I will be travelling to St. Maarten/St. Martin in May 2009 with 2 other couples. We have rented a villa in the Terres Basses area. We need to rent a car and I have noticed some reports on this forum regarding some of the rental companies. I have always rented from local companies instead of the chains on other visits, but do not remember the names. Can anyone suggest a reputable company? I also prefer to get the car from the airport for ease.

Also -- I am interested in hiring a chef to come in and prepare dinner a couple of nights. Can someone recommend a good chef?

We are staying in the area of Terres Basses close to La Samanna -- is all the construction at Cupecoy going to be heard from this area?

Thanks.

I can only help with the car rental question. I have rented from Kenny's and from Ace/Panoramic and had excellent experiences with both. A Google search should provide the website for both agencies.

I'm sure others will pop in soon with the answers to your other questions.

Enjoy your trip!!

All I can say is that you will see the construction as you drive toward your villa but I highly doubt you will hear anything once there since the construction is far enough away.

We also use Kenny's and the car is there at the airport when you arrive.

Regarding a personal Chef, here's a few:

Chef de France: [www.catering-saint-martin.com]

This one can arrange for a Chef: [www.joyceprince.com]

Fabulous Feasts: [www.fabulousfeasts.com]

St. Martin Catering: [www.stmartincatering.com]

[www.vrbo.com]

Life is not a child's game of follow the Leader. Instead, life is more about finding one's own purpose in life....your life's plan, and then making a positive difference on earth.

Kenny's Car Rental gets excellent reviews
Bruce@sintmaarten.net
(599) 545 3201 Cel: (599) 557 5276 Fax: (599) 545 5656 or (888)686-1689

Michael at Unity Car Rental comes highly recommended also
800) 836-4529.
[www.sxm-info.com]


st. louis car rental is another good one.
[www.st-louis-car-rental.com]

as far as a chef,
[www.fabulousfeasts.com]
[www.catering-saint-martin.com]

[barcann.livejournal.com]

Hey !

Everybody has a fave car rental company. We have been using PARADISE for 7 years.'

AMIN and his crew ( DARREN) at the airport) are reliable. After returning last week AMIN gave me a call letting me know an antique camera, given to me as a gift, was found under the front seat of the YARIS. One of his cleaning guys found it.

PARADISE have a new van and will pick you up at the airport. They are in SIMPSON BAY on the airport side of the bridge.

$180.00 a week high season, $120.00 low ( APPROX) for a CHARADE.

Denis

If your staying in a villa somewhere you almost need a car or two. The names you have been given are all good and probly better than the name companies like Hertz and Budget.
The only thing you need to rememb er is they all provide diffrent kinds of services. Some will meet you at the airport where you get your car and drive away and some will meet you at the airport and take you to there place where you get your car and drive away. these diffrences might make a diffrence to you or might not but make your rez so you get the service your looking for and you wont be sorry later.

Thank you so much! I am new to this forum so hopefully I am answering everyone! I will checkout all of the information in the posts above! I will let you know what I find out.

We are also planning to visit Anguilla one day. I have only been there once and loved it. Please give me your thoughts on this visit.

Also -- what are some good bars on St. Maarten -- I understand the Sunset Beach Bar has closed!

CJ, Anguilla would be a lovely trip to take. It's very peaceful there and their beaches are beautiful. The trip takes about 1/2 hour from the time you get on the ferry in Marigot to crossing over to Anguilla and going thru immigration. You will all need your passports. Then hire a cab to take you to any of the beaches there. Make sure you tell the cab driver to pick you up with enough time to get back to the ferry as they don't run all night long.

The Sunset Beach Bar closed but was replaced by the Sunset Bar and Grill at the same location. Across the beach is the Driftwood Bar (it looks like a big rowboat) which is where i would prefer to go. Better drinks at cheaper prices for the exact same view. Because we are not bar flys I cannot help you much further but there is also the Buccaneer Beach Bar at the Pelican complex that draws a crowd as well. You will find places at almost every beach that will serve drinks (although not as extensive). Of course with Orient, you have a plethera of places to drink along the waterfront.

You should also try taking a trip to Philipsburg and walk their fairly new "Boardwalk" along the water. It's lovely and you could spend a nice day window shopping or going to their casinos.

[www.vrbo.com]

Life is not a child's game of follow the Leader. Instead, life is more about finding one's own purpose in life....your life's plan, and then making a positive difference on earth.

when you go to Anguilla, be sure to go to Shoal Bay. it is the most beautiful beach.\

As far as bars, there are many on SXM. you will have no trouble finding a bar to hang out at.
BBB as mentioned already is great. So is Soggy Dollar..both in Simpson Bay on the Dutch side.

[barcann.livejournal.com]

We spent an afternoon at Cap Juluca's beach and had lunch at the beach restaurant. I've heard Christina who owned Sabastiano's is the mgr now. Fabulous beach & lunch. Take a taxi from the dock and tell him the time you would like to be picked up. good luck.

cj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thank you so much! I am new to this forum so
> hopefully I am answering everyone! I will
> checkout all of the information in the posts
> above! I will let you know what I find out.
>
> We are also planning to visit Anguilla one day. I
> have only been there once and loved it. Please
> give me your thoughts on this visit.
>
> Also -- what are some good bars on St. Maarten --
> I understand the Sunset Beach Bar has closed!

CJ,

Anguilla has become one of my most favorite places so I would have to say, yes, a daytrip is definitely worth the effort. We've done the cat trips over a number of times so our preference these days, if not actually over-nighting, is to take the Marigot ferry over and then a cab to Shoal Bay.

There are many great spots along the beach at Shoal Bay, Uncle Ernie's being but one , Elodia's another, and there's our favorite, Gwen's, for another, along with many other stops as well. I think they all rent chairs and umbrellas and if I remember correctly, they're a little less expensive than on St. Maarten/St. Martin. Remember, you will need your passports for this trip regardless of how you choose to get there.

There are any number of other places where you might enjoy spending a day, but the two previous places are just fun places to hang and chill and do some serious beaching and snorkelling and if you happen to go over on a Sunday, there's a pick-up reggae band at Gwen's that's a real hoot. There are many more up-scale places if that would be your preference, but as I said, we love AXA and Gwen's.

And if none of these appeal and you and your friends want to spend some serious money for lunch, you could always take the ferry over and catch a cab to Scilly Caye for a lobster lunch on their beach. Very pricey, very beautiful and very good and no credit cards accepted as far as I know, but beware, they are only open a couple of days and sadly, I don't recall which ones.

Regarding rental cars, we've also used Lesley Bruce of Kennys Car Rentals for about ten years now, every trip, and he's never let us down yet and we really appreciate the fact he puts us in our car and on our way directly from the airport without making other stops. I'm thinking all the local agencies are probably good but if it were me I'd avoid the name brands - they're just not the same on the island as they are Stateside.

Respectfully,

pat

We also have a master cook in our party who want to cook himself in the villa. Can anyone tell me where to shop for good seafood such as sea bass, tuna, etc.? I have never actually cooked while on vacation other than something small for breakfast -- so I do not know where to buy fresh seafood. Thanks.

I also need to tall everyone that I am celebrating my 25th wedding anniversary and planning to renew our vows while on this island with our friends. I need a "wedding" cake, champagne and strawberries for this celebration. Can anyone recommend a bakery that can prepare a small wedding cake? I am trying to surprise my husband so have to be discreet since he might be planning something as well!!!!

We also have a master cook in our party who want to cook himself in the villa

ahem....better he cook the food instead....

Regarding a bakery, you could try Le Sucriere in Cole Bay, just past Simpson Bay) but I'm not sure if they actually bake pastries there. Some places are just fronts for the actual bakeries that are not open to the public and deliver their goods in the early morning. If anything, they may also be able to direct you.

I believe in Simpson Bay there is an Open Air Market for fresh food but I think it's only open certain days of the week and for specific hours. It's on the left side of the road along Simpson Bay. But you can also shop at either of the Grand Marche supermarkets and probably find suitable meats and seafood there. At least the one in Cole Bay had very nice meats this past December.

[www.vrbo.com]

Life is not a child's game of follow the Leader. Instead, life is more about finding one's own purpose in life....your life's plan, and then making a positive difference on earth.

I just now received a mini trip report from a very nice person who told me this:

We got fresh fish off the fishermen in Marigot Wed. morning and for $24 I got enough mahi mahi for 4 meals.

He was talking about the Marigot market on Wednesdays so this is a good source for where you can buy your fresh fish! How coincidental!!!

Vicki

[www.vrbo.com]

Life is not a child's game of follow the Leader. Instead, life is more about finding one's own purpose in life....your life's plan, and then making a positive difference on earth.