St. Maarten on a Budget

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Cruising offers a great vacation value but if you are on a port-intensive itinerary, port activities can definitely add up.  We have visited St. Maarten many times and there are so many port day options to choose from.  This time, I wanted to see if we could explore the beautiful island of St. Maarten on a budget!

Can we have a great day in St. Maarten on a budget?  

Challenge Accepted!

A short walk from the pier is a water taxi that will take passengers into the town of Phillipsburg.  It docks right at Great Bay Beach and the boardwalk/town area.  If you went no further…you could relax and have a great day.  We love the convenient water taxi.  The roundtrip fee for the water taxi is $7 per person ($5 one way). Cost for a couple – $14

But did we spend $7 per person on the water taxi? Heck no!

We exited the cruise port area and headed to Phillipsburg on foot.  I honestly didn’t know what to expect. But, there was a paved sidewalk and there weren’t any concerning obstacles.  Some islands are a lot less pedestrian-friendly.  I’m talking to you Bermuda! 😉

We enjoy walking and if there were concerns along the way, we could always take the water taxi for our return trip.

It’s an easy 15-minute stroll and you just never know what you’ll see along the path.

Once we arrived in the town of Phillipsburg, we spent some time walking around the boardwalk and Great Bay Beach area. We took a few pictures, surveyed the hurricane recovery, and chatted.  The area wasn’t busy at all this early in the day and it was a peaceful and beautiful way to spend part of our morning.

Quality Time – Cost – $0

Next up, I had been wanting to explore the French side and the town of Marigot and possibly go to the popular Grand Case beach.  So, we approached a couple of taxi drivers and inquired about the charge to both Marigot and/or Grand Case Beach.

Taxi from Phillipsburg to Marigot – $25 
Taxi from Phillipsburg to Grand Case Beach $35

Truth be told, I don’t really enjoy taxis.  They just aren’t ever my first choice.  They actually make me anxious. I will choose to walk if it’s an option but given that it was apparently a 20+ minute cab ride walking wasn’t an option.

Since the $25-35 one-way cab ride was not acceptable for our budget challenge…so…

We took the bus!

Friends, this was such a fantastic experience!  We saw a shuttle bus that had a sign posted in the window – “MARIGOT”.  Exciting!

I had heard that local buses were available and typically cost around $2 per person.  So, I hopped over to the driver and said simply, “Marigot?”  “Can we ride?” He motioned us to come in…and…that was that!

Taking the local bus may have added a short 5-10 minutes to our overall trip versus a taxi because of a few quick stops but it was fantastic.  It just felt like such an authentic way to see part of the island, visiting with local people on their way to work or errands. LOVED IT!

Ironically, I felt very much in control.  I didn’t have any anxiousness at all.  I knew that if we felt uncomfortable at any time, we could just hop off at the next stop.

St. Maarten on a Budget – $2 Bus Ride

We quietly confirmed with another passenger that the bus ride to Marigot was, in fact, $2.  When the scenery appeared that we were in Marigot (I was also tracking Google Maps, just in case), we hopped off the bus and gave the driver $6 total because we felt a little guilty about such a deal!

We walked around the marina area of Marigot and daydreamed about sailing away on one of the Catamarans. There were little pop-up shops available with souvenirs and little boutiques and cafes open to the ocean breeze.  We grabbed a couple of cold drinks for a total of $12 and continued on our way.

It was a lovely area and we even met a couple of furry new friends. If you want to see the puppies or our yummy drinks, check out my Instagram.

One of the things I’d been dreaming about was a warm, fresh, french baguette, and we hit the jackpot!  All that walking and exploring had worked up a little appetite.

Check out the GIANT baguette that we purchased from the lovely Sarafina’s for….$1.25!  We shared this yummy bundle of carbs for lunch and it was amazing.  If you find yourself in Marigot, you have to go to Sarafina’s.

Once I purchased my baguette we did inquire about continuing on to Grand Case Beach.  However, the taxi drivers said that it would still be a $20 fee to get there. So, with bread in hand, we decided to head back to Phillipsburg on the $2 bus and lounge at Great Bay Beach.

A short bus ride and $6 cash later, we were back in Phillipsburg ready to relax for the rest of the day on the beach!  We rented two lounge chairs and an umbrella for $20 and purchased a bucket combo of beer and rum punch for $10. It was like we were back in our 20’s again surviving on bread and booze. 😉

That’s when one of the best things about travel happened.  

We were seated next to a couple and naturally started chatting about cruising.  We had the best afternoon I think we have ever had at the beach in St. Maarten.  They were on a Carnival ship in port and had we not just happened to get placed by them in our rented loungers, we never would have met them.

After an afternoon in the sun, we shared the walk back to the pier together and I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so hard in my life.  The rum punch may have added to my giggles.  But, from the bottom of my heart, Carol and Brian from Washington, thank you for the laughs!  I cannot wait to connect with you again on a future cruise!

St. Maarten on a budget Recap

Transportation -$12
Drinks $22 (in hindsight, we didn’t really need the drink in Marigot but we were in vacation mode and the view of the harbor was pretty)
Beach loungers/umbrella $20
Food – $1.25

TOTAL:  $55.25 for a very full day of fun!

Have you been to the beautiful island of St. Maarten? Share your experience in the comments below or over on Facebook. You can check out our other cruise port days from the Southern Caribbean here.

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