I came a cross a taxi fare chart by zones across the island. Does it matter where you originate (French vs Dutch) or is it all teh same based on zone to zone? We were charged such different rates that seemed to make no sense. For example the chart I saw stated a taxi from Orient to the airport is $30 plus $5 extra per person. Does anyone know if this is accurate? We were charged way more than that and we each only had one bag.

Sounds right, here is the link

http://taxistmaarten.com/wp-content/uploads/Rate_Sheet.pdf

Island is set up in zones, Orient to Airport is zone 11 to zone 1, $30 for 2, $5 per extra person, charge for extra luggage
Rates change at night, so if you paid more durirng the day than $30 and you made no stops with one bag each, then you probably paid too much, but if you did this at night and or made stops, then it would have been more

J&B

Be aware that the link shows rates from late 2010; to my knowledge, there isn't a listing of rates that is current. I suspect prices have gone up a bit since 2010!

But to answer your question, it seems it shouldn't matter where you originate, but I can't say with any certainty whether or not that's true.

We always negotiate the fare BEFORE we get into the taxi. Add 10 or 20% to those rates.