Renting A car at St. Maarten

[PenskeSth1]

Was just wondering if anyone has ever just rented a car in St. Maarten and toured the island on their own. I mean the all aboard is at what 9p.m? We were thinking of getting a map and just checkin out key interest points on our own. It cost like 50.00 to rent a car for a day. Just seems like something that would be nice to do with all the time we have there. We would have plenty of time to return the rental before the ship leaves port.

 

[Karel]

We did. And we got really lost too. The map was worth squat and I'm a pretty good navigator. It was cool though to drive all the way around but I'm not sure how much the kids saw. We stopped on the French side and walked around and took a picture of the dividing line on the island. Had a hard time finding a beach to stop at though. Should have taken that right to go to Orient. I enjoyed it, I don't think the kids did and I'm not sure if my husband would do it again. (He drove.)

 

[ThreeCircles]

We also rented a car in St. Maarten and would do it again in a heartbeat. We drove to Orient Beach, Marigot, and several smaller sightseeing spots that would have been impossible to know about had we not been leisurely driving around the island.

Although I didn't drive, it didn't seem to be too difficult and the local drivers seemed much more tame than some that I've seen in Cozumel and Grand Cayman. One thing to watch out for though are the goats. Herds of them may come crashing across the road at any minute!

 

[uncle al]

Can you suggest a company? We are on the New Years Eve eastern in December & already have a car for St. Thomas - but I haven't been able to find a reference for one in St. Maarten. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[PenskeSth1]

Three Circles,
Can you tell some of the more interesting places you came across on your own adventure around the island? Are there any water falls or anything? DH is a truck driver who drives in downtown D.C and N.Y city so I'm not worried at the least of him getting lost. LOL .. What company did you use? Were they near the port? Sorry for all the questions, but since you are experienced with this topic I figured you would have the best suggestions. oh yea! Did you just get a car when you arrived there or did you pre- reserve one?
WE WILL DEFINITELY WATCH OUT FOR THE GOATS! LOL
Thank you,
Michele

 

[ThreeCircles]

PenskeSth1--

Well, to elaborate more on my post above, we *did* really enjoy renting the car and having the freedom to explore on our own and at our own pace. Unfortunately, we had a rather poor experience with the company that we used to rent the car.

The company that we used was called Best Deal. We reserved the car online several weeks prior to our sailing. At the time, the website for the Best Deal company stated that it was associated with Hertz and had the Hertz logo at the top. Since our cruise, the Best Deal website has changed and no longer makes that claim from what I can tell.

Anyway, we reserved the car before sailing. When we reached the port it was only a short walk to a cluster of offices where all of the car rental companies are located. We went to the window, showed them our reservation, and waited. At the time we didn't really think much of it but the individual who waited on us took Travis's credit card with him to the "back room". It took some time before he reappeared with the card and gave us a set of keys. You then drive to the car lot, just a few minutes away, with another Best Deal employer and pick up your car.

Two months after our return from our cruise we received a statement from the Disney Visa Card. We had nearly $1000.00 in charges on it from clothing and electronic stores in New York City. We alerted Visa and informed them that the card had only been used twice. Once to pay Disney Cruise Line for the remainder of our cruise bill and the other by Best Deal in St. Maarten.

Now, to avoid slander, I won't say anything more. But we have made some conclusions and I'm sure you can too.

At any rate, we would rent a car in St. Maarten again. Perhaps from a different company though.

As for the places we visited, we really enjoyed Orient Bay. It's a beautiful beach and was not very populated while we were there. There is some nudity but very little as most people on the beach seemed to be tourists, probably from the three cruise ships in port.

We also stopped at a little house off the road. A gentleman gave us a personal tour of the facility and told us the history of the place. It was pretty cool. I believe it was called the Old Rum House as it used to be a rum distillery.

Marigot was fun to drive around as well. Lots of little side streets and meandering roads. We stopped at a local grocery store (just for the experience) and visited lots of other shops.

As for waterfalls and such, I'm sure they probably exist on the island. There seems to be a lot of information on hiking and such on some of the St. Maarten web sites.

Hope this helps!

 

[Karel]

we didn't reserve ahead of time because we wanted to be flexible with our plans. When we got of the boat - ship - boat - we had no trouble locating a rental agency and had no problems getting a car. It was about $55 I think.


We drove all the way around the island, admiring the scenery. Stopped at a small shopping center and went to a cool bakery and toy store, where we bought some buckets and shovels. Stopped in Marigot and parked where the ferry to Antigua docks. Just beautiful. Walked around and outside market and went to find cold drinks. It was really neat because we found this vendor on the street squeezing sugar cane in a machine to get the juice out. My son got to try it so that was interesting.

 

[PenskeSth1]

Thanks all for the information. Looks like we will just wait until we get there to rent the car. I am assuming there are plenty of rental places right there by the port. The old Rum House sounds interesting along with seeing someone squeeze sugar from cane ( educational for the kids). Thank you all again for such quick responses. I will check out the St. Maarten web site for the waterfalls.
Using a credit card always makes me leary. You just wonder if people are taking the numbers for wrong doing later. Like you we will be using a card with nothing on it but this cruise ( I guess that will be a good thing(easier to keep track of what is what). It is always a risk. Sorry to hear that happened. We will just have to hope for the best and NOT use that company..

 

[Bacrd]

We rented jeeps in St Martin and it was wonderful. We had the concierge arrange it for us before we got off the ship...so I felt comfortable that is was a company that dealt with the cruiselines (it was not DCL). We had no trouble at all and exploring the island at our own pace (IMHO) is the only way to go.
However, DS stopped at Marigot and had his jeep towed away for illegal parking. To this day...he will swear that they tow "rental" cars because other cars were parked in the same area and no one else was bothered. Another $45 (cash) later..and they were on their way again!!
I can't remember the name of the company...but when you get off the ship it was about a 5 minute walk to the right.

 

[PenskeSth1]

Originally posted by Bacrd
We rented jeeps in St Martin and it was wonderful.

This sounds fun, Do you remember how much the jeeps cost? I was looking at an economy car but a jeep would be so much nicer.

 

[Bacrd]

I really can't remember what we paid last year...but I checked a web site for Thrifty Car rental and it is about $55 before taxes & stuff. We had a canvas top and they would put it on or leave it off...it was up to you. We split with another couple...so it really was a minimal expense compared to the cost of per person excursions!!