From the Ship
Cruise Port to Grand Case
Grand Case is an evening place. On a port day you get the lunch, which is still better than anywhere else you could eat.
The honest framing
Grand Case is where you eat dinner on this island. The strip is a single narrow road along the bay with restaurants end to end — proper French cooking at one part, open-air barbecue lolos at the other, and the sun setting over the water while you eat.
On a port day you do not get that. You get lunch, which is still the best lunch available to you, and a quiet, pretty village where a great deal is closed until evening.
We would rather tell you that than sell you a version of Grand Case that only exists after six.
Getting there
Thirty-five minutes from the terminal. Across to the French side, through or past Marigot, and up the west coast.
There is no border formality — no post, no checkpoint, no stamp. A sign at the roadside and then you are in France, with euros on the menus and a different tariff on the taxis.
The day that works
Marigot first, in the morning, for the waterfront market and the harbour. Then up to Grand Case, 20 minutes, for a long lunch. Back to the ship after.
On a nine-hour call that is comfortable with hours to spare. It is the best two-stop day available from this port and it shows you the French side properly rather than in passing.
See cruise port to Marigot for the market days.
Lunch
The strip splits roughly into two. The restaurants along the bay do serious French cooking with tables on the water. The lolos at one end are open-air grills — ribs, chicken, fish, cooked over charcoal at the roadside, cheap and very good.
Either is a better lunch than anything within walking distance of the terminal. The lolos are the more interesting choice if you want the thing you cannot get at home.
Some restaurants close between lunch and dinner and a few do not open for lunch at all. On a port day it is worth us checking rather than you walking the strip and finding out.
The beach
There is one, in front of the village, and it is calm and pleasant. It is not why you would come — it is small and it is not the point of the place. If the beach is what you want, Mullet Bay is closer and better.
Back on board
Guaranteed, planned backwards from your all-aboard with margin. Thirty-five minutes each way leaves plenty of room on any normal call.
What it costs
The official tariff from the cruise port to Grand Case is €35 for one or two passengers, then €14 per person for three to five and €12 each above. Priced in euros because it is a French-side journey.
For a family of five that is €70 each way — €140 return, without a driver waiting through lunch. See the full rates.
Questions people actually ask
How far is Grand Case from the cruise port?
About 35 minutes, across to the French side and up the west coast. Marigot is on the way, which is what makes the two of them a good pairing for one day.
Is Grand Case worth it during the day?
For the lunch, yes — it is the best eating on the island and that does not change at midday. But it is genuinely an evening place, and a port day only shows you half of it.
What are the lolos?
Open-air barbecue stands at one end of the strip, grilling ribs, chicken and fish. Cheap, excellent, and considerably more interesting than most of what you will find near the terminal.
Can I combine it with Marigot?
Yes, and it is the best two-stop day from the port. Marigot in the morning for the market, Grand Case for a long lunch, back with time to spare on a normal call.
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Checked and updated 4 September 2026.