TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Maho vs Orient Beach and Jeep Rental

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,

Yes, I would go to Maho on Sunday. There will be a TON of planes coming in on Sunday, so that's always fun to watch. You can go to Orient any day. Cruise ship crowds really don't affect it there much.

How much are you paying for the jeep, versus a larger SUV, or something like that? There is certainly no reason to rent a jeep because of not being able to navigate roads. And most of them don't have windows, etc. so you won't be able to use a/c to any extent. I seriously like my a/c on island. And if you get caught in a rainstorm, you will probably get wet. Get a regular car. The criminals will know you're a tourist regardless, but make yourself more comfortable, with a larger, regular car.

Whatever you rent it will stand out as a tourist. Even the ones with French plates.

Just remember one thing. Usually, Sunday's especially at Orient is less touristy, and more local people frequenting the beaches and bars.

Correct as long as there isn't a ship in port.