TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Parking at karacters

Hello all....we always do one day at Karacters beach,,,and this year we will be driving a van...I know that the parking is tricky at best. Any suggestions for alternate parking? Or maybe time of day to arrive? I am thinking its going to be tight trying to get a van parked in there. Has there been any changes? Any or all suggestions are more than welcome.

Parking is the same, and there's no other "close" parking. Go early!

How many people are you going to have? I guess a bunch, since you have a van? I might suggest you just get a cab for the trip over and back, as we always have a tiny car and often have problems getting in there and getting a parking spot, unless we get there by about 9 am, as Elaine said.

that's going to be an issue several places with a van, finding a place to park. That's why I generally recommend for people to rent two small cars, versus a van. Generally cheaper for two small cars, or about the same price, and gives you more flexibility.

hi Bill and Elaine, when you say early do you mean like 10am? lol...we are not usually too fast moving in the morning, but if earlier is better we can do it if it means a day at that beautiful spot!! We are a group of 8 this time,,,another 3 newbies we are bringing to our favourite place in the world!! Dont want them to miss this spot. I would rather not rent a van, but in this case, we have too. We only usually have one driver - ME,,,so just looking ahead. January 26 cannot come fast enough,,,it's cold up here in Canada!!!!

Not sure what time they fill up these days, but as Carol mentioned she goes at 9 with a small car.

Thanks Carol....but we got a reall good price for the van, and as I said,,,I am the only one that wants to drive. I priced out two cars and it would have been quite a bit more as we would need 2 fair sized cars. I know that it is going to be an issue parking, we are going to have to be creative. We are staying right above the Greenhouse in Simpson bay in a villa apartment, so for most times, we can walk to what we want to. The idea of taking a cab to karacter is a great idea for one day,,,but...we will need two cabs as well still better than the hassel of parking.Seems that everytime we come back from SXM,,,,more of our friends want to make the trip with us. Oh well, there is fun in numbers as well. Thanks for your insight.

OK, sounds like a lot of work for you, to have to do all the driving. Regarding getting a cab, there are many cabs that are vans, that should have enough room for all your peeps, as they seat about 12 people. How many do you have? You might check with TTOL sponsor Wilfred Brooks. Pre Irma, he had a van which seated about 12. I believe the van was damaged, not sure, but you could check with him.

If you get to karacter buy 9am you will have no problem parking.

That road is crazy to get into on busy beach days and now that The Boon Beach Bar and Restaurant is as popular as karacters it’s even worse. Marys Boon has security to help park its hotel and day guests. A van could be tricky. Even in a car I would park way down the road and walk a block or two.

During the day we always park on one of the side streets that end at Simpson Bay and walk along the beach....usually do not go in the evening