Bernard's Tour in St Maaretn

[Frozen2014]

Anyone gone on this tour with your kids in St Maarten? If so, how old were your kids and did they enjoy? Or did they get bored?

 

[Jkpark]

There were 8 of us so we booked a private tour with Bernard's. The kids were 6,6,8,9. We toured the island and got a little history. We stopped and the kids got to hold strange water creatures, we went to a quieter beach, we went into town for lunch, stopped to shop a little but and went back to the ship. We had a great time and I highly recommend that. Not sure of the size of your group but it was well worth it for us.

 

[Frozen2014]

Good to hear you had such a nice time. We're just 4...DH, myself and our two kids so we'd do public tour (which unfortunately goes to Orient which is not my first choice)

 

[2prettygirl]

We did this tour and loved it! Our girls were ages 3 and 6 and they really enjoyed it! We did the public tour and it wasn't bad at all. We made a quick stop to see some sea urchins on the side of the road, which the kids loved bc they could hold and touch them. We then went to the Iguana Farm where they could try and feed the iguanas. We went to Orient beach, which I was worried with but neither of my kids commented about the topless people walking around. In fact when we pulled up to the side that allows full nudity, there was a man waving at our bus completely naked but the bus lets you off at the topless side only. If you are concerned about that, I would definitely prepare your kids ahead of time but once again, my 2 girls paid no attention to it. We also visited Maho beach, which was an experience. Not our favorite beach but the experience was fun seeing the planes come in. It was a full fun day for sure!

 

[jetskigrl]

Good to hear you had such a nice time. We're just 4...DH, myself and our two kids so we'd do public tour (which unfortunately goes to Orient which is not my first choice)

Are you participating in the cruise meet group for your cruise? If so, there may be another family that could split the private tour with you. That is what we did (although we knew the other family from a previous cruise). But it was nice to be able to adjust the tour to what we wanted to see. Our guide took us to a quieter beach that was better for the kids (water was really calm compared to Orient beach), got us to Maho to see the jets land, etc. It was definitely one of our favorite parts of that cruise.

 

[kerry1379]

We did this with our kids (ages 4, 11, and 13) and we loved it! They have two options-we took the shopping one that does not go to Orient beach since we were hoping to avoid the nudity. (I will say, we didn't get to avoid it completely since there was a girl at the bar by Maho beach that we had to walk by that was topless.) But we learned so much about the island! Our driver went out of his way to make sure both adults and our kids had a great time (since they were the only kids on the tour). We got to see the sea urchins, the iguanas, several beautiful overlooks and historical sites, stopped for lunch, shopped, and stayed at Maho beach for a time. This was a highlight of our trip!

 

[bumbershoot]

Good to hear you had such a nice time. We're just 4...DH, myself and our two kids so we'd do public tour (which unfortunately goes to Orient which is not my first choice)

Do the tour without the beach stop. $5 cheaper per person.


I literally have the Bernard's site up as I'm seeing if there are spots left this month.



But nudity isn't something we have an issue with. Hang on, gotta remind my kid about it. (we homeschool so he's here)



Transcript of a minute ago. Feel free to use it if it works for you.

"So if we go on the tour we'll be at a beach in St Martin. What's the difference between European and American beaches?" (he knows the St Martin side is French and Sint Maarten is Dutch b/c we did a unit study on the island 2 years ago)

He made a face. He's 11. The whole naked thing, unless it's him, causes him to make a face. I know what the face means.

"Right, they don't always wear as many clothes. So what do you do if we see nudity?"

He made a face.

"Do you stare and make that face?"

"No."

"Do you *not care and look away*?"

"Yep."

"OK."


oh, followup.

"If we see nudity, will all the people look like supermodels?"

He shook his head no, still with the "naked people are icky unless they are me*" face. (*"me" being the 11 year old, not me the one writing LOL)

"Do we CARE if they look like supermodels or not?"

He shook his head no, STILL with the look on his face.

"Excellent."


That was easy. Even the "interpreting his face" part. Now back to figuring out if he has any shorts that still fit him.

 

[scootch]

It was safe, had a good time, but wouldn't go again. We really wanted to see the planes come in and out, but our driver "Sexy" didn't even have the schedule.

 

[Frozen2014]

We did this tour and loved it! Our girls were ages 3 and 6 and they really enjoyed it! We did the public tour and it wasn't bad at all. We made a quick stop to see some sea urchins on the side of the road, which the kids loved bc they could hold and touch them. We then went to the Iguana Farm where they could try and feed the iguanas. We went to Orient beach, which I was worried with but neither of my kids commented about the topless people walking around. In fact when we pulled up to the side that allows full nudity, there was a man waving at our bus completely naked but the bus lets you off at the topless side only. If you are concerned about that, I would definitely prepare your kids ahead of time but once again, my 2 girls paid no attention to it. We also visited Maho beach, which was an experience. Not our favorite beach but the experience was fun seeing the planes come in. It was a full fun day for sure!

Sounds fun if they get to hold and see the different creatures. And good sign that your kids didn't get bored as they are younger too. Good idea to prep them about the nudity thing. To be honest, even I will be uncomfortable. My understanding is most of the nudity is further down the beach but guess that's not true if you saw them right at the drop off?

Are you participating in the cruise meet group for your cruise? If so, there may be another family that could split the private tour with you. That is what we did (although we knew the other family from a previous cruise). But it was nice to be able to adjust the tour to what we wanted to see. Our guide took us to a quieter beach that was better for the kids (water was really calm compared to Orient beach), got us to Maho to see the jets land, etc. It was definitely one of our favorite parts of that cruise.

Good idea, but unfortunately I don't think we'll do any meet and greets. (I am in a group though in cruise critic). Nice that you could arrange it. Out of curiosity, what beach did you select? Le Gallion?

We did this with our kids (ages 4, 11, and 13) and we loved it! They have two options-we took the shopping one that does not go to Orient beach since we were hoping to avoid the nudity. (I will say, we didn't get to avoid it completely since there was a girl at the bar by Maho beach that we had to walk by that was topless.) But we learned so much about the island! Our driver went out of his way to make sure both adults and our kids had a great time (since they were the only kids on the tour). We got to see the sea urchins, the iguanas, several beautiful overlooks and historical sites, stopped for lunch, shopped, and stayed at Maho beach for a time. This was a highlight of our trip!

Yeah, that's an option. But we're never around beaches so it seems like a shame not to visit a beach at one of our cruise stops. We only have 2 other stops and even the short time would be good. Am surprised that there was nudity at Maho. Sounds like a nice tour with variety.

It was safe, had a good time, but wouldn't go again. We really wanted to see the planes come in and out, but our driver "Sexy" didn't even have the schedule.

That's a shame. First I've heard of that as I've only heard good things about the tour guides and doesn't make sense that they didn't research and time it properly. Sorry to hear as Maho seems like one of the highlights of the tour.

 

[jetskigrl]

Good idea, but unfortunately I don't think we'll do any meet and greets. (I am in a group though in cruise critic). Nice that you could arrange it. Out of curiosity, what beach did you select? Le Gallion?

Yes, our guide took us to Le Galion. It was a great options for the younger kids (no waves, easy to play in the sand, etc).

 

[Frozen2014]

Yes, our guide took us to Le Galion. It was a great options for the younger kids (no waves, easy to play in the sand, etc).

Nice. Have heard Le Gallion is very calm and great fit for kids.

 

[scootch]

That's a shame. First I've heard of that as I've only heard good things about the tour guides and doesn't make sense that they didn't research and time it properly. Sorry to hear as Maho seems like one of the highlights of the tour.

yea, there seemed to be a bit of confusion when we got there. First they told us one driver, then another. We did make it to Maho, but only saw one come in. There was one leaving shortly, but the driver insisted we had to get going back to port. We had previously been at a beach and could have left there earlier to catch one. So maybe just a bit of miscommunication.

 

[wilma-bride]

We took bernard's Tours, went to Orient beach and, yes, we saw nudity but on the 'other' beach (you are dropped off in the middle, the nudity is one end) and not up close at all. That was the only time we saw it, when we first arrived, and we walked to the other end of the beach and had a fabulous time.

 

[Frozen2014]

Thanks for the replies. It sounds like aside from the nudity thing (which doesn't seem to be an overall issue), that your kids enjoyed and weren't bored?