Taxi

Does anyone have the latest taxi rates for the island?

I do not, sorry. But, if you go to this website www.taxistmaarten.com you can e-mail them for the latest rates. Can't guarantee they're going to answer, however. They used to print them directly on this site, but the last time I checked it kept stating "New Rates Coming Soon." One small tip I can give you is always ask the price before you get in. Rates are by zones and do not fluctuate throughout the day or night.

A taxi is much more expensive at night!

Definitely agree with the 'more expensive at night', and the rates to ME appear to be whatever the taxi driver charges and you agree to pay.

My tips for taxi drivers are
1) Make sure it's a real taxi, not a gypsy. Real taxis have TAXI on the license plate.
2) If you think you're going to use a taxi a lot, develop a relationship with a driver, like TTOL sponsor, Wilfred Brooks. His info is on the TTOL sponsors page
3) ALWAYS confirm the price before you get in the taxi.

Early morning airport runs are more expensive than daytime too.

Not to question the above comments because you guys probably know a lot more about this than I do, but I always carried a printed taxi rates chart by zone in the past. I think there was something like 16 or 20 zones that showed fixed rates based on where you were and where you were going. If you took a taxi from Philipsburg to Simpson Bay I would check out the chart and if it said $20, then the taxi we would call (or have called for us) would charge that amount. My experience was that these rates were remarkably consistent and only changed if you shared a taxi with another couple or a group of people. Did something change recently reading this? We always took the authorized taxi's from what I recall, and the drivers wore orange shirts. If the taxi rates have jumped I may just rent a car again.

Well, maybe there's your answer, they saw you looking it up. I don't take a taxi that often, but the times I have, the rates just seemed to be all over the place..