St. Martin Self Tour Suggestions!

[Mike320]

Hi there! We are on the 1/22 Magic and would like to rent a car or a jeep for 2 adults, 3 kids. Any suggestions for driving tour that includes seeing some sights, shopping a bit and the beach...? I hear gas is really expensive but it seems like it will be worth it. Thanks! Mike

 

[missmulan]

when we were in St. Maartens a couple of weeks ago, we just took the water taxi ($5.00 RT per adult, kids free) over to the other side. We spent the whole day at the beach. The kids were happy building sand castles ALL DAY LONG and my DH & I just alternated walking up and down the shops. Of course he ended up in the casino! At the beach, there were ladies who will come up to you and sell you things.

We did the sightseeing and shopping thing in St. Thomas instead. Kids were not happy so we shipped them back to kids club on the ship and the two of us went back out in peace.

 

[staylor]

missmulan, we are going Jan. 8th and planning on doing the same thing you did in St. Martin. Did you negotiate for chairs, water toys, etc? I guess you brought beach toys w/ you too. Did your kids do the water trampoline or jet skis? Were there life jackets? What type of shopping is around there? I want to buy some cigars and liquor.
Thanks,
Staci

 

[kdicey]

missmulan,

Are you talking about Great Bay Beach, That was also our plan for 2/5 cruise. My Ds9 would love the water tramp and wife can shop if anythinggood near by? Is the taxi right outside the dock? Is there places eat lunch near the beach?

 

[dzneprincess]

we were on the same cruise as missmulan (hi) and we did the same thing! I cant believe I didnt see you at the beach! The water taxi is very near the ship. Just go to the left, and hop on the water taxi, you can take it back and forth all day for $5. When we got off at the beach, we went to the left again, as that was the side that had the water trampoline. I did not negotiate as I just wanted to get settled in already. We paid $10 for 2 chairs and $10 for 2 of my kids to use the water trampoline. ($5 each) I had a 3rd child that wasnt so sure he wanted to ride it. The guy did not charge me for him. My DH even got on it with the kids for a bit.....It was well worth it and it was my favorite port day. There were vendors trying to sell their goods, but there were also vendors selling drinks and lunch from a menu. I did not look at the menu so I do not know the prices or offerings. I wasn't there to do any serious shopping but there were tons of shops. More so that St Thomas, I think. I also think the selection was better than St Thomas. I did talk to a CM on the way back to the ship that said St Martin was the best place for negotiating and getting good deals. People were lugging luggage, entertainment system (DVD sounds system), computers and printers back to the ship. The CM made the comment that you could always tell who was a CM by their purchases! LOL

 

[staylor]

dzneprincess, did your children use life jackets going to the water trampoline? If not, were life jackets available to use?

 

[missmulan]

hi amanda (dzneprincess)...i agree, st maarten was my favorite port too. i did negotiate for chairs and it wasn't hard to do so. They started out with $10 and as I went further, I got two chairs under the Heinekin Umbrella for $6 whole day. We didn't do the trampoline thing because my son has asthma.

As for buying from the ladies who approach you at the beach, I would suggest going to the shops on your own. I found that everything we were quoted on the beach was a dollar cheaper in the stores. It wasn't so much the $1 savings but rather the "exploring" of the island. St. Maarten is a better place to negotiate for items. There are good people there on that Island which made the day trip enjoyable!

Yes, we did bring our own beach buckets and sand toys. Because St Maartens is your first port stop, I didn't remember seeing anyone selling sand toys. We used these sand toys at St Maartens & Castaway Cay. At the end of our trip, I just disposed of them to give us extra luggage space for souvenirs. It worked out well.

We bought some cartons of cigarettes for my friends who watched our home. Although the Marlboros were $11.99 a carton, they were really "light" according to my friends. The shops is walking distance from the beach. In fact, it's only a short block away. There is a McDonalds there too!

 

[dzneprincess]

No, my children did not use life jackets, as the trampoline was very near the shore. Maybe about 3-5 feet deep depending on where it would float to. It was tied down, but it had slack so it could move depending on what the kids were doing on it. My oldest 2, ages 9 and 8 are gret swimmers and had no problems with it. My 3rd child is 5 and he does not know how to swim. We were able to get him on it one time and only to jump on the trampoline, he never would go down the slide. No one ever offered to sell me the use of life jackets, but that doesnt mean they werent available, I just dont know for sure. If your children can swim, I do not think they need life jackets, like I said the trampoline was close to the shore.

 

[staylor]

Amanda, thank you for the quick reply. Like you I'm not concerned about my 8.5 year old. The 5 year old is another story. He has had lessons and can swim in a pool. I was just worried about the depth of the water and all. If is is not far from the shore, I'm sure my DH can get him there and back if needed.
Thanks,
Staci

 

[missmulan]

by the way, near the Heinekin umbrellas are locals who will rent out their waverunners for $35 per 1/2 hour. they'll provide the life jackets.

 

[faireygod mother]

Mike-- We rented a jeep and ther 5 adults. We tourde the whole island and stopped at Orient Beach for lunch. The French side (we thought) was nicer. It does not look like a tropical island. It remided me of Ireland. Anyway, when we got back we took the water taxi over and did the beach and shopes. The island is not that big. You are correct about the gas It was about 5.00 a gallon. We used about a quater of a tank and it cost almost 20.00.

 

[Mike320]

Thanks for the great input! I'm not sure what we'll do but it won't be fore lack of information!

 

[kdicey]

thanks for the info