Private Bernard's Tours, St. Maarten

[MacII]

Hi there. Has anyone done one of the Bernard's Tours available in St. Maarten? I'm particularly interested in the Private Tour. I'm going in November with my family (3 of us) and my in-laws. Seems the minimum for a private is 5 people so we were thinking it may be more flexible.

The thing is, I've got no clue where I'd want to go but it is nice to do it on our own schedule. If you did one of these Bernard's Tours, private or group, how was it? Any tips or suggestions? Any must-do locations?

Thank you,

 

[Ready to go]

Hi, My husband and I did Bernard's this past May and it was fabulous I think we did Tour 2, it was very nice and if you are open to their itinerary, I don't know that the group tour was bad!!! We had a great tour operator (Sexy) and the Rum Punch was excellent. Have Fun

 

[*Flower*]

We will be doing one in December, and I'm really optimistic because I've heard lots of positive feedback about them.

We're doing a group tour that's private (but not) with our cruise meet group.
Their tours usually start at 9, and St. Maarten day is a longer port visit, so no worries about getting back to the ship late. Our tour will go from 9 to 2.30 and the ship isn't scheduled to depart until 6.45.

Good luck, and enjoy your cruise!

 

[staley98]

You will not be disappointed. Our DIS group went on a tour that included the iguana farm, sea urchin guy, Orient Bay Beach, Marigot, and Maho Beach where we saw three planes land and one take off. Orient Bay was gorgeous and the next time we visit, we'll just spend the day there. The tour was outstanding and our guide thought my husband looked really thirsty and started beverage service at 10:18 am...I guess it was 5:00 somewhere! LOL!

 

[morvarm]

We did a private tour this past June. There were only 4 of us - my DH,me, DD(6), and DS(4). It was a great tour. Once you get off the ship they are easy to find. We had an air conditioned van with a cooler of drinks. Our tour guide knew everything about the island and kept us entertained. We told him we wanted to go to a beach and he took us to the French side of the island to Orient beach to La Playa Bar. The beach was more beautiful that Castaway Cay with nice waves. We rented a beach chair and got 2 drinks for $10. Our wonderful guide sat patiently at the bar and told us just to let him know when we were ready to go. He gave us the code for free wifi for the bar. They have a gift area, bar, restaurant, bathrooms and changing area. Next we went to Maho beach to see the planes fly overhead and he told us about how to be safe with the planes. He left time if we wanted to shop in the area. They are really great about making sure you get back to the boat on time. I would book again the a heartbeat. I loved how much information out guide knew and how he let us spend as much or little time at a place went wanted. It was perfect to be on our own schedule with 2 little kids.

 

[son3disfan]

5 stars for Bernard's Tour! *****
So pleased! We did a private tour with 3 adults and 3 kids.

We too were not sure what to see and do. Our tour guide made it all happen for us. He was wonderful!
We saw the iguana farm, market ( I missed the bakery and when I got back to van without treats he took me by the hand and guided me to the best little place you can imagine! Not sure how I missed it!
Then off to orient beach for a few hours ( clothing side... ) and then arrived at Maho beach in just enough time to see three big airplanes land. So awesome.
You will not be dissapointed!

 

[Silverfox97]

Do not miss Maho Beach

Although not a private tour, our review is on the Disney Cruise Line Blog. We will be doing the Maho Only tour in March with them.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[MagicMe]

I would highly recommend these guys! We had a great tour and the tour guide was so wonderful. My mom was on the tour (she's 80) and when we got to the sea urchin she said she would stay at the top not wanting to make her way down the slight slope as she was afraid to fall. She insisted I check it all out. Well as I'm looking at all that was there I turned around and there was our tour guide carrying the various sea urchins up to my mom so she could feel and experience them too!

We also saw the iquanas, the market place (where my mom and I ate lunch at this wonderful little french pastry place) and of course Maho Beach. Loved it all and would do it again!!

 

[MacII]

Thank you all for the feedback! I'm going to try calling and booking right away...with all the positive comments I hope they still have availability...

Thanks

 

[ImDMous]

Ditto on the awesome tour with Bernard's. We did the public one, but there were several groups from our meet group on it. Had a great time, the rum punch was delicious.

The French Bakery in Marigot is called Serafina, don't miss it!

 

[jetskigrl]

Another big thumbs up for Bernards!!!! We did the private tour with our group of 5 plus another family of 4 (DIS friends we were traveling with).

The tour was definitely a highlight of our cruise. We did the iguana farm and the sea urchin guy. Then we went to Orient beach but we felt the waves were a bit strong for the little ones in our group. While we were there, our guide used the internet to check the flight arrivals at Maho and then took us to a different beach that was calmer so that the kids could play. It was perfect! Then he let us know when we needed to leave in order to make it to Maho in time for the big jets coming in.

What I loved was that at each stop he was around visiting with us and pointing out things for us to see, etc. But when it came time to just relax at the beach, etc, he would let us do our own thing (but stayed close by in case we needed him). He was great with the kids and just really made the day for us.

P.S. If anyone from Bernards is reading this, Guillermo is the best!!

 

[MacII]

Just booked it! It seemed to give me a choice of Paypal or Credit Card but there was no place to enter CC info so it said they would contact me for the deposit...had I known I would have picked Paypal, no big deal, I guess we will complete the transaction tomorrow. Looking forward to the tour!

 

[DVC Jen]

My family of four did a private tour in early June. Our guide was Alvin Andre. We loved every second of it. We were able to personalize to tour to fit what we wanted to do. He knew the island very well and since I really wanted to do a lot of photography he took us to some of the very best spots for me to get great shots.

I would HIGHLY recommend the private tour if you can do it. I also highly recommend Alvin Andre. 100% gentleman and so knowledgeable.

 

[tessasmom]

So glad to hear all of these comments! I have organized a private tour for our DIS group for our sailing 11/30/13, we will be in St.Maarten on 12/3. We already have 24 people signed up! Can't wait!

 

[*Flower*]

We'll be riding with you too! We can't wait, and just know that it's going to be 'totally awesome' (as Crush would say)...

 

[WhitGB]

I know I am bringing back to life an old post, but the information is really good and I was hoping if someone can assist me.

We are going to book the private tour for 16 people and have been in contact with Bernards tours.

Our deposit is $90, does anyone know if by chance we have to cancel or need to go on a public tour can we get the deposit refunded or moved to the public tours. I forgot to ask in my emails.

Thanks.

 

[*Flower*]

I'd booked a private tour with them and unfortunately had to cancel as DH really only wanted to do Marigot and Maho.
I had no major problems getting my deposit back. Just make sure that whatever you do, you cancel/modify within the time limit listed on the website. If you wait too long, it won't be refundable.

You might want to ask about transferring the deposit to a different (public) tour also- if that's the alternative that you'd like to fall back on.

Good Luck!!