Loterie zip line AND tour St. Martin, is it doable?

[elmojessi]

We are going to do the extreme zip line at the Loterie farm, but wanted to spend the rest of our time in port touring St. Martin. Our ship is scheduled in St. Martin from 7am to 6pm and we need to be to Loterie Farm by 9:30 am. We will be renting a van to transport ourselves around, and I understand that the rental agencies at the port do not open until 8am.

Since I’ve read it’s best to tour the island in a clockwise fashion, we’re planning on heading west from the port and passing through Marigot to get to the farm. Does anyone know how long it will take to get from the port to Loterie on our own? We’re supposed to be there at 9:30 am and I wanted to know if we will have time to do some shopping or sightseeing in Philipsburg or Marigot before our zip line tour.

We’d like to see the planes at Maho after we’re done with the zip line tour, so we would need to go back down to the south side of the island again after our tour. In order to get to Maho from Loterie, it seems the logical thing to do would be to take the road that goes north of Simpson Bay Lagoon so that we’re not completely doubling back on the route we took to get to Loterie. Is this route worth taking (scenic?) and if so, are there specific points of interest or places we should definitely stop?

About how long will it take us to get from Maho all the way around the north side of the island and back down the east side to the cruise port? I thought we might be able to hang out at Maho for 30-45 mins and then see the remainder of the island, but after reading some threads, I’m not convinced that it’s completely doable in regards to time. I was hoping that we would be able to save some time by coming back to the port from the north/east, but I’m not sure if it’s enough time for us to see the east coast. If it’s not doable, could we change our up route and get to Loterie by going north up the east coast and still make it to the farm by 9:30? I realize doing it this way will mean we’d be travelling through Philipsburg traffic late in the afternoon, which would likely be very slow and we would need to allow extra time to get back to the ship. Essentially, I just want to try to see as much of St. Martin as we can.

Oh, and one more question that I just thought of. Will ship’s time (leaving from Miami) be the same a local time in St. Martin? I know in St Thomas local time is actually one hour ahead of ship’s time, is it the same way on St. Martin?

Sorry for the length, I’ve just got lots of detailed questions! If you can answer any of these questions for me, I’d be most appreciative!

Thanks,

Jess

[habsfan93]

Was just there last week. Took a little different approach, but I think I can help.

We picked up a cab from the boat to Loterie Farm. It took about 45 minutes to get there, but we went the counter-clockwise way (i.e. driving by Orient Bay and Grand Case). Traffic was not bad, we did the drive around 11AM island time (10 AM ship time). Looking at the map, it does seem like that would be the longer way to go, but I would assume our cab driver knew the fastest way to get places. It cost us $35 each way for two of us ($17.50 per person). The route was scenic in some spots, though in different ways. Near Orient, it was touristy scenic. To get to Orient though, we were taken through some neighborhoods that were crumbling around us, so it was interesting to see the vast difference in quality of life around the island.

 

The island is one hour ahead of ship time just like St. Thomas.

 

Can't answer the rest of your questions. We went to the beach at Grand Case after Loterie, and then went back to the ship.

[youbid]

We were on St. Martin last week, our ship tendered into Margoit. I arrived at the dock around 8:30 and rented a car, small jeep type. Drove to Lotterie Farms it took about 10 minutes from Margoit. Be sure and watch for the street sign which points to Pic Paridis turn and go up the long road which looks more like a driveway. Keep in mind if you do not get to the zip lines before the group tours from the ships that you may not get a ticket, they cater to the ships so get there before 9:30. The lines took about 2 hours and then we drove to Grand Case. After about an hour we drove to Phiipsburg for lunch and then off to Orient Beach. Played in the water for about 1-2 hours and then back to the docks in Margoit. If you have never tried zip lines you will enjoy these as for us we were somewhat :confused:disapointed:confused: hoping it would be better than the zips in :)Costa Rica:) which are much better....Have fun ,,,,we did...:)

[Kikkycat]

We toured with Bernard in late January, and I wanted to address two things that came up in this thread.

 

The traffic around part of Philipsburg and Simpson Bay is very congested, and can be much worse if the drawbridge goes up. Going the "long way" to Marigot probably was a lot faster.

 

Bernard told us during our tour that on the French side, only "finished" houses have to pay property taxes. So no one finishes their house, ever. They don't put a roof on part of it, or they never paint it, or half-build a porch - things like that. That way they are property-tax free. So although there is definitely less wealth than many places in the US, there is a method to their madness. We learned a lot through his tour. I highly recommend it.

[B-52]

We were on St. Martin last week, our ship tendered into Margoit. I arrived at the dock around 8:30 and rented a car, small jeep type. Drove to Lotterie Farms it took about 10 minutes from Margoit. Be sure and watch for the street sign which points to Pic Paridis turn and go up the long road which looks more like a driveway. Keep in mind if you do not get to the zip lines before the group tours from the ships that you may not get a ticket, they cater to the ships so get there before 9:30. The lines took about 2 hours and then we drove to Grand Case. After about an hour we drove to Phiipsburg for lunch and then off to Orient Beach. Played in the water for about 1-2 hours and then back to the docks in Margoit. If you have never tried zip lines you will enjoy these as for us we were somewhat :confused:disapointed:confused: hoping it would be better than the zips in :)Costa Rica:) which are much better....Have fun ,,,,we did...:)

 

 

We have never done Zip Lines, but want to. I've read NOT to bring personal items, cameras, jewelery, etc. What do you do if you're planning a day on the island?