Good morning,

Our family of 5 adults will be staying for a week in February. My husband and I have been to the island for one day (via cruise ship...we rented a car and drove to Orient beach...it was soon after Irma so there were no beach bars). The other 3 (two of which are in their 20's) have never been to SXM so this basically is our first time staying on the island. I have two questions...

1. I have looked at the cruise ship schedule. Sunday - no ships in port, Monday - two ships in port. The other days are busy!!! My daughter wants to do Maho, but I have read that Orient beach is also fun on Sundays. Should we do Maho on Sunday (avoid the crowds) or is Orient beach that much more fun on a Sunday afternoon that we should just do Maho on Monday? We are not looking for a drunk-fest, but I am trying to consider the two 20-year-olds with us....
2. Jeep Rental - we currently have a Jeep wrangler rented for the week. We have rented Jeeps in St. John, USVI however, someone told my husband we should not rent one in SXM because we will stand out as "tourists" which will make ourselves targets for theft. They suggested we just rent a regular vehicle to draw less attention. I have honestly never "overthought" a vehicle rental before but for some reason, I feel compelled to post this question on this forum since you all have more island knowledge than us. We do not leave anything in a rental car, and I have read about areas (ie Sandy Ground) to avoid. We will be driving during the day to beaches and then to dinners on the St Maarten side. No nightclubs or anything like that.....

Thank you,