TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Grand Case Beach Club -Things to do without a car

Hello,
We are booked for an anniversary trip to St Martin in May and staying at Grand Case Beach Club. Any reviews of this place. We can still cancel before end of February.

We don't currently have a car will be be able to do anything without one.

We have only been to St Martin on a cruise years ago that had an excuraion that took us to Shopping market Beach, nude French Beach and airplane Beach.

Thanks.

Liliana

You will need to cab from the airport, no big deal. Getting a cab to go around the island is best set up ahead of time. We tried to stay in GC with no car 5 years ago and got stranded at Orient one day. We were able to rent a car on the French side and it was a good experience. They dropped off a car and took us to the airport after drop off. We have also rented in Orient and rented a car for a day or two to explore. If you have no ambition to explore the island I can see a stay at the GCBC with days by the pool and beach and dinners in GC. Check to see if they still do the catamaran trip out of the resort, fun.

Liliana--Cars are CHEAP in SXM and you drive on the US side of the road. Rent a car.

As far as GCBC, it's really a lovely place to stay, close to the heart of Grand Case, with a great restaurant on site. But if you want to be able to truly experience the whole island, rent a car..

As Carol_Hill said rent a car. Easy to drive on island and hard to get lost.

Thanks, any recommendations on car companies. Do we need an international drivers license? Are taxis expensive? Do they have Uber?

Liliana

Rent a car......everyone has a few of their favorite rental agencies and there are some on the sponsor page here....or do a search on this forum for car rentals. No special license needed. No clue about taxi costs or Uber 'cuz we always have a car

Liliana, we have used Kenny's which is a sponsor, and would recommend him. You may have to check with a few companies though, as in the US , there is a shortage of cars on the island.

As has been said, everyone has their favorite car rental company; look at the sponsors here, and send an email asking about rates, as their posted rates aren't always accurate. There are taxis, but no Uber. From GCBC, which I highly recommend, you can walk to any of the restaurants in Grand Case for dinner, and there are several nice beach restaurants further down the boulevard, which is walkable if you're so inclined, although a little farther. I recommend Le Temps de Cerices, and Captain Frenchy. The beach at GCBC is also lovely, as is the restaurant there. Hotel guests get priority on beach chairs, and there are also chairs on the grassy areas in front of the hotel rooms.

No international driver's license required. Taxis are expensive, compared to renting a car. No uber on island. Everyone has their favorite with regard to car rental companies. Just be aware that different companies include different things in their pricing. Don't get caught up with a company that says the price is "X" per week, and then they add this for taxes, insurance, other charges, etc. Ask for a quote, all in, with taxes and insurance, everything, and then compare those prices.

Liliana,

You will love your stay at GCBC, or at least, we did. We had been on island for two weeks when we moved to GCBC to conclude our island stay for that trip. We had our rental car for the entire trip but by the time we got to Grand Case we had pretty much been everywhere and done everything we wanted to do on the island for this trip and basically, all we wanted to do was ‘chill’ before we headed back home to the chill of CT in early December. Basically, we used our car as a taxi to the resort and then to the airport on our day of departure.

Whether or not you will want or need a rental car depends on the kind of trip you are taking and the type of island visitors you are. We checked out of our original accommodations and into the GCBC where we parked our car where it remained until we left days later to head home. If this is your first visit, and I’m guessing it may be, you are probably better off renting the car for your stay as opposed to taxiing everywhere.

We probably should have turned the car in at the point we went to GC but I was too hooked on the idea we might ‘need’ it. We really didn’t. Once parked upon arrival we didn’t go near it again until we were ready to head home. But……. This wasn’t a first trip and we had experienced the highlights of the island many times over in previous trips.

The property is, IMO, about as close as you can get to being a really nice all inclusive without actually being AI. Their rooms are very comfortable and the beach there is equally nice - calm waters as a rule and plenty of lounge chairs plus the added pleasure of beach service for drinks, etc. The staff members are helpful and the resort amenities, including the activities booth are very good. The pool is enjoyable and the restaurant, under new hands since we were last there, is supposed to be excellent as well.

This is truly a place where you can easily take advantage of Grand Case and it’s high lights or be perfectly content to just chill on site without feeling the need or desire to go anywhere.

I have been using Hertz SXM for over 20 years and have never had a problem. They include the Liability insurance in their quote which most others add on after the quote is given on pick up. As others have stated, people have their go to rental companies and this is mine. Look at the total price including all taxes and fees to make your decision. Be sure and check to see if your credit car will cover collision as most have dropped that coverage.

You don't need an international drivers license and I usually rent from Econocars in Grand Case. It is a longer walk than to the Grans Case airport from the GCBC, where there are several car rental booths.

Thank you. Just booked a car through Hertz as I didnt recognize any of the other "off brands" so to speak.

Will our phones navigation and Waze apps get us where we want to go on the island?

I think that was a wise decision, to rent a car. As far as nav aps, I have no idea. We started going to SXM before there ever was such a thing. But you can pick up a small book in the airport arrivals area (for free) that has a small paper map in it. Or you can probably get one from Hertz.

Hertz will provide you with a GPS free. Just ask for it at pick up.

OK, there you go!

I'll bet once you arrive and see GCBC and use their FREE water sports you only find time to walk the Blvd and eat in a fine restaurant. Last time there our rental car never moved out of the parking space.

Ditto to everything in Pat's posting above.

There used to be a car rental through the main office. Not sure if it's still there. If you want a day or two to explore rent for a couple of days.

Thanks
Liliana

I just read some very bad reports here regarding Hertz. You may want to check into it.