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Private St Maarten Island Sightseeing Tour
Badge of ExcellenceSt Maarten
- 5 hours
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
Explore our promoted experiences
Overview
See the sights of St Maarten on a private island tour that provides the flexibility to customize your itinerary to suit your interests. With a private guide, travel to locations such as Great Bay, Oyster Pond, Cole Bay Hill, Orient Beach and the market in Marigot. Enjoy panoramic views, photo ops of the coastline and one of the island’s top experiences—watching planes fly overhead at Sunset Beach. Pickup and drop-off is at the cruise port.
- Private St Maarten sightseeing tour
- Cover the island's top attractions on both the Dutch and French sides, if you wish
- Check out beaches and locations like Great Bay, Cole Bay Hill, Orient Beach and Marigot
- Visit Sunset Beach to see planes flying in very close range
- Enjoy the personal attention of a private guide who can tailor the itinerary to suit your preferences
What's Included
- Port pickup and drop-off
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- Private tour
- Transportation to/from attractions
- Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Start time
10:00 AM
What To Expect
Oyster Pond
Admission Ticket Free
Orient Bay
Admission Ticket Free
Great Bay Beach
Admission Ticket Free
Marigot Market
Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- At time of booking, Cruise ship passengers must provide the following information at time of booking: ship name, docking time, disembarkation time and re-boarding time
- Most travelers can participate
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
Operated by D AND A TAXI SERVICE AND TOURS
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
- Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
Traveler Photos
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Featured review
Keith_H
Mr. Domingo gave a historical tour of the island and it was very interesting. He let us make the tour what we needed to be: shopping, eating and playing at the beach! This private tour of St. Maarten is highly recommended!
Reviews
5.0
31 reviews
Linda_C, Feb 2024
Elaine was amazing. So nice to have a native tour guide, she was so knowledgeable about the island and very willing to answer so many questions.
Highly recommend her.
William_B, Oct 2023
Finding the parking lot for non Cruise line tours was difficult, then we find another family in the van we paid for. The driver was the wife of the person we had contracted, he had a flat tire. After that confusion we get driven 5 minutes away to be dropped off for 45 minutes in downtown? It improved after that, and ended at the beach by the airport, fun but overall pretty average day.
Marilyn_B, Apr 2023
Clyde was our driver, and he was very informative. He took us around the whole island and stopped when we asked and we hit all the spots we requested. He told us about the 2 sides and the different areas. It was very informative. Unfortunately, it was raining and a little chilly that day, so we chose to skip the shopping. We had a great time.
Response from Host, Apr 2023
Hello thank you for choosing us and hope to see you again.
Cindy_L, Apr 2023
Domingo was amazing! He gave us a great tour and history of the island. He catered to both the adults and the kids in our group. The van was very comfortable and air conditioned and he had water for all of us. Our favorite part of the day was going to the Aviary sanctuary. Traffic was not our friend that day and we missed going to Maho Beach, but we still saw and learned so much about the island. Even though our tour ended at 3, Domingo spent extra time and drove us to a nearby beach just so the kids can jump into the water. Highly recommend this tour!
Response from Host, Apr 2023
We appreciate you taking the time to leave a review; knowing that you had a nice time makes us delighted to create experiences that will stay with you for a lifetime.
Rosemary_D, Jan 2023
We were eager for our private tour with Domingo. I selected this tour based on the 25 five-star ratings and excellent comments Domingo received, and on his customization of the itinerary to meet the needs of our group of 11. The other ten people trusted me to make this decision because I have coordinated excellent private tours in the past.
I planned with him for more than a month for a tour that focused on "the history and culture of enslaved and indigenous people on the island" We designed an itinerary that included the National Heritage Museum, the Emilio Wilson Estate, the Creole Market, at least two stops at high elevation vistas, lunch at a lolo, and other points of interest as time permits such as to see iguanas. We were not interested in shopping, swimming, or in the beach with the plane flyovers.
Domingo wrote on 12/29, ".If all goes according to plan, I'll be your driver on January 16, 2023, and I'll be taking care of everything on your itinerary and making other stops as time permits." He reiterated by phone the day before the tour that we could expect to see him.
The morning of the tour shortly before disembarking, I received a message with contact information that Aline would be our guide. I messaged Domingo that this was not what was agreed to, that there were no reviews for Aline, that I had not been in communication with her about what we did and did not want to see and do, etc. He said that she knew what we did and did not want to see and do.
We think that Domingo knew when I made the reservation that he would be with a group that had made their payment before I made ours, but he did not tell me until the morning of the tour. I would not have booked the tour with a guide for whom there are no reviews on the Viator site.
Aline was not prepared to conduct this tour. She provided little commentary on the stops that we did make and did not address our main interests: the history and culture of enslaved and indigenous people on the island." For example, she told us nothing about the National Heritage Museum, did not accompany us into the free museum, and allocated too much time for a small venue. At a lovely vista, she did not explain the statue on the site or what we could see from the vantage point. She was not able to answer basic questions like the demographics of the island.
One stop was supposed to be the Emilio Wilson Estate. When we arrived, the museum was closed. Aline asked me if I had made reservations. I said, no, that is why I arranged a private tour. Domingo had written that he was taking care of everything on our itinerary. This was an important part of our planned tour where we expected to spend at least an hour.
After leaving the closed museum, Aline drove to the beach with the airplanes overhead – one of the stops I specifically said that we were not interested in. She was going to park the car and have us go into a bar or shop; no one in the van wanted to get out at this stop.
We did go to the requested restaurant. Aline did not join us. I am used to the guides at least sitting with us so that we can learn more.
We did not see the Creole Market; we did not stop at another scenic vista as planned.
During the drive, Aline stopped at two landfills, pointed out McDonald’s, Chinese restaurants, resorts, and various stores, but little of historical or cultural interest. Her driving did not allow us to take many photos from the moving vehicle. Given the many speed bumps on the island, we all thought her driving speed did not take the comfort of the passengers into account.
Given the above, I requested a refund. D AND A refunded $150 of the $550. I wrote that this was insufficient,
I received this reply, " They is no Situation you the problem. Just because Domingo was not you tour guide. He inform you via Email ( ROSEMARY IF EVERYTHING GOES ACCORDING TO PLAN, I MAY BE YOUR TOUR GUIDE ) None of the other Passengers had an issue with the Driver. The other Passengers told the Driver ( Aline ) dont worry with you. THE $150 REFUND STAND SO YOU CAN GO-HEAD AND WRITE YOU NEGATIVE REVIEWS WE A STRONG. WE WILL ALSO SHARE OUR SID OF THE REVIEWS .We also copy in VIATOR"
The quote from Domingo is wrong; he said I'll (I will) be your tour guide, not I may be your tour guide.
Nor is it true that none of the other passengers had an issue with Aline. Here are a few of their comments:
One friend wrote, "By the end of the day I was very uncomfortable in the back of the van, as they had removed the head rests and I couldn’t lean my head back when the bumping and abrupt stops got bad."
Another wrote, " their response is laughable regarding how much "we all" enjoyed the tour. I, was seated in the back row-side seat, so I beg to differ. Not only could I NOT see anything, it was uncomfortable."
Another wrote, "The part that struck me is their claim that we all enjoyed it. We may have appeared to enjoy it because we are all polite, nice people who didn't want to make YOU feel bad, or even to make the driver feel bad in the moment."
And another, "I was not happy, but like the others, did not want you to feel bad. And I really do not like their response . We did not see the things on the itinerary."
Like a waiter who gives poor service, we gave Aline small tips. Maybe, they interpreted tips as our being pleased.
GOOD NEWS: After reviewing the information, Viator refunded $350. The total is not $550 because A AND D asked me to pay for the 11th person in cash.
I think that if our guide had been Domingo, the tour would have gone differently although he had not made any arrangements at the Emilio Wilson Estate.
I have had many positive experiences arranging private tours with Viator and will continue to use this as a resource in the future.
Response from Host, Feb 2023
The island's history and culture were first explained to Rosemary, the lead traveler.
The driver took her to the National Heritage Museum, a panoramic view, an outdoor market in Marigot, and Rosemary Restaurant for lunch
Rosemary had to make reservations for the EMILIO WILSON ESTATE, which she did not do. She began to scream at the driver even though the ESTATE was closed that day.At the conclusion of the tour, all of the passengers ( 10 ) had enjoyed it, with the exception of Rosemary, who the other travelers urged the driver not to worry
The tour began at 10:00 and concluded at 3:00 the driver was not driving fast.
Rosemary was told by Domingo that he was booked with a other tour by phone thay was booked November 10,2022
Due to Rosemary's shouts,at the driver, Aline, did not join the group for lunch. We do not make Reservation for our customers what we will do is Itinerary the tour to their needs.
This is what ROSEMARY sent to us, via Emil: just to let everyone know Hello Domingo,
I propose the following to resolve this situation. You refund our group $275 and we write no reviews. If we don’t receive the refund, we each will write reviews describing all that went wrong in contrast to the current reviews of tours led by you, Domingo.
Emily_j, Dec 2022
Domingo was excellent ! Very knowledgeable and informative. Clean, cool vehicle . Plenty of variety of Refreshing drinks available . He took us all around St Maarten. He was very accommodating to us, we saw everything we wanted to see . We had a wonderful tour of St Maarten and will be coming back ! He Even took us by the iguana farm so my kids could feed the iguanas !!! Thank you Domingo .
Sandra_F, Oct 2022
Clyde met us on time, in a comfortable van for the 10 of us and we had picture perfect spots to stop
Response from Host, Oct 2022
Thank you Sandra and I will be very happy to see you back in St Maarten.
Eric_M, Jun 2022
We had a great time on this tour. Our driver, Domingo, was awesome. We had a five hour private tour with just our family. There was 10 of us total in the van. He met us there at the cruise port after we got off the ship. Domingo pretty much tailored the day to whatever we wanted to do. He drove us around the island, telling us a lot of interesting facts and history and answering all of our questions. We were able to tell him the most important things we wanted to do and he completely accommodated us and let us spend as much time as we needed to at each location. He also knew all of the flight times that planes would be landing at Maho Beach. Would totally recommend this tour. So worth it!
Response from Host, Jun 2022
Thank you, Eric for taking the time to write a view, it makes us happy to know that you had
a good time, that is exactly what we love to provide, experiences that will be with you for a lifetime
Barbara_D, Apr 2022
Domingo met us at the port and spent the better part of the day sharing his knowledge about the island and showing us the highlights of both the Dutch and French sides of the island. He is extremely knowledgeable and personable. It was a great day.
Response from Host, Apr 2022
Thank you Barbara for your review! We hope to see you again soon
Patty_F, Apr 2022
Excellent guide. Selected activities that our teens and young children thought were awesome - like feeding iguanas! Best ever.
Response from Host, Apr 2022
Thank you for taking the time to write a review, it makes us happy to know that you had a good time. We love to provide experiences that will be with you for a life time
From $560.00
per group (up to 10)
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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