KLA 1,813 Posted March 8, 2018 Report Share Posted March 8, 2018 As a follow up to my live blog, I wanted to give a fuller review of my experience with Bernard's Tours in St. Maarten. We chose tour 1 as listed on the website - http://www.bernardstours.com/ This tour runs for $40 per person with a $5 deposit paid via PayPal. Your remaining balance is due upon arrival. At this time, due to limitations as a result of Hurricane Irma, balance is due as cash. Once you walk off the ship, there are some instructions to help guide you towards the meeting place in the parking lot behind the reception building. Once you pass the statue, you'll turn right past the building and from there continue left until you see a large white tent. On the way, you may encounter some taxi drivers calling you out for a ride from outside the gate - if you dislike being hassled, be aware of this. Once you arrive at the tent, state that you are there for Bernard's Tours and one of their employees will be there to collect your balance (make sure you print your email confirmation to take with you!) and give your group a sticker indicating which tour you are on. Shortly after, a van or bus (depending on how many are booked) will pull in to the lot to collect you. As luck would have it, our group of 11 had a van to ourselves with "the Mailman" - nicknamed as such because people commonly mispronounce his name. He will give a brief introduction, and make you aware of the cooler stocked with sodas, water, Caribe beer, his own homemade (very strong, very delicious) rum punch. He will also have you know his rum punch is only served in small shot like glasses due to its strength. After a quick stop by a nearby convenience store to pick up some cups, we all grabbed a beverage and we were on our way! If you have the Mailman as your tour guide - you are in for a treat. He is incredibly informative, kind, and also hilarious! One marked difference of the tour that I think would have been different from the past is that it seemed more like a 'hurricane tour'. There is still a significant amount of damage to the island as you get inland, and every where you go you'll see houses with blue tarps, mangled shipping containers, and piles of rubble. As I've said many times, don't let this deter you from going.You should still go, see the island, and hear their story. Our guide provided an extensive amount of information on what the people there had experienced, as well as the current states of repair in various areas of the island. The tour makes several stops - the first I believe being an overlook offering some great ocean views and a picture opportunity. Another stop included Orient Beach on the French side of the island, which still appears devastated. All we saw here was a few roaming vendors and the odd person offering chair rental or food. It was a strange experience looking one direction out to the incredible view and water, and then turning around to see all of the destroyed buildings. After a couple other photo opportunities, we had about an hour stop at Marigot for the outdoor market. Although it was Sunday and most things were closed, there were a few local vendors open for business. There is a great spice booth here offering various spice blends and hot sauces - we even saw a bit of honey and vanilla! We did also have the chance to stop at Maho Beach, which again, felt a lot like a tourist trap. One of those things that's fun to see once, but I wouldn't want to spend the day there. Honestly, I'd rather spend more time at Orient Beach even with the damage. After the tour, rather than dropping us off in Phillipsburg we were taken directly back to the port area where we started. The tour started right around 9:30, and we were back at port by around 2 PM - plenty of time before the 4:30 PM all aboard call. All in all, I'd very highly recommend this tour and would not hesitate to book this tour again. It is a great value and provides a vast amount of island information in a comfortable setting with the bonus of provided drinks! yaya luvs to cruz, bobroo, accio7 and 3 others 2 4 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JLMoran 6,615 Posted March 8, 2018 Report Share Posted March 8, 2018 I like this approach of giving a detailed description of the tour separately from the live blog, and keeping the blog to a brief summary with photos. Not ashamed to say it, gonna steal this idea for my own live(ish) blog! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crseabrook 1 Posted March 31, 2018 Report Share Posted March 31, 2018 Kayla, thanks for the great info on Bernard’s Tours. We’ve booked a private tour for our May 12 sailing. We’ve never been to St Maarten so we’re look, at forward to the trip. I noticed on their site they referenced the iguana farm. Did you make a stop there? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Suzanne 88 Posted March 31, 2018 Report Share Posted March 31, 2018 On 3/8/2018 at 10:00 AM, KLAconQueso said: As a follow up to my live blog, I wanted to give a fuller review of my experience with Bernard's Tours in St. Maarten. We chose tour 1 as listed on the website - http://www.bernardstours.com/ This tour runs for $40 per person with a $5 deposit paid via PayPal. Your remaining balance is due upon arrival. At this time, due to limitations as a result of Hurricane Irma, balance is due as cash. Once you walk off the ship, there are some instructions to help guide you towards the meeting place in the parking lot behind the reception building. Once you pass the statue, you'll turn right past the building and from there continue left until you see a large white tent. On the way, you may encounter some taxi drivers calling you out for a ride from outside the gate - if you dislike being hassled, be aware of this. Once you arrive at the tent, state that you are there for Bernard's Tours and one of their employees will be there to collect your balance (make sure you print your email confirmation to take with you!) and give your group a sticker indicating which tour you are on. Shortly after, a van or bus (depending on how many are booked) will pull in to the lot to collect you. As luck would have it, our group of 11 had a van to ourselves with "the Mailman" - nicknamed as such because people commonly mispronounce his name. He will give a brief introduction, and make you aware of the cooler stocked with sodas, water, Caribe beer, his own homemade (very strong, very delicious) rum punch. He will also have you know his rum punch is only served in small shot like glasses due to its strength. After a quick stop by a nearby convenience store to pick up some cups, we all grabbed a beverage and we were on our way! If you have the Mailman as your tour guide - you are in for a treat. He is incredibly informative, kind, and also hilarious! One marked difference of the tour that I think would have been different from the past is that it seemed more like a 'hurricane tour'. There is still a significant amount of damage to the island as you get inland, and every where you go you'll see houses with blue tarps, mangled shipping containers, and piles of rubble. As I've said many times, don't let this deter you from going.You should still go, see the island, and hear their story. Our guide provided an extensive amount of information on what the people there had experienced, as well as the current states of repair in various areas of the island. The tour makes several stops - the first I believe being an overlook offering some great ocean views and a picture opportunity. Another stop included Orient Beach on the French side of the island, which still appears devastated. All we saw here was a few roaming vendors and the odd person offering chair rental or food. It was a strange experience looking one direction out to the incredible view and water, and then turning around to see all of the destroyed buildings. After a couple other photo opportunities, we had about an hour stop at Marigot for the outdoor market. Although it was Sunday and most things were closed, there were a few local vendors open for business. There is a great spice booth here offering various spice blends and hot sauces - we even saw a bit of honey and vanilla! We did also have the chance to stop at Maho Beach, which again, felt a lot like a tourist trap. One of those things that's fun to see once, but I wouldn't want to spend the day there. Honestly, I'd rather spend more time at Orient Beach even with the damage. After the tour, rather than dropping us off in Phillipsburg we were taken directly back to the port area where we started. The tour started right around 9:30, and we were back at port by around 2 PM - plenty of time before the 4:30 PM all aboard call. All in all, I'd very highly recommend this tour and would not hesitate to book this tour again. It is a great value and provides a vast amount of island information in a comfortable setting with the bonus of provided drinks! Thanks for the review. Now I know where to go to restock my spices and vanilla! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Natty09 0 Posted April 14, 2018 Report Share Posted April 14, 2018 Thank you! Just booked! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ray 1,093 Posted July 26, 2018 Report Share Posted July 26, 2018 Just Booked this tour Hopefully its as good as you say if not i will just stay on minibus and get drunk on the free rum punch then it will be a great tour lol 4ensic 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rjac 2,590 Posted July 26, 2018 Report Share Posted July 26, 2018 1 hour ago, Ray said: if not i will just stay on minibus and get drunk on the free rum punch Ray, you do know that there are no bathrooms on the minibuses...... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Ray 1,093 Posted July 26, 2018 Report Share Posted July 26, 2018 16 minutes ago, rjac said: Ray, you do know that there are no bathrooms on the minibuses...... there's always the bushes twangster, WAAAYTOOO and rjac 2 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
KLA 1,813 Posted July 26, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2018 4 hours ago, Ray said: Just Booked this tour Hopefully its as good as you say if not i will just stay on minibus and get drunk on the free rum punch then it will be a great tour lol I can assure you, it's delightful.... and not hard to get drunk on. It's strong enough that he serves shot sized amounts in very small glasses. Ray 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Floski 1,219 Posted September 4, 2018 Report Share Posted September 4, 2018 We took tour 2 in 2016 and even though my back was killing me, we still had a great time. Going back to SXM in November, so I'm sure we'll probably do it again. Hard to beat! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BrandonOwen 34 Posted September 20, 2018 Report Share Posted September 20, 2018 We booked this tour based on your recommendation KLA and we are so exited to be on St Maarten next Wednesday for this tour! Hoping we get "The Mailman" as our guide! Also hoping we can hop off the bus in Philipsburg for a bit, even if it means we have to get back to the ship on our own. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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