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Bernards Tours, or not?????

Bob NC

By Bob NC,
in St. Martin/St. Maarten

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granlea

granlea

Posted
Posted

I think it depends on your son. My understanding is that it is more topless than nude. I will be on a Princess cruise in April with my 12 (boy) & 10 year old, and plan to stop at Orient beach. They have visited the south of France before, and so have been to topless beaches. It wasn't a big deal for him.

 

If you go, I would suggest that you give him a heads up first. Or tell him and see what his reaction is. That might help you decide.

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ahornb

ahornb

Posted
Posted
I think it depends on your son. My understanding is that it is more topless than nude. I will be on a Princess cruise in April with my 12 (boy) & 10 year old, and plan to stop at Orient beach. They have visited the south of France before, and so have been to topless beaches. It wasn't a big deal for him.

 

If you go, I would suggest that you give him a heads up first. Or tell him and see what his reaction is. That might help you decide.

 

Now giving him a heads up and then seeing his reaction is a good idea.

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kitkat9438

kitkat9438

Posted
Posted

Bernard will drop you off at Pedro's which is at the end of the beach closest to Club Orient, which is clothing optional. There is a rock barrier dividing the beach and they "nude" folks do not cross this line. On the other side you might see a topless girl or two, but I think we only saw one in passing. The other side, really you wouldn't want to see them without their clothes on anyway, mostly older folks. We found it kind of funny. It is not offensive in any way. You can always walk further down the beach to an area not so close if it bothers you, but Pedro's offers two lounge chairs, an umbrella and two drinks for $15 which is a good price and he has good food too. We really didn't pay attention to the other folks because we were enjoying the beautiful beach so much. I will post a couple of pictures for you.

 

By the way, you are likely to see topless women anywhere on the island. At Maho beach there is a sign that says free drinks for topless women, but we didn't see any. Just so you know that on this island anything is possible.

 

Maho Beach:

 

mahobeach.jpg

 

stmarteen3-1.jpg

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ahornb

ahornb

Posted
Posted
Bernard will drop you off at Pedro's which is at the end of the beach closest to Club Orient, which is clothing optional. There is a rock barrier dividing the beach and they "nude" folks do not cross this line. On the other side you might see a topless girl or two, but I think we only saw one in passing. The other side, really you wouldn't want to see them without their clothes on anyway, mostly older folks. We found it kind of funny. It is not offensive in any way. You can always walk further down the beach to an area not so close if it bothers you, but Pedro's offers two lounge chairs, an umbrella and two drinks for $15 which is a good price and he has good food too. We really didn't pay attention to the other folks because we were enjoying the beautiful beach so much. I will post a couple of pictures for you.

 

By the way, you are likely to see topless women anywhere on the island. At Maho beach there is a sign that says free drinks for topless women, but we didn't see any. Just so you know that on this island anything is possible.

 

Maho Beach:

 

mahobeach.jpg

 

stmarteen3-1.jpg

 

Cool!

Thanks Kathy:)

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MaryL31

MaryL31

Posted
Posted

We just did this tour 6 days ago...kitkat's description is very accurate. We had my 17 year old daughter and 15 year old son...topless women were rare, but we DID see a few. The only one worth looking at wound up throwing her top back on as her boyfriend stood in front of her...I have a feeling she was not happy being so near my son, versus an adult male. The fun thing to see was the little old man wearing a speedo almost up to his armpits! We ate lunch at Sunset Bar, on Maho Beach.

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Willbcruisin

Willbcruisin

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Bernards tour is EXCELLENT! We will be touring with him for our 2nd time in April!

 

Glad he replied to you........he takes care of everything himself and the busy season is starting! Which may I add is great for the Islands as our economy effects their economy!

 

Enjoy your tour!!

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ahornb

ahornb

Posted
Posted
We just did this tour 6 days ago...kitkat's description is very accurate. We had my 17 year old daughter and 15 year old son...topless women were rare, but we DID see a few. The only one worth looking at wound up throwing her top back on as her boyfriend stood in front of her...I have a feeling she was not happy being so near my son, versus an adult male. The fun thing to see was the little old man wearing a speedo almost up to his armpits! We ate lunch at Sunset Bar, on Maho Beach.

 

Did your Teenagers enjoy the tour? Did they get board?

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MaryL31

MaryL31

Posted
Posted

ahornb- my kids had a blast! We started with a stop at Rima's (great deals for souveniers) in Philipsburg...then went counterclockwise to Orient Beach, with a stop on the way by The Sea Urchin Man (he literally cleans a sea urchin and gives you live ones to hold). Of cours, he has a bucket out for donations. Orient Beach was lovely...we got a kick out of the bar with all the NJ road signs, as that's the area of NJ we live in...the kids did jet skis for $45 for 30 minutes...it seemed pretty safe. Bernard had given us a choice of hitting another beach (I think...was busy in a conversation with someone) or going to Maho Beach. The bus voted for Maho Beach...we had lunch at Sunset Bar, and saw some plane come in, but they were not the huge planes we were hoping for. Still, we all had a great time...watch out for the Rum Punch...it is NOT like the Rum Punch we are used to in The Bahamas...this stuff is drank from smaller cups, and is quite potent...it's pretty strong at first, but then goes down...smooth!!! Junior was our driver. I definately recommend this tour!

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ahornb

ahornb

Posted
Posted
ahornb- my kids had a blast! We started with a stop at Rima's (great deals for souveniers) in Philipsburg...then went counterclockwise to Orient Beach, with a stop on the way by The Sea Urchin Man (he literally cleans a sea urchin and gives you live ones to hold). Of cours, he has a bucket out for donations. Orient Beach was lovely...we got a kick out of the bar with all the NJ road signs, as that's the area of NJ we live in...the kids did jet skis for $45 for 30 minutes...it seemed pretty safe. Bernard had given us a choice of hitting another beach (I think...was busy in a conversation with someone) or going to Maho Beach. The bus voted for Maho Beach...we had lunch at Sunset Bar, and saw some plane come in, but they were not the huge planes we were hoping for. Still, we all had a great time...watch out for the Rum Punch...it is NOT like the Rum Punch we are used to in The Bahamas...this stuff is drank from smaller cups, and is quite potent...it's pretty strong at first, but then goes down...smooth!!! Junior was our driver. I definately recommend this tour!

 

Thanks Mary!

We have booked a private tour for our sailing in March!

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Kikkycat

Kikkycat

Posted
Posted
Bernard will drop you off at Pedro's which is at the end of the beach closest to Club Orient, which is clothing optional. There is a rock barrier dividing the beach and they "nude" folks do not cross this line. On the other side you might see a topless girl or two, but I think we only saw one in passing.

 

We did see a couple of men, probably in their 50s or 60s, fully nude, right near the drop off point. Bernard mentioned that they are there almost every day. One of them was seated at the shack nearest the parking area, clearly not on the side of the wall/sign marking the nudist beach. So it IS possible to view full nudity at Orient. They do cross the "line" that kitkat mentioned.

 

Before we made the turn down the dirt road leading to Orient, Bernard did give our van an option to go to a different beach where there would be no full nudity - there is always the possibility of topless on this island no matter which beach you go to. I believe the other option was Galleon beach, but it's been a year so my memory may not be correct. But if full nudity is a concern, definitely mention it to Bernard and he can offer you a different beach.

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bad973

bad973

Posted
Posted

rupertfrog...you might get better responses if you posted your question on your sailing roll call...that's how I hooked up with someone to share a tour in St Martin... roll calls are very informative!

Barbara

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rupertfrog

rupertfrog

Posted
Posted
rupertfrog...you might get better responses if you posted your question on your sailing roll call...that's how I hooked up with someone to share a tour in St Martin... roll calls are very informative!

Barbara

 

Thanks Barbara -- I posted it in both places in case someone sailing with me wasn't on the RollCall or was only checking the Ports of Call for ideas.

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GeckoGirl

GeckoGirl

Posted
Posted

We are going to St. Maarten in May on the Oasis of the Seas. I emailed Bernard about his private tours and he stated a 7 hour tour for 6 people would be $350 and he would take us pretty much wherever we wanted to go. That's only around $58 a person which I thought was great especially since I saw an excursion on RCCL website for a 3 hour sightseeing/city tour for $84 a person.

 

Since it seems like everyone who has been on his tours has highly praised him and his staff, I feel great about booking with him.

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highcard

highcard

Posted
Posted

We just booked a private tour for July. Its going to be $450.00 for 10 of us from 9-3. This includes soda, water, beer, and rum punch.

Has anyone gone to the butterfly farm? We wondered if we should go in St.Martin or wait until we are in St.Thomas?

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GeckoGirl

GeckoGirl

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Posted
We just booked a private tour for July. Its going to be $450.00 for 10 of us from 9-3. This includes soda, water, beer, and rum punch.

Has anyone gone to the butterfly farm? We wondered if we should go in St.Martin or wait until we are in St.Thomas?

 

 

Do you need to put down a deposit when you booked? I have heard some people say they had to put down 10% but others said they didn't have to put down anything.

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tonka101

tonka101

Posted
Posted

Can someone help me out? I was searching for Bernard's website (using google) and more than one can up. I check the contact info and got two different emails. No phone numbers on either page to compare. Once was listed as http://bernardstours.shoreadventures.net/ and the other http://www.bernardstours.com/ I want to make sure I am contacting one everyone is speaking of and he is legit! Would someone please verify the "real" Bernard, unless it is just I who is not sure. Thanks in advance

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Arizona Laura

Arizona Laura

Posted
Posted
Can someone help me out? I was searching for Bernard's website (using google) and more than one can up. I check the contact info and got two different emails. No phone numbers on either page to compare. Once was listed as http://bernardstours.shoreadventures.net/ and the other http://www.bernardstours.com/ I want to make sure I am contacting one everyone is speaking of and he is legit! Would someone please verify the "real" Bernard, unless it is just I who is not sure. Thanks in advance

 

I would e-mail him at bernard1332002@yahoo.com

Website:http://www.bernardstours.com

 

Have fun in St Martin.

Laura

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Willbcruisin

Willbcruisin

Posted
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I would e-mail him at bernard1332002@yahoo.com

Website:www.bernardstours.com

 

Have fun in St Martin.

Laura

 

 

Ditto.........

 

What Arizona Laura has posted is correct.

 

I "think" Bernard also was accepting bookings through Shoreadventures but if you would like to book direct with Bernard use the links Laura posted!

 

We are counting to our second tour with Bernard in April........Our whole group is very excited!

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