St. Maarten beach

[Jhondy]

I’m still struggling with excursions. I have a beach excursion booked for St. Maarten but I’ve been reading some reviews of St. Maarten and they said that you can take a water taxi close to the ship dock for $7 and it will take you to the beach where you can rent two loungers and an umbrella for $20. The excursion that I booked talks about lunch but doesn’t say chairs are included at the beach and it sounds like it might go to this same beach that the water taxi takes you too. Is it really that easy to get to the beach at St. Maarten? I don’t want to take normal taxi for safety reasons but would be okay with a water taxi since others would be in it too. I’m thinking this might be the better way to go verse paying for the excursion through Disney.

Are there bathrooms (not port a potties) near this beach to use? My 3 year old sometimes refuses to use port-a-potties.

Also, it’s just me and my 3 yr. Old daughter…what do people do with their stuff while they swim? Do you just get like a water pouch thing for around your neck to keep money and credit cards in and then just keep on the chair beach bag with towels and sand toys?

 

[starvenger]

I'd assume that the beach excursion will take you to somewhere other than the main public beach, which is where the water taxi takes you.

At the public beach, you can rent the lounger/umbrella but you'd have to go to the restaurants (it's a short walk) to buy food/drinks if you want that. Overall, it's a solid budget option if you're just looking for a beach.

Now because there's only two of you. I would get a water pouch thing to hold your valuables, and/or buddy up with some other cruisers and you can take turns swimming/getting food/etc.

 

[hrhdhd]

The water taxi takes you to the beach behind the shopping street where you can see the ship from your chair. We did that one day because it's easy.

You don't have to take an excursion to go to, say, Orient or Dawn Beach. There's a transportation hub where vans line up, and they depart for various beaches when full. Then you jump in a van to come back. Usually about $20 each way. You could wait for other people to leave if you don't want to travel alone. The drivers usually wait for a few people, anyway.