First time to St. Maarten--need ideas for family friendly activities

[Dr. M]

We are very excited about our very first 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Fantasy. We will be celebrating our daughter's high school graduation, and our 20th wedding anniversary We're a family of 6, with 3 teens and one pre-teen. We booked a great excursion (kayak, snorkel at cas cays) for St. Thomas, but I was hesitant to book most of the excursions offered for St. Maarten...you see, we are a very conservative family, and Disney warns us to be prepared for nudity on beaches, especially on the French side of the island.....sorry, we just have our hangups

I was wondering what there was to do on the Dutch side of the Island. We love shopping, walking around, and if there was a nearby non-nude beach, we'd love to check that out. Do you have to take a water taxi from port? If so, how much are tickets? Are American dollars OK? or credit cards preferred? Sorry to be so ignorant, but I am just starting to do my research, and our cruise is only 3 weeks away!!! Any help or ideas would be much appreciated

 

[Club Disney Chandler]

Have you checked into the beach at the end of the airport? It sounds stupid but I think would be a ton of fun to hang out there as the jets were arriving. Just do a St Maarten airport search and you can see some pics. It is located on the Dutch side. We did the 2 sides tour when we were there 2 years ago. It was ok and we got to see the whole island but I would have rather been on the runway beach. Wife had no interest in that and you know the saying, happy wife - happy life.

 

[DISNEYFAN3260]

Our large family has booked a private tour on St. Maarten with Bernard's Tours based on great reviews here and on Trip advisor. Bernard himself emailed me that we can choose all stops and activities for the day ourselves - totally customized to our preferences. So maybe you could look into that option and just let them know you do not want to visit the clothing optional beaches. Then you could see several places and get beach time, shopping, or whatever you'd like.

 

[carissa1970]

We grabbed a cab and paid the driver to tour us around all day. It was awesome, because she was raised on the island and knew all the best spots. We spent over an hour at Maho Beach, the one with the airplanes...don't miss it. She took us to scenic places, shopping, food, we did the entire island. I think we settled on $25 per person, and there were 6 of us.

 

[mhconley]

There will be topless people on the Dutch side of the island, especially around Maho Beach (where the planes land) as there is a bar there where topless ladies drink free. Not necessarily "conservative hangup" friendly.

Fortunately our family finds absolutely nothing even remotely problematic with nudity and have booked a trip with Soualiga Destinations.

You may want to stay on the ship or stick to the shopping areas in the towns if you wish to avoid nudity altogether.

Martin

 

[noahsketomom]

Have you checked out lotterie farm? If I can find a link to our trip report, I will post it here.... It wasn't cheap, but it was so much fun!!!!

OK, here it is I think....

A fantabulous 40th - Eastern on the Fantasy! Dec 14-21, 2013

 

[MUN]

There will be topless people on the Dutch side of the island, especially around Maho Beach (where the planes land) as there is a bar there where topless ladies drink free. Not necessarily "conservative hangup" friendly.

Fortunately our family finds absolutely nothing even remotely problematic with nudity and have booked a trip with Soualiga Destinations.

You may want to stay on the ship or stick to the shopping areas in the towns if you wish to avoid nudity altogether.

Martin

I will be on the same cruise with the OP and I plan on going topless in St. Martin and while on the ship! Although, my wife will beg me to keep my rashguard shirt on.

 

[DISNEYFAN3260]

We grabbed a cab and paid the driver to tour us around all day. It was awesome, because she was raised on the island and knew all the best spots. We spent over an hour at Maho Beach, the one with the airplanes...don't miss it. She took us to scenic places, shopping, food, we did the entire island. I think we settled on $25 per person, and there were 6 of us.

That's fantastic! Do you know if taxi drivers typically will do this or did you just get lucky? That's a great deal if your party can fit in a cab. Much cheaper than a private van!

 

[crafty91]

For a different flavor and to stay away from nudity, the Downhill Jungle Trek is pretty fun. It is "down" the mountain but its still a pretty decent hike. GREAT views from the top before you head down to the farm!

 

[phinz]

There's a beach in downtown Phillipsburg. Just walk to town (Or take a cab or a water taxi. We prefer to walk.) and you can't miss it. Plus there's Yoda Guy and other stuff downtown.

We used American dollars.

 

[LSUfan4444]

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...psburg_Sint_Maarten_St_Maarten_St_Martin.html



Have you looked into Soualiga Destinations?

 

[MrDisneyFan]

We did this and loved it... http://randomwind.com/

 

[saintrob]

We visited the Butterfly farm although it was several years ago and really enjoyed it. We did this as part of the island tour.

 

[E ticket rider]

We are very excited about our very first 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Fantasy. We will be celebrating our daughter's high school graduation, and our 20th wedding anniversary We're a family of 6, with 3 teens and one pre-teen. We booked a great excursion (kayak, snorkel at cas cays) for St. Thomas, but I was hesitant to book most of the excursions offered for St. Maarten...you see, we are a very conservative family, and Disney warns us to be prepared for nudity on beaches, especially on the French side of the island.....sorry, we just have our hangups

I was wondering what there was to do on the Dutch side of the Island. We love shopping, walking around, and if there was a nearby non-nude beach, we'd love to check that out. Do you have to take a water taxi from port? If so, how much are tickets? Are American dollars OK? or credit cards preferred? Sorry to be so ignorant, but I am just starting to do my research, and our cruise is only 3 weeks away!!! Any help or ideas would be much appreciated

There is a beach across the bay by town that I don't recall seeing any naked people. Although, the locals are far less inhibited (even on the Dutch side) than most Americans are. I've done the America's Cup Challenge a few times and once our boat was "saluted" by a group of lovely ladies on one of the boats in the bay as we sailed by...

 

[carissa1970]

There will be topless people on the Dutch side of the island, especially around Maho Beach (where the planes land) as there is a bar there where topless ladies drink free. Not necessarily "conservative hangup" friendly.

Fortunately our family finds absolutely nothing even remotely problematic with nudity and have booked a trip with Soualiga Destinations.

You may want to stay on the ship or stick to the shopping areas in the towns if you wish to avoid nudity altogether.

Martin

We were at Maho Beach for almost two hours. It is not a nude beach, and the only bar near there did not have any dancing. Not sure which beach you mean.

 

[carissa1970]

That's fantastic! Do you know if taxi drivers typically will do this or did you just get lucky? That's a great deal if your party can fit in a cab. Much cheaper than a private van!

They were all willing to do it. Tons of them waiting right off the ship.

 

[mhconley]

We were at Maho Beach for almost two hours. It is not a nude beach, and the only bar near there did not have any dancing. Not sure which beach you mean.

I did not say Maho Beach was a nude beach. I said the OP may see topless women there. One may see topless women on any beach on the island, the French and Dutch do not share Americans' puritanical views towards partial or even full nudity.

Also my post said nothing about dancing. Not even sure where you got that one. Google "Sunset Bar & Grill Maho Beach" and you'll see the bar I mention. Note: do not visit the bar's website unless you are comfortable with partial nudity.

I just want the OP and others to understand they could see partially nude people anywhere on the island.


Martin

 

[robhawk]

We also loved the random wind excursion. So much fun!