cruiselife 266 Report post Posted December 17, 2018 Hello everyone. My wife and I are going to St Maarten for the first time and are trying to decide on exactly what we want to do. We really want to see a lot of different spots on the island but since we have never been there we aren't really sure how easy it is to do that. The places we would like to see in particular are Marigot, Maho Beach, Orient Beach, and then maybe a few other beaches or overlooks. There is a jeep tour through Royal Caribbean we are considering that looks really good, but it doesn't quite go everywhere we would like to go and we really enjoy the freedom of having our own transportation. My question for anyone who has a lot of experience in St Maarten would be is it safe for us to rent a vehicle and drive to these places on our own or should we go with a guided tour since it is our first time there? I have also heard people talk about hiring a driver for the day there. Does anyone know approximately what that would cost? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
melski94 767 Report post Posted December 17, 2018 30 minutes ago, cruiselife said: I have also heard people talk about hiring a driver for the day there. Does anyone know approximately what that would cost? Private drives was $375 for a full day tour. There was 7 of us so it made more sense cost wise and I have kids so we tend to stay away from bus tours. Pinging @KLA as I think she has done this with Benards Tours and have been very happy with them. I think they take you to all the places that you listed for about $40 each. 1 cruiselife reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lovetocruise2002 8,189 Report post Posted December 17, 2018 Also pinging @bellemiche. They rented a Jeep there from Hertz in the summer and went all around. She had a great experience. She talks about it here in her blog: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/6855-allure-review-july-8-~-15/ 3 timorg, cruiselife and bellemiche reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tiny260 1,602 Report post Posted December 17, 2018 4 hours ago, cruiselife said: I have also heard people talk about hiring a driver for the day there. Does anyone know approximately what that would cost? https://www.bernardstours.com/tours/ Check with this place, I'm using them in January to go to Maho and just a general tour. Most island's, if you are so inclined, you can find a taxi and negotiate a price with them, we just did this on St. Kitts and it was blast. 1 cruiselife reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vacation Crazy 68 Report post Posted December 18, 2018 We did Bernard's tours when we were there in August. They offer different tour packages. We did the beach tour. It was a great way see the island and learn some history along the way. There was still quite a bit of hurricane damage and our tour guide talked a lot about the recovery process. It was a great day! Take a look at their website. 1 cruiselife reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ray 657 Report post Posted December 20, 2018 Must agree with Bernards tours $40 per person, a great tour round island with some rum punch thrown in to make it even more enjoyable lol various stops for photos and lunch etc 4-5hrs so plenty time to walk round cruise port shops afterwards 1 cruiselife reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bellemiche 206 Report post Posted December 22, 2018 On 12/17/2018 at 1:03 PM, Lovetocruise2002 said: Also pinging @bellemiche. They rented a Jeep there from Hertz in the summer and went all around. She had a great experience. She talks about it here in her blog: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/6855-allure-review-july-8-~-15/ We did rent a jeep and had a lot of fun! It was around $100 for the day. 2 cruiselife and timorg reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CherylG 1 Report post Posted December 27, 2018 would any of the jeeps seat 5? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rjac 2,089 Report post Posted December 27, 2018 1 hour ago, CherylG said: would any of the jeeps seat 5? Depends how friendly the driver is and can drive with a passenger in his lap. 1 mom2mybugs reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KLA 1,808 Report post Posted December 27, 2018 +1 for Bernard's! I've written about them before here on the boards and it's an amazing way to see the island. 1 cruiselife reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CherylG 1 Report post Posted December 27, 2018 1 hour ago, rjac said: Depends how friendly the driver is and can drive with a passenger in his lap. Haha. 🤣 We would rent and drive ourselves. Wondering if there's a third seat belt in the back seat Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bellemiche 206 Report post Posted December 28, 2018 16 hours ago, CherylG said: would any of the jeeps seat 5? @CherylG According to the Hertz St. Maarten website, it shows a 4 door jeep that has 5 person seating. 😎 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CherylG 1 Report post Posted December 28, 2018 Did not know that Hertz was in business there. Of course I could use the internet... duh. Thanks much! 1 bellemiche reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
timorg 3 Report post Posted January 2, 2019 On 12/23/2018 at 2:19 AM, bellemiche said: We did rent a jeep and had a lot of fun! It was around $100 for the day. Great to hear the Jeep rent is very affordable. I was helping a buddy installing the new rack and extang bed cover on his truck when he mentioned going to St. Maarten trip they've been planning. His eldest son loves to go for a road trip and they will surely love to know about this Jeep rentals there. 1 bellemiche reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JennyB 295 Report post Posted March 9, 2019 reading for my own info...will be there in November. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mellibee 15 Report post Posted March 10, 2019 how far is Hertz from the port? was it a quick and easy process to rent the jeep? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Buckyfan 9 Report post Posted March 11, 2019 When we were there in November we took a taxi right outside the port for a full island tour. It was ok but while we were eating lunches there happened to be a fire nearby that completely blocked up traffic. The driving maneuvers our driver did, I never would have felt comfortable doing. Their driving is kind of wild😁 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
