere on Front Street called Ikemba?!?! or something like that and it is close to either Levi's boutique, or close to a store called Just In Boutique. Anyone will be glad to tell you where this is. Located way down the street (Front Street). Its about a 15 minute walk from the pier across the Court House. I think you should be able to find it and I know for a fact that they sell masks there. I really hope you find what you are looking for.

 

Happy Mask Hunting! :D

 

I purchased a carved mask for my niece at the museum in St. Maarten. It was handmade locally and the price was reasonable.

[PurrSusan]

PurrSusan (love that name!!)

 

Will do! Please help me remember and email me at RDMOREU@AOL.COM the beginning of December.

 

Dolores

 

Delores, I'll do that! I hope you find what you are looking for. Maybe they will have time to re-stock between the time you go & the time we go (10/02/05)--LOL!! Thanks! Susan

[Bev123]

I read on another thread that the shops on St. Maartin close in the afternoon. Does anyone know if this is correct? I've got a tour scheduled in the morning, but will re-schedule if I need to shop in the morning.

 

Thanks, Bev

[secrui]

SNOOPY:

 

Thanks so much for volunteering info on St Maarten. My wife and I will be there from a ship from 9am-6pm. We looked at the ship tours and either they take up most of the day, leaving little or no time for shopping, or they seem quite expensive. Do you have any suggestions for what we can do on our own and still leave a couple of hours for shopping on Front St. By the way, about 10 years ago, we spent a week onthe island; at that time we visited Marigot on the French side and some of the beaches on the French side. Thanks again!

[texasgirl]

We'll have about 9 hours on St Marten in early December. Here's what I'd like to do -- a short horseback ride, Orient Beach, the Fort, Maho Bay, and Dawn Beach. We'd probably like to spend a couple of hours at Orient and just have a drink and snap some pix at the other two. Does this sound doable? Also - I was there last year and hired a taxi for several hours. This particular one was one of the white shirted ones as opposed to those who wear orange shirts. She went by Virgin Mary and was the best. I almost want to say her cab was #439. Is there any way for me to check out whether she's still there? Thanks so much and I can't wait to get back to St Martin

[kal]

You need to look carefully at a map to plan the sequence of your route. As stated, you'll be hop-scotching all over the island and will lose considerable time in traffic.

 

If Maho is for aircraft landing, the major action occurs between 11:30a - 2:30p. Air France lands about 2:00pm + or -. Take-offs for the big jets occur generally about 2 hours after landings (i.e. 1:30p to about 4p). Air France departs about 4:00 - 4:30p.

[PurrSusan]

kal, You had an earlier post about buying jewelry on Front St. What about in Marigot? We are planning to take an island tour that includes 1 hour to shop in Marigot. Since an hour isn't very long it would be great to know where to go ahead of time. Thanks! Susan

 

Snoopy, I'll ask you the same question---what about jewelry shopping in Marigot? I've been reading your answers to everybody's questions. You've been so helpful. We hope to visit your Dad's store when we come there :)

[kal]

Susan - What are interested in in Marigot? If just jewelry, I don't have a good place in mind. However, remember the US $ compared to the Euro will make things 20% higher from the get go.

 

With only one hour you'll have to be VERY efficient. I've got a detailed street map of Marigot if you're interested.

[RDMOREU]

Kal,

 

The detailed map you offered PurrSusan, may I please have a copy? If you've got one of Philipsburg, I'd love to have that, too! Thanking you in advance - Dolores (& Rafael) RDMOREU@AOL.COM

[kal]

Here's the site where you can get the detailed downtown maps.

[PurrSusan]

Susan - What are interested in in Marigot? If just jewelry, I don't have a good place in mind. However, remember the US $ compared to the Euro will make things 20% higher from the get go.

 

With only one hour you'll have to be VERY efficient. I've got a detailed street map of Marigot if you're interested.

 

Kal, Thanks for the map info. I'm just looking for a black coral bracelet or pendant set in gold or maybe even just a gold bracelet as far as jewelry goes. Someone told me that you can get bathing suit wraps & beach bags for a really great price in St Martin but didn't say where they got them. Any suggestions? The tour we are taking is on both sides of the island and then lets us off at Orient Beach for lunch and swimming. It comes back for us at 4:00. Our ship leaves at 6:00 so we won't have much shopping time anywhere else. What about the vendors at the beach (not for jewelry). Are their prices pretty good? I'm pretty good at bargaining :) Thanks!

[midtown_girl]

Snoopy Leogirl--

 

Do you have any suggestions for seeing the island on the cheap? What is the public bus system like? Are there nice snorkeling beaches within walking distance of the pier, or available by bus or an under $10 taxi ride?

 

Thanks!

[jackandnicksmom]

Snoopy,

I'll be on the island in January with my family. We are hoping to tour the island a little and maybe do the beach thing. One thing we will be looking for is cigars and wine. Where are some good places to buy both?

Thanks for your help!

[RDMOREU]

Kal,

 

Thank you for the map information. Very helpful!

[Fab5]

Snoopy: My hubby and i are coming down Aug 22 for a week and staying at the royal islander club la plage at Maho beach. Do you know anything about it? We are trading a timeshare and hope this is a good one. We would like to do some other islands around St. marten for day trips, to do beaching and snorkeling. Any suggestions and let us know how to get there and prices if you have any.

Hope you had a great vacation, you will be busy anwering all these posts because you are so good and everyone wants your help. Thanks for doing all this work for us.

 

Barb

[Carol B]

Do you think I should get a tour from the ship or book one on my own? Any suggestions?

[Deb K.]

I have a question. Can you buy delft pottery on St. Maarten? I have started a small collection and am always looking for new and interesting pieces to add to it.

Thanks for the info.

[earthgirl04]

What is the weather like in Nov? We will be there on the10th of November. We will also be visiting St.Thomas and the Bahamas.

[OKIE CLAN]

Snoopy

 

Great thread you have going here. I have reserved the Randon Gig boat which leaves from the Peg Leg Pub. This will be in October and I was then told that it is a 20 minute cab ride to get there from the ship. Is this true? There will be 11 of us and I want to get us all there for a reasonable price. Help!

 

Thanks!

[kal]

With 11 people you should be able to negotate a pretty good group rate to take your group from the ship to Simpson Lagoon. Yep, it's about 20 minutes depending on traffic.

[gtaylor]

Might that boat be the Random Wind?

[OKIE CLAN]

No gtaylor, it's the "At Random Gig" boat. It's small. The guy with the company who we booked the charter with says it will cost us a $6 per person each way. I hate to have to tack on another $12 just to get us there and back.

 

Do you guys think that we should just gamble and wait and see if there will be a van or something there for us to take?

 

Thanks

[gtaylor]

Got it.

 

 

The At Random is the 'sister ship' to the Random Wind. The typo in the original post of "Randon" confused me.

 

Also figured out that a 'gig' is a type of boat.

 

Kal is correct, as usual, about the 20 minutes and being able to negotiate a price for the group transfer.

 

The Taxi Association posts prices of $5 each way for groups of 6 or more to Maho, which is twice as long a trip as to your destination.

 

Any chance of them meeting you at the pier? It looks like they might clear going under the drawbridge to get out of the lagoon if the canopy were taken down. Maybe offer them $50 extra to pick you up?

 

This is their direct e-mail, just ask Marten.

[kal]

What size boat is this? What kind of design?

 

Depending on the size and configuration of the boat, it might not get past the closed drawbridge. Thus, they can only go out of Simpson Lagoon at specific times. This might make it impossible to "pick you up" in Great Bay and still maintain some sort of schedule for the tour. You might want to look at a map to compare the cruiseship dock and Simpson Lagoon. Peg Leg's is at the southern end of Simpson Lagoon just a bit south of the drawbridge on the west side.

[gtaylor]

kal;

 

 

The first link in my post above is a direct link to the boat.

 

I'm looking at some video I have of the bridge opening, and it looks like there may be 10 or 12 feet of clearance under there.