St. Martin -- car rental
Mike Gallan
weeks. We're booked at the Grand Case Beach Club for six nights, but
haven't arranged a car rental yet. I searched through the old posts
and found a wide range of horror stories. (Stolen cars, insurance
scams...really?)
For piece of mind, I'm leaning towards reserving ahead with a place
like Budget, Thrifty, or Avis. Any good or bad experiences with
these? Are the rental companies usually very close to the airport?
I still need to check with my US insurer and credit card, but if they
will cover us abroad, is it safe to waive the insurance as usual?
Are ATMs widely available? Should we bring traveler's cheques?
Any other suggested restaurants or sights are appreciated!
Thanks,
Mike
RotterdamStudents
news:df89620b.03112...@posting.google.com...
Avis, Budget and Thrifty are all on Airport Road just a minute from the
airport, just like the other carrentals. Most companies have a desk on the
airport or a shuttle from the airport to their office.
You don't need traveler's cheques. There is a wide variety of ATM's on Dutch
and French side of the island.
Have fun on the friendly island.
--
RotterdamStudents
-------------------------------
Dulce est despirere loco
(Horatius, "Oden" 4,12,28)
R J Carpenter
My credit card requires a bill to show how much the repair actually cost
Thrifty. Thrifty won't supply it. Catch 22. I suspect the "damage" was
never repaired.
I've used Hertz a number of times without problems. I thought their cars
were better than Avis.
The companies you mentioned have sign-up windows at the airport and vans to
their off-airport sites after you have signed up.
I can't remember using an ATM on SXM. Credit cards are accepted nearly
everywhere, and US cash is accepted everywhere on both sides of the island.
Locals use US cash.
> "Mike Gallan" <mga...@hotmail.com> schreef in bericht
> news:df89620b.03112...@posting.google.com...
> > My wife and I will be taking our first trip to St. Martin in two
> > weeks. We're booked at the Grand Case Beach Club for six nights, but
> > haven't arranged a car rental yet. I searched through the old posts
> > and found a wide range of horror stories. (Stolen cars, insurance
> > scams...really?)
> >
> > For piece of mind, I'm leaning towards reserving ahead with a place
> > like Budget, Thrifty, or Avis. Any good or bad experiences with
> > these? Are the rental companies usually very close to the airport?
> >
> > I still need to check with my US insurer and credit card, but if they
> > will cover us abroad, is it safe to waive the insurance as usual?
Your auto insurance almost certainly doesn't cover you outside the US and
Canada. Read above for my problem with credit card coverage. OTOH, I
__did__ take CDW coverage on Guadeloupe and an outside rear-view mirror was
stolen. The bill was smaller than the deductible so the CDW didn't pay
anything. Since the Opel Corsa (back then) exterior rear-view mirrors could
be removed and replaced without tools or damage, I figured someone was
making a living by stealing them and selling them back to the rental car
companies.
Ken Tough
>I can't remember using an ATM on SXM. Credit cards are accepted nearly
>everywhere, and US cash is accepted everywhere on both sides of the island.
>Locals use US cash.
There is a cash machine in the Sint Maarten airport (Juliana?) anyway,
as I recall. On the dutch side we used an el-cheapo rental place
(Carnigie) which I thought was going to be a credit card rip-off,
but which turned out just fine at $32 a day. Wasn't a car to write
home about, but how much do you really need on an island that size.
The benefit of having a banger is that no one gave a damn whether
it was scratched or not...
Trip Report
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=2zvOgYDKWJi5EwYi%40objectech.co.uk
--
Ken Tough
Becca
$40.00 per day. If you rented it for one week it should cost less.
Becca
GGC http://www.ggc2004.com/
Norwegian Dawn http://www.cruisemaster.com/dawn.htm
Sleazy3 http://www.cruisemaster.com/sleazy3.htm
MOAGC http://www.motherofallgroupcruises.com/
Lenny
"Mike Gallan" <mga...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:df89620b.03112...@posting.google.com...
> My wife and I will be taking our first trip to St. Martin in two
> weeks. We're booked at the Grand Case Beach Club for six nights,
but
> haven't arranged a car rental yet. I searched through the old posts
> and found a wide range of horror stories. (Stolen cars, insurance
> scams...really?)
>
> For piece of mind, I'm leaning towards reserving ahead with a place
> like Budget, Thrifty, or Avis. Any good or bad experiences with
> these? Are the rental companies usually very close to the airport?
>
> I still need to check with my US insurer and credit card, but if
they
> will cover us abroad, is it safe to waive the insurance as usual?
>
If the cost of the rental is an issue, you may well get a better deal
by -not-reserving ahead of time since the rates--even with
majors--"fluctuate" and the reserved rates are sometimes considerably
higher.
All of the major rental companies are in a row at the airport and they
are well aware that you can simply walk "next door" if you rent on the
spot without a prior reservation. This advantage is lost when you
reserve ahead, even though I can certainly understand that, as
travelers, we're conditioned to make reservations. In addition, any
price differential may not matter to you.
On my last trip to St. Martin, I did not make a reservation and simply
discussed my needs once there without any problem. I used National
and had a very smooth experience. If the vehicle is at all "beat up"
(as some are), take some pictures (digital preferably) before leaving
the rental depot, which is a short distance from the airport.
Depending on how much driving you plan to do, I'd at least consider a
rag top Suzuki "jeep" (I forget what they're called, but they'rer
pretty available) , which might cost a bit more but which we found to
be a lot of fun with the top down on the island.
To my knowledge, only Israel, Ireland and Jamaica are excluded by
credit card companies for rental coverage, but always best to check.
Good luck!
Lenny
> weeks. We're booked at the Grand Case Beach Club for six nights,
but
> haven't arranged a car rental yet. I searched through the old posts
> and found a wide range of horror stories. (Stolen cars, insurance
> scams...really?)
>
> >
>
Almost forgot--you'll be walking distance from "downtown" Grand Case,
which has numerous VG storefront restaurants, but do not miss eating
at a "lolo" or outdoor shack. These are on the beach side of the main
street (?) in Grand Case. Not fancy (you'll know one when you see
it), but one of the best food bargains in St. Martin. Two
words--lobster tails.
SP Cook
> My wife and I will be taking our first trip to St. Martin in two
> weeks. We're booked at the Grand Case Beach Club for six nights, but
> haven't arranged a car rental yet. I searched through the old posts
> and found a wide range of horror stories. (Stolen cars, insurance
> scams...really?)
>
> For piece of mind, I'm leaning towards reserving ahead with a place
> like Budget, Thrifty, or Avis. Any good or bad experiences with
> these? Are the rental companies usually very close to the airport?
>
> I still need to check with my US insurer and credit card, but if they
> will cover us abroad, is it safe to waive the insurance as usual?
>
US insurance is almost always void outside the USA/Canada. So are
credit card deals with insurance. But always check.
St. Martin doesn't allow true airport based car rentals. Most
companies have a little booth in the parking lot, or it you have
pre-reserved, a guy that stands in the parking lot with a card with
your name on it. Either way they give you a ride over to their
office, which will be less than a mile away. All of the major brands
are represented, and there are lots of locals as well.
IMHO, any car bigger than a Toyota Corolla is too big. You will find
companies that rent really big cars however. Most cars will be
Corolla sized, or smaller, including models that are not sold in the
US due to their size. These are fine. Brand mix is very eclectic,
with US companies, Japanese and expecially Korean, plus Euro brands,
especially French.
cy...@cycle.net
wrote:
Try Hibiscus in Long Ground.
Baie Nettle, Sandy Ground
97150
(580) 87 74 53
>My wife and I will be taking our first trip to St. Martin in two
>weeks. We're booked at the Grand Case Beach Club for six nights, but
>haven't arranged a car rental yet. I searched through the old posts
>and found a wide range of horror stories. (Stolen cars, insurance
>scams...really?)'
Feh. Five trips to SXM, no problems with rental cars here. Just don't
leave stuff that might be tempting in the car. Either put it in the
trunk or carry it.
>For piece of mind, I'm leaning towards reserving ahead with a place
>like Budget, Thrifty, or Avis. Any good or bad experiences with
>these? Are the rental companies usually very close to the airport?
Right outside the door now.
>I still need to check with my US insurer and credit card, but if they
>will cover us abroad, is it safe to waive the insurance as usual?
If you have cc insurance, waive the coverage. You most likely will not
have an accident unless you like to get blind drunk in Orient Beach.
>Any other suggested restaurants or sights are appreciated!
Turtle Pier, anytime. Great B-L-D, plus lobster night. Dare you to
drive up Pic Mornais (it's your butt!) and the French side fort (you
can halfway drive up there, but you get a great view after you walk
the rest of the way).
R J Carpenter
"SP Cook" <pac...@msn.com> wrote in message
news:da11e11e.03113...@posting.google.com...
> US insurance is almost always void outside the USA/Canada. So are
> credit card deals with insurance. But always check.
Reputable credit cards, at least at the Gold level, have coverage most
places.
> St. Martin doesn't allow true airport based car rentals. Most
> companies have a little booth in the parking lot, or it you have
> pre-reserved, a guy that stands in the parking lot with a card with
> your name on it.
Been a while since you were there, hasn't it? There is now a courtyad at
the exit of baggage claim where the main rental companies have booths. They
don't let the local car-rental touts into that area to harras you. Just
outside that area there are islands/slips for each of the majors. Their van
takes you to their car lots which are no farther than a half-mile down the
road that parallels the runway.
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/200087/S/ small
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/200087/M/ larger
The rental-car depots are in the clump of buildings to the right of the
runway.
Aircraft normally aproach from the far end of the runway, as in the
following picture
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/131683/S/ small
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/131683/M/ larger
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/453422/S/
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/453422/M/
> IMHO, any car bigger than a Toyota Corolla is too big.
Very true.
TURDON
about thrifty. Check out the web site traveltalkonline. The have a St Martin
forum and links to sponsored rental agencies. We used Unity about 2 weeks ago
and were very satisfied.
David Faircloth
mga...@hotmail.com (Mike Gallan) wrote:
There have been several bad postings about Thrifty Car Rental on
TravelTalkOnLine. Kenny's car rental is very popular with the TravelTalk
folks, and my wife and I have also used Best Deal with no problems.
You'll definitely find information about Kenny's on TravelTalk, and Best
Deal may also have a link there. However, if you just want to wait until
you land on the island, never fear, becuse there will be plenty of folks
eager to have you rent from them as soon as you step outside of the
baggage claim area.
The insurance thing obviously varies from credit card to credit card.
ATMs are available, but not necessarily abundant. You'll find ATMS in the
bigger areas...Marigot, Philipsburg. I can't recall an ATM in Grand Case,
but one may have been installed in the past year.
Most of the restaurants in Grand Case will be a very good dining
experience. L'Alabama, L'Auberge Gourmand, and Le Cottage are some of our
favorites, but the town is filled with good food. Il Nettuno is
so-so...very basic and not very imaginative, but they have a strolling
singer named Matteo who is good for a laugh.
Roger Clough
>In article <df89620b.03112...@posting.google.com>,
>mga...@hotmail.com (Mike Gallan) wrote:
>
>>
>> For piece of mind, I'm leaning towards reserving ahead with a place
>> like Budget, Thrifty, or Avis. Any good or bad experiences with
>> these? Are the rental companies usually very close to the airport?
I have used Kenny's car rental for 2 years and have been happy with them. I waive
the collison insurance, but take out the liability ($6 per day). I believe my credit card
covers the collision, but not the liability.
Just Me
Avis at the Great Bay Marina. Is that close enough to the dock?
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"Mike Gallan" <mga...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:df89620b.03112...@posting.google.com...
RotterdamStudents
"Just Me" <2000{NOSPAM}c...@verizon.net> schreef in bericht
news:WCozb.20136$n4....@nwrddc01.gnilink.net...
> I am going to St. Martin on the Disney cruise. I have reserved a car with
> Avis at the Great Bay Marina. Is that close enough to the dock?
They pick you up at the end of the boarding place of the cruiseship. Or else
it is a 3 minute walk.
Becca
>
> I am going to St. Martin on the Disney cruise. I have reserved a car with
> Avis at the Great Bay Marina. Is that close enough to the dock?
They built a new dock in St. Maarten and several car rental agencies
are present. I am assuming Disney goes to the new dock. You may want
to ask in rec.travel.cruises. Someone there would know. I do not
have small children so I do not cruise on Disney.
Enjoy your cruise.
Becca
RotterdamStudents
> are present. I am assuming Disney goes to the new dock. You may want
> to ask in rec.travel.cruises. Someone there would know. I do not
> have small children so I do not cruise on Disney.
Disney goes to the new dock. All the present cruiseships go to the new dock,
because it's the only dock left able to dock the ships.
Look around and tell me your thougths about the dock, because we built it.
Earl Evleth
df89620b.03112...@posting.google.com, "Mike Gallan"
<mga...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> My wife and I will be taking our first trip to St. Martin in two
> weeks. We're booked at the Grand Case Beach Club for six nights, but
> haven't arranged a car rental yet. I searched through the old posts
> and found a wide range of horror stories. (Stolen cars, insurance
> scams...really?)
We have never had a problem. Rented Hertz but the other majors will
do. Don`t use an unknown local.
>
> For piece of mind, I'm leaning towards reserving ahead with a place
> like Budget, Thrifty, or Avis. Any good or bad experiences with
> these? Are the rental companies usually very close to the airport?
Yes, the airport is on a thin strip with the major road running along side.
The airport will have agencies and will take you to the pickup. Right
after you exit the baggage pickup.
We never had had a problem with Hertz. I arranged for the rentals
by internet.
> I still need to check with my US insurer and credit card, but if they
> will cover us abroad, is it safe to waive the insurance as usual?
I used either a Mastercard, or Visa, the latter is French based. Both
have full insurance coverage. Last May the rentals were cheap.
The region has periodic daily rain storms, so keep the windows closed when
parking. One can "flood" the interior and the car agency will charge
you for drying out the car. It will rain for 10 minutes, a lot! Then
the sun will come out.
> Are ATMs widely available? Should we bring traveler's cheques?
You are on the French side. We have stayed in Grand Case several times,
I don`t remember seeing a money machine there. We usually drove down to
Marigot for that. Every French post office has a money machine but
there is only one in Marigot. But any bank should have one.
Since I am a news freak we drove to Marigot (about 15 miles) daily
for the French papers.
Of course the airport has an ATM. Generally we use a credit card
but came with cash (a thousand or so). Since they also take euros on the
French side we don`t have to convert. But generally the dollar is the
standard money there on both sides. Everybody speaks English.
> Any other suggested restaurants or sights are appreciated!
In my opinion the best restaurants are on the French side. Grand Case
has a number of them along the only street. Perhaps 6-7 fairly good
ones by French standards (we live in France, Americans but naturalized
French). The Cottage was pretty good, Tastevin was good but I felt
a bit stuffy with the restaurant team. The Fishpot looks interesting,
never ate there, however. We were there in May.
The Cottage was pretty good with regard to the reception. Friendly staff.
Caribbean lobster (rock lobster, called langouste in French) is standardly
served, the French generally will do a better job with the sauces
etc (not a dumb old pot of melted butter!). This is fish country
and the French generally do a good job with fish.
The thing in selecting a good French place is looking at the menu
and seeing if it "speaks to you".
The Dutch side is a bit Americanized, Pizza huts, that kind of
thing.
At one end of the street in Grand Case there is a native restaurant serving
spare ribs, barbacue chicken, beans, cole slaw. It is pretty good and
a change from French cuisine, we used to eat a light lunch there. There is
another one by the "native market" in Marigot. Beer and ribs.
In Marigot, the best places are down on the wharf (Port La Royal)
see map of town;
http://www.caribbean-on-line.com/sm/mgmap.shtml
There are some good Americanized places on the Dutch side. The island
is a mixed bag, lots of poor Blacks living in run down lodgings. So
security is a problem but we have never had a problem.
We usually spend 5-6 days there on our way from Paris to the British
Virgins, where we rent a sail boat for a week every two yeas.
The BVI does not have good food, in my opinion, and most places
in the Caribbean don`t.
St Martin is not a big island, and one gets in traffic jams in Marigot and
going to Philipsberg from the airport side. In Terresbasses one has nice
homes and beaches. I have one photo
http://homepage.mac.com/evleth/PhotoAlbum7.html
of the beach in Terresbasses, pristine, nobody around.
There are boat trips one can take to nearby islands (St. Barthélemy, Saba
and Anguilla). There are a couple of booths selling tickets on the ocean
side of Marigot, where the market is. The fancier resort settlements are
around Anse Marcel, Oyster Pond.
Philipsburg has tones of tourist shops, jewelery since the cruise liners
stop there and dump their masses. I don`t remember the restaurants there
being outstanding.
Otherwise, there is not that much to see. A mildly interesting butterfly
farm but otherwise the ocean is it.
There is a lot of web info.
http://www.caribbean-direct.com/St-Martin-Direct/Tours%20Sights/SMFToursSigh
tsM.html
Earl
>
Bill
airport. Budget
was the cheapest I could find and they treated me very good.
I would definitely book through them again. We were there in July. They
also
gave me their card when we left for the next trip to get the same discount
rates. I believe the entire 8 days cost us only about $125 and my
MasterCard
covers the insurance, just DON'T accept the damage waiver. Make sure to
decline
or your card will not pay. Check on your credit card's website if you are
concerned.
Orient Beach is by far the best on the island, for more reasons than one.
You can park
at Club Orient as they have security there all day, so you don't have to
worry about stuff
getting ripped off.
Have fun....definitely eat at restaurants in Grand Case at night. They're
great. Le Fish Pot, Le Tastevin, Rainbow.
Bill
"Mike Gallan" <mga...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:df89620b.03112...@posting.google.com...
ParrotRob
news:bqegu4$kgu$1...@bob.news.rcn.net...
Off topic, but this, of course, is the most incredible thing about that
airport:
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/385938/M/
Earl Evleth
"ParrotRob" <parr...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Off topic, but this, of course, is the most incredible thing about that
> airport:
> http://www.airliners.net/open.file/385938/M/
I don`t know if it comes quite that low over the beach but pretty close to
it. The airport does have and ify character to it but is better than
most of the small place airports in the islands. The one at Union
Island (the Grenadines)one comes in over a large hill and sweeps down to
land. It has to be quick or you'l end up in the drink.
The drink is just avoided on St Martin!
Earl
Allodoxaphobia
The `action` is much the same as the KLM flights
come in over Wind Sock Beach on Bonaire.
Jonesy
--
| Marvin L Jones | jonz | W3DHJ | OS/2
| Gunnison, Colorado | @ | Jonesy | linux __
| 7,703' -- 2,345m | config.com | DM68mn SK
ParrotRob
"Earl Evleth" <evl...@wanadoo.fr> wrote in message
news:BC04ECCA.1FAFF%evl...@wanadoo.fr...
> On 9/12/03 22:36, in article
YfrBb.11518$NN.14...@news1.news.adelphia.net,
> "ParrotRob" <parr...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> >
> > Off topic, but this, of course, is the most incredible thing about that
> > airport:
> > http://www.airliners.net/open.file/385938/M/
>
> I don`t know if it comes quite that low over the beach but pretty close to
> it.
It certainly does come that low over the beach, and I've seen photos of them
coming in even lower - landing gear barely clearing the fence on the airport
side of the road. I can assure you firsthand that photos like this are not
retouched.
Fortunately, I've always come in on puddle jumpers from Tortola that need
significantly less runway than Air France's and KLM's 747's do ;-)
Earl Evleth
"ParrotRob" <parr...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Fortunately, I've always come in on puddle jumpers from Tortola that need
> significantly less runway than Air France's and KLM's 747's do ;-)
Tortola has a "large" airport, then take American Eagle large prop-jets.
We took one flight years ago between St Martin to Tortola in a single
engine plane which only seated about 6, I sat right behind the pilot
and there was no pilot`s cabin. I remember the "speedometer" hovering
a crusing speed at around 110-120.
Earl