St Maarten Shore Excursion: Orient Beach, Marigot and Maho Beach

This review is not about the destinations themselves, which are fantastic, but about the incredibly unreliable tour operator for this particular excursion. My experience, and from reading other reviews, it's clear this is a pattern: the booking instructed us to contact the operator regarding the start time. Despite multiple attempts, we received absolutely no response. This left us stranded at the cruise port with no tour. Thankfully, we were able to salvage our day by renting a car directly at the pier. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Renting a car was surprisingly easy, and navigating the roads (even the slightly rougher Dutch side) was straightforward. We were able to visit Maho Beach, Trou de David, Marigot, and Orient Beach at our own pace, staying as long as we liked at each location. The cost of the rental was roughly equivalent to the tour price, but offered significantly more flexibility and control. Also, I have requested a refund from Viator for this completely unfulfilled service. Despite assurances from Viator that this would be resolved two days ago, I have yet to receive any update or refund. This lack of communication and resolution only compounds the negative experience with this tour operator.

Never showed up! Did not respond to messages through the Viator system and phone number wasn’t working. Other tour guides knew who our driver was supposed to be and said they hadn’t seen him lately. Viator should find someone else for these tours or not offer them!

Jose was a friendly guide. It can be a little nerve racking to get in a stranger’s personal vehicle and exploring unfamiliar territory, but Jose made us feel at home. The downside to our experience is that it was VERY difficult to find him, which made us think we were scammed. After asking SEVERAL people, being re-directed multiple times and waiting in the heat, we eventually found him. We did not get any of the beverages that were supposed to come with our tour, and we were expected to pay for his lunch, without any appreciation from Jose. Additionally, the information and stories that Jose told us during our tour were not all true, as we did some research afterwards. All in all, I would not recommend spending the amount of money that we did for this experience.