What to do before liveaboard on St Maarten for 5-6 hrs?

[scubamickey]

Hi,

I'm going to be traveling through St. Maarten on my way to Saba and a dive cruise. I'm arriving on the ferry from Saba at about 9:00 am and my dive yacht doesn't board until 3:00 PM. We will have 2 bags of dive and video gear with us so we are not very mobile. I was thinking about doing a tour of the island in a taxi or something. But will this kill that much time? We couldn't really go shopping since we have luggage in tow.

Or maybe there is a hotel or resort nearby where we could pay to spend 6 hours on the beach and would store our luggage. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance!

Irene

 

[DivingPrincessE]

There is LOTS to do on St. Maarten/St. Martin. They have island tours that last around 5-6 hours. Drive you around, stop at a few places, then drop you off at Orient Bay Beach for 2 hours and pick you up. The one I used was Bernards and it was pretty good. Or you could just take a taxi and spend the day at Orient Bay Beach or Pinel island (also a beach, you get to by 10 minute long ferry ride). They have a butterfly farm, horseback riding, and obstacle course if you don't want to do the relaxing beach scene. Or you could plop yourself down at the Sunset Beach Bar on the dutch side and have drinks while watching the planes land right next to the beach. St. Maarten doesn't have great diving, but other than that it's my absolute favorite Caribbean island. (My big picture in my profile was taken at the Sunset Beach Bar).

 

[NTSilver]

Irene
Are you going on Explorer Ventures? If so, Gene Gene the dancing machine - the person that picks you up from the airport (that's what he calls himself) - has a nice van and he will take you on a tour of all the sights for $25 each. I thought the price was reasonable and we got to see the entire island. If you want to stop for lunch he will do that. And all your scuba gear goes in the back of the van. I'm pretty sure the office can arrange it for you.

 

[scubamickey]

Irene
Are you going on Explorer Ventures? If so, Gene Gene the dancing machine - the person that picks you up from the airport (that's what he calls himself) - has a nice van and he will take you on a tour of all the sights for $25 each. I thought the price was reasonable and we got to see the entire island. If you want to stop for lunch he will do that. And all your scuba gear goes in the back of the van. I'm pretty sure the office can arrange it for you.

He won't be picking me up the airport because I'm actually arriving from Saba by ferry. But maybe I can arrange something. This whole thing got a little screwy because they cancelled my trip which was for the first week of my vacation so I had to swap weeks and now I have all this down time on SXM.

 

[scubamickey]

There is LOTS to do on St. Maarten/St. Martin. They have island tours that last around 5-6 hours. Drive you around, stop at a few places, then drop you off at Orient Bay Beach for 2 hours and pick you up. The one I used was Bernards and it was pretty good. Or you could just take a taxi and spend the day at Orient Bay Beach or Pinel island (also a beach, you get to by 10 minute long ferry ride). They have a butterfly farm, horseback riding, and obstacle course if you don't want to do the relaxing beach scene. Or you could plop yourself down at the Sunset Beach Bar on the dutch side and have drinks while watching the planes land right next to the beach. St. Maarten doesn't have great diving, but other than that it's my absolute favorite Caribbean island. (My big picture in my profile was taken at the Sunset Beach Bar).

Sounds very nice but not really practical with 4 pieces of luggage in tow, I think. I'm not leaving my stuff sitting on the beach to bake and get stolen.

 

[DivingPrincessE]

The sunset beach bar has umbrellas. You can sit in the shade and relax until it's time to get on your boat. There are also little huts/bars/restaurants on Orient Bay Beach. You could sit there with your luggage and people watch. When I was there last month they had a kite surfer that was very entertaining to watch.

The island tour is still an option, it could kill a few hours if you skip the beach portion. This is the one I did it through Welcome to BernardsTours.Com. You could call him and ask if there is anyway you could do the island tour portion and skip the beach portion. Several people on our tour did that. Only problem I would see with him is that his van was full...so I don't know where you would put 4 luggage bags. I think you will have that issue with any of these island tour things.

 

[RTRski]

If you're coming in on the ferry, you may be a bit battered, depending on weather, especially with 4 bags (I hope that's between 2 people??). The ferry was regularly referred to as the 'vomit comet' when I was there a couple years ago as seas can be rough and the bile can flow...we took the WinAir flights to/from Saba and St. Maarten.

I'm thinking if you're just looking at 6 hours, your original plan to see if a hotel would be willing to 'check' your luggage for a fee and chilling out would be a good plan. I'm not sure if the Saba ferry goes into Marigot (we did ride the ferry from St. Maarten to Anguilla for a beach day, and that's where it ported) but if so there's a great open air market there to just wander around right next to the ferry terminal, many restaurants, and the like. I know it feels like down time, but better IMO to use it to relax and feel vague regret you 'missed' something than get into a rush that misses your connection.

First question is where does the ferry arrive, and where does the dive yacht pick you up? They might also be in port early even if they're not allowing you to board yet, and could perhaps be willing to take your bags and then let you wander a bit more freely.

I understand on the changed plans - was wondering why you would be arriving from Saba for a liveaboard that's going to be around Saba.

 

[Manuel Sam]

Have you considered dropping off the luggage with the liveaboard that morning of your arrival? Yes, it's cleaning day and all that jazz for them, but I've done it with other liveaboards and it's never been a huge imposition. The ride from where I think the ferry comes in (used to be the dock at the Pelican Resort and Marina) to the marina (used to be near Bobby's Marina) in Philipsburg is eastward can take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour, depending on traffic, and traffic has gotten progressively worse every year, so keep that in mind.

If you can do that, then I would recommend getting a cab to go to Orient Bay, as others have suggested - it is my preferred beach for snorkeling in St. Maarten - or just walking into town and shopping on Front Street. Or both. I would NOT venture back to the beaches westward of Philipsburg because you'd have to go thru all that traffic again twice. Marcel Beach on the northeast is also a nice beach that is always calm and there's some snorkeling if you go all the way out to the mouth of the bay and to the rock on the left just outside of the bay. There's food on both of these beaches and you might also be able to sue teh outdoor fresh water showers on the grounds of the hotel in Marcel.

Otherwise, as I said, the Saba ferry used to come in at the Pelican Resort and Marina dock. If that is still the case, you could ask at Pelican if they are willing to store the luggage (for sure they can because I've done it, but I was a guest). The beach at Pelican isn't anything to write home about, but from Pelican, it's a short taxi ride past the airport to Mullet Bay, which is arguably one of the prettier beaches on the island. There is plenty of shade, some snorkeling along the rocks (not great, but.....and if you do, just watch out for the overhangs above the water), and decent food - BBQ ribs and chicken. If you tire of the beach, you could walk back out to the Maho Bay area next door to Mullet: there's a lot of shops there and Maho Beach is THE place to watch the planes come in for landing maybe 50 feet above your head. Just remember about the traffic going into Philipsburg and having to retrieve your bags from Pelican first.

 

[scubamickey]

If you're coming in on the ferry, you may be a bit battered, depending on weather, especially with 4 bags (I hope that's between 2 people??). The ferry was regularly referred to as the 'vomit comet' when I was there a couple years ago as seas can be rough and the bile can flow...we took the WinAir flights to/from Saba and St. Maarten.

I'm thinking if you're just looking at 6 hours, your original plan to see if a hotel would be willing to 'check' your luggage for a fee and chilling out would be a good plan. I'm not sure if the Saba ferry goes into Marigot (we did ride the ferry from St. Maarten to Anguilla for a beach day, and that's where it ported) but if so there's a great open air market there to just wander around right next to the ferry terminal, many restaurants, and the like. I know it feels like down time, but better IMO to use it to relax and feel vague regret you 'missed' something than get into a rush that misses your connection.

First question is where does the ferry arrive, and where does the dive yacht pick you up? They might also be in port early even if they're not allowing you to board yet, and could perhaps be willing to take your bags and then let you wander a bit more freely.

I understand on the changed plans - was wondering why you would be arriving from Saba for a liveaboard that's going to be around Saba.

The original itinerary had us doing the liveaboard first with them dropping us off at Saba for another week of diving. But with the change of weeks it's now reversed and we doing Saba portion first.

Yes the bags are between 2 of us . Two bags of dive gear, 1 smaller one with clothes and room for souvenirs, and 1 large Pelican for the underwater video equipment. I'm not worried about the ferry ride. We don't get sea sick and we have been on some rough boat rides just going out to dive sites here in Alaska. Think "Deadliest Catch" but not quite that rough.

 

[scubamickey]

Have you considered dropping off the luggage with the liveaboard that morning of your arrival? Yes, it's cleaning day and all that jazz for them, but I've done it with other liveaboards and it's never been a huge imposition. The ride from where I think the ferry comes in (used to be the dock at the Pelican Resort and Marina) to the marina (used to be near Bobby's Marina) in Philipsburg is eastward can take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour, depending on traffic, and traffic has gotten progressively worse every year, so keep that in mind.

If you can do that, then I would recommend getting a cab to go to Orient Bay, as others have suggested - it is my preferred beach for snorkeling in St. Maarten - or just walking into town and shopping on Front Street. Or both. I would NOT venture back to the beaches westward of Philipsburg because you'd have to go thru all that traffic again twice. Marcel Beach on the northeast is also a nice beach that is always calm and there's some snorkeling if you go all the way out to the mouth of the bay and to the rock on the left just outside of the bay. There's food on both of these beaches and you might also be able to sue teh outdoor fresh water showers on the grounds of the hotel in Marcel.

Otherwise, as I said, the Saba ferry used to come in at the Pelican Resort and Marina dock. If that is still the case, you could ask at Pelican if they are willing to store the luggage (for sure they can because I've done it, but I was a guest). The beach at Pelican isn't anything to write home about, but from Pelican, it's a short taxi ride past the airport to Mullet Bay, which is arguably one of the prettier beaches on the island. There is plenty of shade, some snorkeling along the rocks (not great, but.....and if you do, just watch out for the overhangs above the water), and decent food - BBQ ribs and chicken. If you tire of the beach, you could walk back out to the Maho Bay area next door to Mullet: there's a lot of shops there and Maho Beach is THE place to watch the planes come in for landing maybe 50 feet above your head. Just remember about the traffic going into Philipsburg and having to retrieve your bags from Pelican first.

Ok, it looks like the ferry departs/arrives from Chesterfield's (Great Bay Marina) in SXM. The liveaboard departs from Bobby's Marina. I can see that they are both in the same bay but I can't see what the distance between them is. Probably not far though.

See, this is the reason I didn't want to the itinerary in this direction. It was so much easier to just get dropped off while near Saba and then just take the ferry back when it was the day to leave for home.

I've emailed the liveaboard company who have been fantastic throughout this cancellation (paying for all our rebooking fees on the airlines and getting us ferry tickets to Saba, etc) and asked them if we could store our luggage. I hate asking because I know from prior experience with them that most of the passengers getting off that morning are leaving their own luggage on board until noon. So space is limited.

This has been really hard for me--being that I'm a control freak and plan these trips to the minute detail 8-9 months out. To have to rearrange all this 4 weeks prior has been nerve racking for me

I think God has a sense of humor and it's my turn to get picked on...