Saint Martin Transportation

There is bus service from: 1. Marigot to Bay rouge, 2. Marigot to Cole bay KFC (maho-Philisburg bus/dutch side), 3. Marigot through A// Quarter D'orleans (pass 1 mile to Lotterie Farm and continues to B// Grand Case then 1 mile away to C//Orient Beach

Buses cost $1.00 or $1.50 U.S. If you travel a short or medium distance pay $1.00 or $1.50 to reach the end destination. You can flag the buses down, but if you are walking along the road they will honk behind you to see if you need a ride. Sometimes the taxis will carry a group of people at a discount rate, sometimes not.

The drivers are multilingual and will understand you and where you want to get to. Sometimes they will mention where your stop is if they know you are not sure where you are going, sometimes they don't. It is very easy to take the buses. Say "good morning/good afternoon/good evening" to the other passengers when you board. Pay when you leave. If you need change then ask the driver to make change while you are waiting for your destination. They may or may not make change for you. Probably he will.

If you are going all over the island in one trip then you may need a few different buses so it will be $1.50 three times.

Oh, and by the way the buses are white minivans.

Taxis are $30 for two people - one way, to any major town on the island that is about 30 minutes away. Buses are less expensive when arranged by your hotel or resort. Car rental is extremely expensive (we paid $80 for one day, after the rental person said we had to pay an extra $15 cash for gas when we probably only used one or two gallons at the most!)

The taxi's are very expensive, but they are everywhere. To go from one side of the island to another i.e airport to Grand case will cost you $26.00 US To go a short distance i.e. 5 minutes or about 1 mile will cost you $10.00. To go a few miles it will cost $15, not double the cost for double the distance. The fare is based on zones. You don't need to know them. I found the drivers to be honest. Each one had comparible rates. Once a driver, who knew we were going to take the bus, offered to take us for half the cost, but usually they don't barter cause it is not allowed. Do ask the cost BEFORE you get in the vehicle or you will be overcharged at the end.

Air-Transat n'a rien fait pour attirer la clientèle. Retard de 1.5 heures parce que l'eau était gelée. On part finalement pas d'eau autre que des bouteilles. Pour se faire pardonner des toilettes qui ne flushait pas, ils passent les écouteurs gratuits, pour ensuite s'appercevoir que le système audio/vidéo était en panne. Good!

Durant le vol, des lumières allumaient et éteignaient sans contrôle (genre court-circuit). Escale dans un couloir de l'aéroport de Puerto-Rico, le temps de faire le ménage de l'avion. Dans ce couloir, 1 seule toilette pour l'ensemble des passagers de l'avion, une machine à liqueur en monnaies américaines. Maudite gang d'innocent!!!

On arrive finalement à St-Martin partie hollandaise avec 2.5 heures de retard et la mauvaise humeur.

Renting a car is the best way to get around the island. There are just as many local car rental companies as there are American/International car rental companies.
There will be occasional hitchhikers on the road and they are perfectly safe to pick up during the daytime as this is part of the communal ritual on the island. Avoid doing this at night time.

If you rent a car, the island is easy to navigate--can easily see both the Dutch and French sides in a week. I rented from the L'Esperance agency--they were very fairly priced, car was fine.