Why choose Philipsburg private tours?
Philipsburg private tours are useful when a party arriving together wants to connect the cruise port or hotel with an agreed day around the island. The town's Great Bay waterfront and Front Street offer a different focus from Maho near the airport and Orient Bay on the French side. Choosing privately lets the party settle on a route rather than trying to combine separate transport arrangements for those interests.
The practical choice is between a five-hour customised drive from the port, a five-hour private sightseeing outing with port or hotel pickup, and a four-hour customisable outing priced per person. Start with how many people are travelling together and where everyone will meet. Then decide whether the priority is town, island sightseeing or suggested beach stops. A focused route leaves room for the journeys between places.
Private island trips
Compare the group-priced tours by their maximum group sizes and pickup arrangements. The other private route lets you agree on preferred stops.
Hand-picked tours, booked through GetYourGuide. Prices are indicative starting prices in US dollars (as of November 2026). Tap a tour for live availability and the current price in your currency.
Private tour with local guide
- Air-conditioned coach
- Local guide
- Headsets and beverage
Private tour for up to ten people, priced per group. Port and hotel pickup and drop-off are listed.
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Private customizable island tour
- Customized itinerary
- Driver and guide
- Drinks included
A private tour for up to eight people, with a price per group.
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Private island route by arrangement
- Fresh drink
- Wifi and towels
- Pick-up and drop-off
Maho and Orient Bay are suggested stops: agree your preferred route when booking.
Check availability →Private routes from the port or hotel
Compare the EDC port start, the port-or-hotel sightseeing option and the shorter customisable outing. Group amounts and per-person pricing use different bases.
St. Maarten private tours compared
Five-hour customised drive from the cruise port
The customised day tour starts at the EDC parking area at Philipsburg's cruise port. It lasts five hours and is priced for a group of up to eight. A customised itinerary, driver-guide and drinks are included, with bottled water, soft drinks, beer, rum punch and guavaberry liqueur among the drinks listed. Gratuity is extra.
This suits a party coming ashore together and wanting to agree the island route as one group. Think about whether your shared interest is the town setting around Great Bay and Front Street or a drive towards other coastal locations. The itinerary is customised by agreement, so describe the day around the places the party most wants to spend time rather than making every possible stop equally important.
Five-hour private sightseeing with hotel or port pickup
The private island sightseeing outing also lasts five hours, with a group amount covering up to ten people. Pickup and drop-off at the port or hotel in Philipsburg are included. Transport is by air-conditioned coach, with a local guide, a beverage and headsets for hearing the guide clearly.
Choose this format when the pickup arrangement or capacity of up to ten makes it a better match for your party. The combination of private transport and a local guide suits a group that wants to travel together and hear the commentary during the sightseeing day. An arrival from a hotel and an arrival from a ship can therefore be considered against the same product's pickup choices.
Four-hour customisable outing priced per person
The four-hour option has private pickup and return by arrangement, with the exact address agreed for the outing. Its route visits Philipsburg; Maho and Orient Bay are suggested stops to include in the agreed plan. A fresh drink, Wi-Fi and towels are included. The price is per person.
This is useful when a shorter drive and those suggested coastal stops match your interests. Philipsburg supplies the town setting, Maho the airport beach context and Orient Bay a destination on the French side. Pinel works as a separate day visit. For a fuller comparison of these coastal places, use the beach guide while deciding which stop deserves your time.
Group amounts and per-person examples
Price reference: November 2026. The customised five-hour port drive is 439 USD per group of up to eight; the five-hour private sightseeing outing is 600 USD per group of up to ten. The four-hour customisable outing is 189 USD per person. These figures make different promises about the basis of payment, so compare the amount for your party alongside the pickup and included services.
| Option | Published basis | Illustrative calculation |
|---|---|---|
| Customised port drive, 5 hours | 439 USD per group, up to 8 | 5 people sharing: 87.80 USD each |
| Private sightseeing, 5 hours | 600 USD per group, up to 10 | 5 people sharing: 120 USD each |
| Customisable outing, 4 hours | 189 USD per person | Per-person tariff |
| Shared French and Dutch sides drive, 4.5 hours | 53 USD per person | Separate shared excursion |
The five-person figures are arithmetic examples of dividing the group amounts, not separate bookable individual fares. At those example party sizes, the shared French and Dutch sides outing costs less per person. It includes transport, a guide and one drink, starts at the cruise port and leaves meals extra. See the excursion comparison for that shared format.
For a solo traveller or couple comfortable joining an established programme, the shared option is a sensible alternative to paying a private group amount. For a party travelling together, the private decision also concerns the agreed route and collection arrangements. Headsets, the departure address and a shorter duration may matter more to your group than dividing the price alone.
Plan the route around Philipsburg
Keep the cruise return deadline central to a port day and allow a traffic buffer around Point Blanche and Philipsburg. Private transport still uses the island's roads. The shore excursion guide helps connect your route to time ashore, while the arrival guide deals with airport and port journeys.
Orient Bay lies on the French side, where entry requirements have a separate legal basis from Sint Maarten. Plan documents around nationality, passport and residence status. At Maho, avoid exposure to jetblast and dangerous approaches to aircraft or the fence; do not hold onto the fence. Choose the coastal stop for observation rather than seeking the blast area. These decisions help keep the route centred on the places and activities your party actually wants.
Questions about private outings
What does 439 USD cover?
It is the group amount for the five-hour customised port drive for up to eight people, including a driver-guide and drinks. With five sharing, the illustrative division is 87.80 USD each.
Which option takes up to ten people?
The five-hour private sightseeing outing has a 600 USD group amount for up to ten, port or hotel pickup, air-conditioned coach transport, a local guide, a beverage and headsets.
How is the four-hour outing charged?
It is 189 USD per person, with pickup and return by arrangement, a drink, Wi-Fi and towels. Philipsburg is on the route, with Maho and Orient Bay as suggested stops.
When is a shared excursion more suitable?
The four-and-a-half-hour shared French and Dutch sides drive at 53 USD per person suits travellers happy to join an established programme. It is a lower per-person amount than the five-person private examples.