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Sint Maarten
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Philipsburg
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St Maarten Shore Excursion: Island Sightseeing Tour from Philipsburg
4h30
Popular
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About this activity
When your cruise ship docks in Philipsburg port, meet your guide for your St Maarten shore excursion, and get ready to explore the highlights of this Caribbean treasure. You’ll experience both sides of this Dutch- and French-colonial island, which covers just 37 square miles (60 square km) in the Lesser Antilles, and stop at scenic spots along the way.
First, head to the north end of the island, on the French side, to one of its most serene and remarkable beaches, Grand Case Beach, where you can stroll along the pure white shore. Swim or sunbathe, stretching out on the soft sand as you marvel at the turquoise water that sparkles in the tropical sunlight.
Then, in the Caribbean’s gourmet capital, Grand Case, you’ll find a diverse selection of local cuisine. Try a traditional dish such as a scrumptious Johnny Cake – a fried cornmeal pancake – for lunch (own expense), or sample guavaberry rum punch (a tasty rum drink made from the island berries) or sip a soda or beer on the beach (one drink included).
Then, head to Marigot, the charming capital of St-Martin, and take in the French atmosphere where shops line the colonial streets and an open-air bazaar surrounds the central square. Next, your guide will take you back to the Dutch side to Maho Beach, where you can watch planes approach at a close distance as they land at the adjacent Princess Juliana International Airport.
Your shore excursion ends with a drive past Simpson Bay on your return to the cruise port. If you wish, you may request to be dropped off in Philipsburg to explore on your own instead of being dropped off at the port. If you do so, however, the worry-free shore excursion policy no longer applies; see Additional Information for details.
Worry-free Shore Excursion:
We will ensure your timely return to the Philipsburg port for this activity. In the rare event your ship has departed, we will arrange for transportation to the next port-of-call. If your ship is delayed and you are unable to attend this activity, your money will be refunded. See our terms and conditions for full details.
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First, head to the north end of the island, on the French side, to one of its most serene and remarkable beaches, Grand Case Beach, where you can stroll along the pure white shore. Swim or sunbathe, stretching out on the soft sand as you marvel at the turquoise water that sparkles in the tropical sunlight.
Then, in the Caribbean’s gourmet capital, Grand Case, you’ll find a diverse selection of local cuisine. Try a traditional dish such as a scrumptious Johnny Cake – a fried cornmeal pancake – for lunch (own expense), or sample guavaberry rum punch (a tasty rum drink made from the island berries) or sip a soda or beer on the beach (one drink included).
Then, head to Marigot, the charming capital of St-Martin, and take in the French atmosphere where shops line the colonial streets and an open-air bazaar surrounds the central square. Next, your guide will take you back to the Dutch side to Maho Beach, where you can watch planes approach at a close distance as they land at the adjacent Princess Juliana International Airport.
Your shore excursion ends with a drive past Simpson Bay on your return to the cruise port. If you wish, you may request to be dropped off in Philipsburg to explore on your own instead of being dropped off at the port. If you do so, however, the worry-free shore excursion policy no longer applies; see Additional Information for details.
Worry-free Shore Excursion:
We will ensure your timely return to the Philipsburg port for this activity. In the rare event your ship has departed, we will arrange for transportation to the next port-of-call. If your ship is delayed and you are unable to attend this activity, your money will be refunded. See our terms and conditions for full details.
Included
- Professional guide
- Beverages (water, soda, beer, guavaberry rum punch)
- Port pickup and drop-off
- Worry-free Shore Excursion Guarantee
Not included
- Food and drinks at the beach
- Gratuities
Additional
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- This shore excursion is for cruise ship passengers only
- Please note: If you opt to leave the tour in Philipsburg and make your own way back to the port, you are giving up your right to the Worry-free Shore Excursion Guarantee.
- Note: departure time is based on local island time, not cruise ship time
- This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund
Features
Tourism
100%
Cultural
60%
Aquatic
35%
Reviews
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We stayed for a day during our cruise in St Maarten and we're glad we took this tour. King David was amazing explaining the history, the differences etc of the Dutch and the French side. We had enough time during the stops to walk, eat, have something to drink etc and never felt rushed. He was attentive and always making sure we were ok. I'd strongly recommend this tour to anyone that has only one day to visit as it covers pretty much everything you'd like to see.
This was an excellent excursion. We visited both sides of the island. Saw and learned so much from our wonderful tour guide/driver, King David. He was so informative, personable, comic and very good driver. We enjoyed the refreshments at all our stops. Missed a big plane landing but that was because the plane landed half hour early and we were in the casino for the other. We did get to see a couple of smaller ones land. This tour is well worth the money we paid, in fact it is a bargain for all you see and do. Would do a repeat excursion of this one.
We had a nice time with Wellington as our tour guide. We had a group of 13 from two different cruise ships. Wellington was very funny, engaging and knowledgeable. He got me good at one point with his pranks! We proceeded to head out through Philipsburg to the French side of the island. He pointed out historical structures and statues etc. while telling us about the history of the island being fought over many times by different countries and how they all governed there for periods of time. He detailed how France and the Netherlands currently rule and pointed out the vast differences between the two which was interesting to see the contrast so starkly laid out right next to each other and within a minute's drive. We enjoyed the Carib beers and Rum punch that Wellington provided. The shots of punch were potent and become more frequent and plentiful as the day went on. The cooler was getting pretty light by the end of the day I'm sure! My wanna-be ecologist daughter enjoyed feeding the iguana's at one of the first stops. We proceeded on to Orient beach which was beautifully redone and construction was ongoing to repair the building damage from the recent hurricanes the past couple of years. From there we proceeded on to Grande Case, but didn't get to stop there as the roads were all under construction into the town, so were disappointed with that. However, we then stopped for lunch and shopping in Marigot. We also went to Maho beach/Princess Julianna airport area and got to see the Jets arriving and departing, just yards from where you stand. The bar there had a wicked 2 foot long "yard" style "take your shirt off" rum punch drink. Wow! While watching the jets, hang on to your sunglasses and hats or the jet blast will have them find a watery grave somewhere 50 yards out into the bay! Wellington was quite punctual at each stop and we got back after 5 1/2 hours with plenty of time to do some shopping at the pier shops. Not all tour operators show much concern about getting you back to your ship on time. We did have some trouble finding the meeting spot for the tour. The instructions said to meet at the north end of the pier area. The meeting spot is beyond the taxi cab area, and beyond the round-a-bout and berond the end of the shopping area. Look for several large white shade tents and the amigo tours rep will be holding up a sign to indicate that is the right place. Overall, well worth the money and I'll definitely book with Viator again!
We left late and had to change buses 3 time, 1 broke down, one had no air conditioning we were just on time to get back to the ship, the guide had no idea that the cruise ship would leave us behind if we did not get there on time it was her first day. We were rushed in all out stops and it was not enjoyable or relaxing. I would not do this tour again with this company. The other guides on the tour were not friendly at all and we were left alone to figure out where we were going and how to find bathrooms. At one bathroom we have to pay $1.00 to use and we would get the $1.00 back if we bought food at their restaurant.
This excursion was supposed to be 4.5 hours and was actually over 6 hours. The problem was that I needed to get on a cruise ship and we cut it too close. The driver kept saying the cruise ship had to wait for me and wouldn't leave. This was not a tour from the cruise ship, so that isn't true. I really wanted a 4.5 hour tour, not 6 hours. I couldn't do shopping because we were late. But, having said that, really good tour if you are good with 6 hours!
A very fun time. We had a smallish group by no means full and it was just great except that we had set times to meet back at the minivan at each stop and one family kept getting back late. This made us miss the big plane landing at Maho Beach. Our driver/guide Wellington was terrific and lots of fun but there should be some kind of enforcement of the rules. We learned a lot of interesting facts from Wellington and he was very polite and answered all of our questions. The only thing of note is that we arrived on a Sunday cruise and all the stores are pretty much closed so not much to do shopping wise.
My husband and son 22 yrs loved the tour. St Maarten still has a long way to recover...
The excursion went on 3 hours longer than expected! The tour was way too long and boring. The guide was pretty terrible. I did not like being dumped for an hour at a run-down little road side restaurant with the worst service, questionable cleanliness, no restrooms and very expensive prices in euros in the village of Marigot. Right after our lunch break we were driven to another bar and grill for another 45 minute break at Maho Beach to watch the airplanes. We could have combined the two lunch breaks and just lunched at the bar at Maho beach which was a much better restaurant. I'm sure the guide received kick backs from the first restaurant. Mainly, the island is not very fun, it is rundown and devastated by the hurricane. Skip the sight seeing and just book a beach excursion. The island is a huge disappointment. The charming village of Marigot is a dump with overpriced restaurants, run down buildings and the shopping consists of tired looking tourist souvenirs on tables and carts. Not at all French, except for the prices in euros. The downtown area of St. Maarten is also rundown and I would never buy diamonds there. Safety is even questionable. The locals I met were rude and did not understand anything about customer service even though the entire economy of the island is based on tourism.