St. Martin -- car rental

My wife and I will be taking our first trip to St. Martin in two
weeks. We're booked at the Grand Case Beach Club for six nights, but
haven't arranged a car rental yet. I searched through the old posts
and found a wide range of horror stories. (Stolen cars, insurance
scams...really?)

For piece of mind, I'm leaning towards reserving ahead with a place
like Budget, Thrifty, or Avis. Any good or bad experiences with
these? Are the rental companies usually very close to the airport?

I still need to check with my US insurer and credit card, but if they
will cover us abroad, is it safe to waive the insurance as usual?

Are ATMs widely available? Should we bring traveler's cheques?

Any other suggested restaurants or sights are appreciated!

Thanks,
Mike

"Mike Gallan" schreef in bericht
om...
My wife and I will be taking our first trip to St. Martin in two
weeks. We're booked at the Grand Case Beach Club for six nights, but
haven't arranged a car rental yet. I searched through the old posts
and found a wide range of horror stories. (Stolen cars, insurance
scams...really?)

For piece of mind, I'm leaning towards reserving ahead with a place
like Budget, Thrifty, or Avis. Any good or bad experiences with
these? Are the rental companies usually very close to the airport?

I still need to check with my US insurer and credit card, but if they
will cover us abroad, is it safe to waive the insurance as usual?

Are ATMs widely available? Should we bring traveler's cheques?

Any other suggested restaurants or sights are appreciated!

Thanks,


Avis, Budget and Thrifty are all on Airport Road just a minute from the
airport, just like the other carrentals. Most companies have a desk on the
airport or a shuttle from the airport to their office.

You don't need traveler's cheques. There is a wide variety of ATM's on Dutch
and French side of the island.

Have fun on the friendly island.

--
RotterdamStudents
-------------------------------
Dulce est despirere loco
(Horatius, "Oden" 4,12,28)

I had what I'm sure is an insurance scam with Thrifty. There is no solution.
My credit card requires a bill to show how much the repair actually cost
Thrifty. Thrifty won't supply it. Catch 22. I suspect the "damage" was
never repaired.

I've used Hertz a number of times without problems. I thought their cars
were better than Avis.

The companies you mentioned have sign-up windows at the airport and vans to
their off-airport sites after you have signed up.

I can't remember using an ATM on SXM. Credit cards are accepted nearly
everywhere, and US cash is accepted everywhere on both sides of the island.
Locals use US cash.

"Mike Gallan" schreef in bericht
om...
My wife and I will be taking our first trip to St. Martin in two
weeks. We're booked at the Grand Case Beach Club for six nights, but
haven't arranged a car rental yet. I searched through the old posts
and found a wide range of horror stories. (Stolen cars, insurance
scams...really?)

For piece of mind, I'm leaning towards reserving ahead with a place
like Budget, Thrifty, or Avis. Any good or bad experiences with
these? Are the rental companies usually very close to the airport?

I still need to check with my US insurer and credit card, but if they
will cover us abroad, is it safe to waive the insurance as usual?

Your auto insurance almost certainly doesn't cover you outside the US and
Canada. Read above for my problem with credit card coverage. OTOH, I
__did__ take CDW coverage on Guadeloupe and an outside rear-view mirror was
stolen. The bill was smaller than the deductible so the CDW didn't pay
anything. Since the Opel Corsa (back then) exterior rear-view mirrors could
be removed and replaced without tools or damage, I figured someone was
making a living by stealing them and selling them back to the rental car
companies.

R J Carpenter wrote:

I can't remember using an ATM on SXM. Credit cards are accepted nearly
everywhere, and US cash is accepted everywhere on both sides of the island.
Locals use US cash.

There is a cash machine in the Sint Maarten airport (Juliana?) anyway,
as I recall. On the dutch side we used an el-cheapo rental place
(Carnigie) which I thought was going to be a credit card rip-off,
but which turned out just fine at $32 a day. Wasn't a car to write
home about, but how much do you really need on an island that size.
The benefit of having a banger is that no one gave a damn whether
it was scratched or not...

Trip Report
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm...bjectech.co.uk

--
Ken Tough

In St. Maarten, we rented a car from Safari Rentals, it was a Suzuki,
$40.00 per day. If you rented it for one week it should cost less.

Becca

GGC http://www.ggc2004.com/
Norwegian Dawn http://www.cruisemaster.com/dawn.htm
Sleazy3 http://www.cruisemaster.com/sleazy3.htm
MOAGC http://www.motherofallgroupcruises.com/

"Mike Gallan" wrote in message
om...
My wife and I will be taking our first trip to St. Martin in two
weeks. We're booked at the Grand Case Beach Club for six nights,
but
haven't arranged a car rental yet. I searched through the old posts
and found a wide range of horror stories. (Stolen cars, insurance
scams...really?)

For piece of mind, I'm leaning towards reserving ahead with a place
like Budget, Thrifty, or Avis. Any good or bad experiences with
these? Are the rental companies usually very close to the airport?

I still need to check with my US insurer and credit card, but if
they
will cover us abroad, is it safe to waive the insurance as usual?


If the cost of the rental is an issue, you may well get a better deal
by -not-reserving ahead of time since the rates--even with
majors--"fluctuate" and the reserved rates are sometimes considerably
higher.

All of the major rental companies are in a row at the airport and they
are well aware that you can simply walk "next door" if you rent on the
spot without a prior reservation. This advantage is lost when you
reserve ahead, even though I can certainly understand that, as
travelers, we're conditioned to make reservations. In addition, any
price differential may not matter to you.

On my last trip to St. Martin, I did not make a reservation and simply
discussed my needs once there without any problem. I used National
and had a very smooth experience. If the vehicle is at all "beat up"
(as some are), take some pictures (digital preferably) before leaving
the rental depot, which is a short distance from the airport.
Depending on how much driving you plan to do, I'd at least consider a
rag top Suzuki "jeep" (I forget what they're called, but they'rer
pretty available) , which might cost a bit more but which we found to
be a lot of fun with the top down on the island.

To my knowledge, only Israel, Ireland and Jamaica are excluded by
credit card companies for rental coverage, but always best to check.
Good luck!

"Mike Gallan" wrote in message
om...
My wife and I will be taking our first trip to St. Martin in two
weeks. We're booked at the Grand Case Beach Club for six nights,
but
haven't arranged a car rental yet. I searched through the old posts
and found a wide range of horror stories. (Stolen cars, insurance
scams...really?)


Any other suggested restaurants or sights are appreciated!


Almost forgot--you'll be walking distance from "downtown" Grand Case,
which has numerous VG storefront restaurants, but do not miss eating
at a "lolo" or outdoor shack. These are on the beach side of the main
street (?) in Grand Case. Not fancy (you'll know one when you see
it), but one of the best food bargains in St. Martin. Two
words--lobster tails.

(Mike Gallan) wrote in message

My wife and I will be taking our first trip to St. Martin in two
weeks. We're booked at the Grand Case Beach Club for six nights, but
haven't arranged a car rental yet. I searched through the old posts
and found a wide range of horror stories. (Stolen cars, insurance
scams...really?)

For piece of mind, I'm leaning towards reserving ahead with a place
like Budget, Thrifty, or Avis. Any good or bad experiences with
these? Are the rental companies usually very close to the airport?

I still need to check with my US insurer and credit card, but if they
will cover us abroad, is it safe to waive the insurance as usual?

US insurance is almost always void outside the USA/Canada. So are
credit card deals with insurance. But always check.

St. Martin doesn't allow true airport based car rentals. Most
companies have a little booth in the parking lot, or it you have
pre-reserved, a guy that stands in the parking lot with a card with
your name on it. Either way they give you a ride over to their
office, which will be less than a mile away. All of the major brands
are represented, and there are lots of locals as well.

IMHO, any car bigger than a Toyota Corolla is too big. You will find
companies that rent really big cars however. Most cars will be
Corolla sized, or smaller, including models that are not sold in the
US due to their size. These are fine. Brand mix is very eclectic,
with US companies, Japanese and expecially Korean, plus Euro brands,
especially French.

On 29 Nov 2003 19:05:26 -0800, (Mike Gallan)
wrote:


Try Hibiscus in Long Ground.

Baie Nettle, Sandy Ground
97150
(580) 87 74 53

My wife and I will be taking our first trip to St. Martin in two
weeks. We're booked at the Grand Case Beach Club for six nights, but
haven't arranged a car rental yet. I searched through the old posts
and found a wide range of horror stories. (Stolen cars, insurance
scams...really?)'

Feh. Five trips to SXM, no problems with rental cars here. Just don't
leave stuff that might be tempting in the car. Either put it in the
trunk or carry it.

For piece of mind, I'm leaning towards reserving ahead with a place
like Budget, Thrifty, or Avis. Any good or bad experiences with
these? Are the rental companies usually very close to the airport?

Right outside the door now.

I still need to check with my US insurer and credit card, but if they
will cover us abroad, is it safe to waive the insurance as usual?

If you have cc insurance, waive the coverage. You most likely will not
have an accident unless you like to get blind drunk in Orient Beach.

Any other suggested restaurants or sights are appreciated!

Turtle Pier, anytime. Great B-L-D, plus lobster night. Dare you to
drive up Pic Mornais (it's your butt!) and the French side fort (you
can halfway drive up there, but you get a great view after you walk
the rest of the way).

"SP Cook" wrote in message
om...

US insurance is almost always void outside the USA/Canada. So are
credit card deals with insurance. But always check.

Reputable credit cards, at least at the Gold level, have coverage most
places.

St. Martin doesn't allow true airport based car rentals. Most
companies have a little booth in the parking lot, or it you have
pre-reserved, a guy that stands in the parking lot with a card with
your name on it.

Been a while since you were there, hasn't it? There is now a courtyad at
the exit of baggage claim where the main rental companies have booths. They
don't let the local car-rental touts into that area to harras you. Just
outside that area there are islands/slips for each of the majors. Their van
takes you to their car lots which are no farther than a half-mile down the
road that parallels the runway.

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/200087/S/ small
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/200087/M/ larger

The rental-car depots are in the clump of buildings to the right of the
runway.

Aircraft normally aproach from the far end of the runway, as in the
following picture

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/131683/S/ small
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/131683/M/ larger

http://www.airliners.net/open.file/453422/S/
http://www.airliners.net/open.file/453422/M/

IMHO, any car bigger than a Toyota Corolla is too big.

Very true.