St. Marteen Excursion...Butterfly Farm?

[deannalew]

Has anyone done the Butterfly Farm excursion at ST. Marteen and if so, how was it?

Thanks.

 

[NCRedding]

We (DH, DD who is 9 and I) did it on the 1/12 cruise. We enjoyed it, but wished we could have spent more time at the farm. The part of the excursion I didn't like was waiting for everybody to gather and for us to be allowed off the boat--it was probably about 45 minutes to an hour from the time we were to meet until we actually got on the bus. The bus drove from Phillipsburg to Marigot, stopping for 5 minutes for pictures. IN Marigot we had about 45 minutes to an hour to do what we wanted-we shopped in the open air market for tropical clothes for that night's dinner. Then we loaded back on and road to the farm. Stayed there about 45 minute to an hour, then back for the return ride to Phillipsburg. The driver stopped in downtown Phillipsburg to let out anyone who wanted to shop there, then drove back to the bus terminal--just next to the ship. I think the trip is a little pricey, but it was worthwhile for us-got to see the whole island, do some shopping, and were back on board in time for lunch.

 

[patches-4]

We did it in June 2002 and really enjoyed it. DD101/2 loved watching all the butterfly around and DS 151/2 had a ball with the camera! Use the fast speed film for this, and actually he got alot better pictures than I did. He just kind of went off from the group to take the pictures. I would have liked to have stayed a little longer also, and the rest of the tour was nice, shopped in the open air market, etc. Buses were very comfortable.

 

[deannalew]

I wonder if this is an excursion you can do on your own so you can have more time in the butterfly farm. It would be nice to take a bit more time shopping and visiting the butterfly farm. I can't find any information on the entry price to the butterfly farm, not even on the website of the farm.

Anyone know more about this?

 

[NCRedding]

The website is thebutterflyfarm.com. I bet you could find a taxi to take you over--not sure of the costs. another option would be to rent a car and drive. The roads are narrow, and twisty, but they do drive on the same side of the road as we do. The road to the farm is very narrow and gravel. Most of the parking appears to be on the grass.

 

[MotherGrimm]

My inlaws took my DD (6.5) and DS (3.5) on the Butterfly Farm Tour while my DH and I went diving. They enjoyed the Farm -- and the kids kept spouting butterfly facts that week. However, they did not enjoy the amount of time on the bus. In addition, the time they had for "shopping" on the French side allowed them time only to find a restroom (the driver provided incomplete directions) as they walked from the bus drop-off to the pick-up point. They were told that the bus would be leaving precisely at a certain time, so they felt rushed in town -- only to find that they and another couple with small children were the only ones to return to the bus on time. Needless to say, the bus didn't leave without the group. (This is not to imply that everyone should disregard the times provided!) I wish that I had paid for a taxi or rental car for them instead. This reinforced the problems that I have had in the past with formal tours -- too much time where you may not want to be, not enough time where you want to look at things. I know this is a personal opinion, but evaluate your feelings about independent sight seeing vs. being herded around before deciding.


Mother Grimm

 

[Girl Scout Girl]

Well i haven't actually done that buterfly farm but i have done 3 others before and they were tons of fun expect the waiting for one to land on youu part because you have to be super still othere thann that i thought it was tons of fun and its normally nice and warm in the building which sound pretty nice right now considering we have a few inches of snow.