You can actually get popular Tortuga Caribbean Rum Cake and more from Amazon. Share your thoughts or questions in the comments below! Restaurant was convenient for beers and restroom, although we didnt eat there. The latest watersport technology (launched in 2014) includes hover boards powered by water pressure. Airplanes fly right ov'r thy headeth. 5 min walk from port. And even if it happens, the island has plenty of attractions which helps spread out the masses. The unofficial subreddit to chat about all the WOW moments while sailing with RCCI! Another hidden gem in St. Maarten is Parrott Ville Bird Sanctuary. Visitors can fly through the air with their feet strapped into boards and maneuver across the sky. The surf taxi will pick passengers up from the cruise port and bring them to the beach for a surfing lesson on the sand. Have you tried any of the places we outlined? Airlines & Airports, Copyright 2022 Northstar Travel Media, LLC. Drinks at Driftwood Boat Bar on the west end of the beach is cheaper than Sunset bar at the East end. This excursion can be booked directly with SXM Surf Explorer. Grand-Case hasall the flavors of French 'haute cuisine' and 'savoir vivre'. One should probably start the day with a level head, but this made hard when you visit one of the most popular places on the Dutch side, the Guava Berry Liquor Emporium. When cruising to St. Maarten, you will get to enjoy both cultures and traditions of the Dutch and French as you freely cross the border between these two nations living side by side on the island. Your Facebook information, including your name, photo & any other personal data you make public on Facebook will appear with your comment, and may be used on TravelPulse.com. Most deals include free drinks for chair and umbrella rentals. The sanctuary also has a herb garden where you can learn a lot about the herbs of the island and a cool small museum showing relics of the past century. Tintamarre is home to numerous sea turtles and snorkelers may have a chance to see them underwater. Maho Beach. It was a cheap, mellow beach day. Dont be alarmed, however, as you will rarely dock with 6 other ships. European sophistication meets the warm laid-back nature of the Caribbean in the small and beautiful island of St. Maarten. Entertainment, How JetBlues Acquisition of Spirit Could Alter Air Travel Island Marketing Ltd offers tours and excursions for almost every budget and individual need. Orient Bay beach, situated in the north-eastern part of the island, is one of the islands largest and most popular beaches. Many islands offer ATV tours through off-road trails, but in St. Maarten travelers can ride ATVs just about anywhere including in and out of traffic jams and busy streets. You can buy all your St. Maarten souvenirs from Amazon by going here. Once the Flying Dutchman course is over, get onto yet another exhilarating ride on the schooner ride, a slide running down the rest of the mountain up to the farm. Conversely, a private tour will allow you to do what you want, when you want, but with the caveat that you will pay more for it. Our second port stop takes us to St. Maarten, but we will get to that later. Let the rich aroma of Caribbean cuisines guide you to an eatery, and grab a quick bite, before getting on with the rest of the days activities. Thus, it affords people the chance gaze at the belly of giant 747s as they fly extremely low over the beach to touch ground at the runway. 100 Lighting Way Secaucus, NJ 07094-3626 USA | Telephone: (201) 902-2000, Last updated: 06:50 AM ET, Tue August 02 2022, La Casa de la Playa, Exclusively Your Way. It will all be worth it once you see the view of the island and its surrounding neighbors from the advantageous panoramic view afforded to you up there. Sample popular Caribbean treats such as Johnny cakes, callaloo, conch, fish fritters, lobster, and more. Features & Advice, TravelPulse Podcast: Big Cities, Big Entertainment Helping Travel Then dont miss out on the opportunity to do so in Philipsburg, St. Maarten. The emporium also showcases and sells a variety of unique Caribbean spices. Before beginning your tour of the place, you will go through an information corridor where you will learn about each of the birds from photograph displays. Grab a tube and hold on as you slide through the forest careening and bending at every curve to get to the bottom. Group tours will be the least expensive options, but you will be at the mercy of the pace of the group. There are a number of snorkeling combination excursions in St. Maarten, but to spend the most time in the water, the trip to Pinel Island and Tintamarre is an excellent option. Graced with a long stretch of white powdery sand beach and crystal clear blue waters, Orient beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in the Caribbean. Millions of travelers rely on Cruise Hive in the United States, Europe, Australia, and around the world. Spend your day at Great Bay Beach enjoying the shallow calm crystal clear waters. St Maarten is uniquely situated in an ideal location that provides access to incredible sea and land Harmonys. We love this cruise destination so much we wont just be covering things to do in Philipsburg, St. Maarten on the Dutch side but also some awesome things on the French side too! We've done a lot of different things in St. Maarten over the years and never had a bad time, but that was definitely one of our best port days there. The coral reef a few yards from the beach acts as a barrier that protects the pools from rough surf making it perfect for swimming, snorkeling, floating or just wading in. Airlines & Airports, Travel Industrys Top Advisors and Suppliers Connect at Thats why you should head on over to the adjacent Mullet Bay beach just nearby, which is sheltered from the noise and activities of the airport. Have our travel agency partner get you a free quote for a Royal Caribbean cruise. This is a nice beach for a picnic but please pack everything you need, clean up after yourselves and dont leave any valuables in your car. Snorkel gear, sun loungers, lunch, and limited drinks are included, or a bar and grill serves additional items. Airplanes fly right over your head. With that said, however, you shouldnt be discouraged from visiting the island as it has picked up its pieces pretty fast and its charm and beauty still holds. We hope you enjoy your visit to the Philipsburg, St Maarten. This just popped up in my feed and I was there back in September. Orient Bay is widely regarded to be among the best beaches in the Caribbean, and is the perfect setting for a day at the beach. Whether you cruise multiple times per year or you're new to cruising, the goal of Royal Caribbean Blog is for it to bea useful resource for keeping up to date with what's new and exciting with Royal Caribbean. Thats all for St. Maarten for now. This excursion (with the SeaTrek helmet dive) costs around $110 and can be booked through St. Maarten Shore Excursions. The tour can be done through a boat excursion around the islands coastline with brief stops in major tourist areas. Prickly Pear is a small uninhabited island west of Anguilla. Cruise Hive was established back in 2008 and among the earliest blogs in the industry. Here are some popular options for what to do on your day in St. Maarten. All this combined with the varying cultures of its inhabitants makes it the perfect cruise destination in the Antilles. Before long, the instructors will have travelers up on the boards and in the water catching waves. If you are looking for a non-touristy one-on-one experience with nature, then this is the place to go. Just dont lose track of time, lest your boat leaves you. From gorgeous beaches, private boat charters, Island tours, resort day passes, beach Horseback Riding , private sailing adventures, snuba diving, Snorkeling excursions,and so much more, St Maarten has it all! Other than beach bumming, water activities, shopping, and dining, St. Maarten is also a place that inspires. Once done at the Dutch side celebrate visiting two countries within just minutes as you cross the border over to the French side. With your support, we can create more exciting content and share with everyone! Commands: !ShakespeareInsult, !fordo, !optout. Airlines & Airports, 19 Hidden Travel Fees to Watch Out for This Summer March 19, 2015 9:00 PM ET. The first beach you will come across on the island is Great Bay beach which is readily accessible from the boardwalk. There are many snorkeling and diving spots around St. Martin which have clear warm waters that allow light to sip through making them perfect for this activity. Most cruise lines and local tour operators offer a snuba excursion for diving beginners and amateurs, where you are allowed to dive without a tank, but with an air pipe tethered to air tanks on the surface of the water. Where Nick Maley otherwise known as That Yoda Guy, who was one of the creators of Yoda from Star Wars, has created a sci-fi movie memorabilia museum. The capital of St. Maarten isPhillipsburg, which was settled by the Dutch in 1631 for the Great Salt Pond located nearby. Be one with nature, visit the great outdoors of St. Martin and enjoy a truly unique tropical paradise. Travel Agent, NCL Takes Delivery of Norwegian Prima On a cruise vacation in the eastern Caribbean, you're likely to spend time in Philipsburg, St.Maarten so let's take a look at some of the best things to do. You may use your Facebook account to add a comment, subject to Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Hotel & Resort, Popular Tourist Destinations That Still Have COVID-19 Travel Restrictions This is a great place to swim or play in the waters even for the young kids. Before taking a taxi tour of the island, its best to start with a brief walking tour of the nearby town of Philipsburg. These 30-minute sessions with an instructor are available through Jet Extreme and cost around $100 per person. We provide firsthand information on each and every excursion we offer and recommend the excursions that work best for you. This five-hour trip is offered through Shoretrips.com and costs around $105 per person. The museum also displays head casts of famous actor/actresses and historical figures such as Abraham Lincoln. gallery icon Kindly note that due to the devastating Hurricane Irma that hit the island in September 2017, a lot of the island was damaged and is still recovering. One of the most popular things to do in St. Maarten is to watch airplanes land at Princess Julia International airport. Our goal has been to provide our readers with expansive coverage of all aspects of the Royal Caribbean experience. Maho Beach is unusually close to the threshold of a runway, and is directly under the flight path, resulting in aircraft on their final approach flying over the beach at altitudes of less than 100 feet above ground level. For just a $6 per person boat ride, you can enjoy yourself on this remote island. Another way to see this island is on an ATV. Marigot is full of wonderful shopping and dining choices, along with easy access to the the water. To help you plan your trip there, here is a list of things to do on a port day in St. Maarten: To start with, you will enjoy docking at St. Maarten as tendering is not necessary. Enjoy your trip there. At the bay, the waters are shallow and the clearest you will ever see. Like Marigot,Philipsburg offers duty-free shopping to visitors at the many shops that line the two main streets downtown: Front Street and Back Street. St. Maarten as most other Caribbean destination experiences the tropical monsoon climate where its hot throughout the year. Phillipsburg has a lot of Dutch charm to offer and there is always a festive mood on their end of the island. We do not recommend going here until it is rebuilt.Picking the right shore, Royal Caribbean cruises that stop in the island paradise of St. Maarten/St. As a former crew member for Disney Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, and Carnival Cruise Line I can continue my passion by sharing my experiences with readers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached, or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Royal Caribbean Blog. It is likely you have seen at some point a video of an airplane landing near Maho Beach, without knowing it is located in St. Maarten. While still on the French side, visit the most popular beach on St. Maarten, Orient beach. St Maarten offers an abundance of excursions and activities to delight cruisers of all ages. Just above the Loterie farm are two observation decks found on top of the mountain at the magnificent Pic Paradis point. On top of that, its home to a variety of plants and animal species including the largest collection of butterflies in the Caribbean. We are diligently working to bring you the best tours available in Philipsburg, St Maarten.