TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Pre booking taxi from airport?

Hi all. Love reading this forum.
I want to book Wilfred Brooks to pick us up from airport in Jan. Do you think it is too far out to book now. I don't want to take a chance he won't be available due to high season.
Also for restaurant reservations in Jan in Grand Case- what do you think would be amount of time to be assured of getting our preference on a Fri night?

I would think any taxi from the airport would work fine to get to your resort. Private transport on another day after that could use Wilfred more appropriately...just a thought...never a lack of taxis at the airport

There is a taxi stand right outside the doors to the Airport. Always plent of taxi's available. If you have specific things you want to do and know what days you would need Mr. Brooks ahead of time, book that. Usually a few days to a week ahead in Jan is plenty of time to book a Grand Case Restaurant in Jan. We rarely make reservations and it's rare not to get a table.

Ok, thanks for the quick response.

It depends on what you're wanting done. Are you going to want Wilfred to be available to take you around various other times, to restaurants, etc., and basically be your means of transportation? Or are you wanting just transfers from the airport? If you want him to be available fairly constantly, I would make contact maybe a month or so out. If you just need airport transport back and forth, you can wait until much closer. As others have said if you just need airport transport, there are always cabs there, if you can't hook up with him.

As far as restaurant reservations, about a week ahead should be much more than plenty of time. Generally we NEVER make reservations, unless it is for a group of more than 4 people, but we go off season most of the time.

at $18 a day for car rental, tough to justify taxis. This was July, probably higher in season

We are just there for 2 nights pre cruise, so we will just plan to relax on the beach and check out Grand Case, enjoying the wonderful restaurants, and other eateries. I just think it would be more relaxing to get transported to our hotel, rather than worry about traffic, directions, and parking when we get there. We would also like to book for a ride to the cruise terminal Mon. Morning with possibly a few stops along the way for sightseeing.

Agree, just get there and chill. LOVE is like having cocktails at a friends back porch. Great guys and atmosphere, Enjoy.

Is a van for four plus luggage reasonably easy to get at the airport without a reservation?

Yes, very easy.

The arrival trip does not have to be pre-booked, but you may want to pre-book the ride to the cruise terminal on Monday. I wouldn't worry about booking that though until much closer to the time.

We pre book Wilfred early Oct for late Jan arrival / mid Feb return. We like the luxury of a cab ride with Wilfred on arrival day and get the car delivered later [a car won't be needed for your two days]
When I pre book I let Wilfred know if we will be stopping so he has an idea of how much time we will be taking. I also let him know we will need him to take us back to the airport and make those final arrangements when he picks us up on arrival day

We also touch base by email about 3 wks out just to confirm. Wilfred has a car and a van, so let know how many people and luggage and he will drive what is needed

Wilfred knows us now, but the 1st time I think I told him what col tee shirt I would wear - he had a sign with our name.

Enjoy
J&B