St. Maarten Night Out Driver

A Driver for the Evening in St. Maarten

The difference between a taxi and a driver is that the driver is still there at eleven.

Why this exists

Two things happen on almost every trip here.

Someone in the group ends up as the designated driver for the week and quietly resents it. And at some point a group in a rental car finds themselves on an unlit road on the French side at midnight, going slowly, with nobody quite sure of the turn.

Both are solved the same way, and neither is expensive to solve.

What an evening looks like

We collect you at the villa or hotel. You get dropped at the door rather than parked four streets away — which in Grand Case matters more than anywhere, because the strip is narrow, the parking is limited and it fills early.

Then either we wait, or we go and come back. On a multi-stop evening we stay with you, because that is when it stops being transport and starts being the reason the night worked.

At the end we take you home. However late.

Where people go

Grand Case for dinner. The strip is the best eating on the island by some distance, and it is a proper walk of restaurants rather than one or two. Roughly 35 minutes from the Dutch side, longer if the bridge catches you.

Simpson Bay for a shorter evening — restaurants and bars close together, easy to combine, and close to most of the Dutch-side hotels.

The casinos, most of them in Maho and Philipsburg, which run late and are the natural second stop after dinner.

Maho for a late one, where the bars go on well past when everywhere else has stopped.

The specifics that catch people out

Grand Case parking is genuinely difficult from about seven, and the strip is one narrow road with people walking down the middle of it.

The Simpson Bay bridge opens in the evening as well as the day, and being on the wrong side of it with a reservation in twenty minutes is a bad way to start dinner.

Kitchens here stop earlier than visitors expect. If you want to eat at ten, we will tell you which places will still be serving rather than let you arrive to a closed one.

Priced by the evening

Per vehicle, not per person, with the waiting included. A group of six pays what a couple pays.

The metered alternative charges per person above two passengers and adds 25% after ten at night on the Dutch side — and 50% after midnight on the French side, which is exactly when you would be coming home from Grand Case. The full tariff is here.

Questions people actually ask

How late will you drive?

As late as the evening runs. Grand Case kitchens wind down around ten and the bars go later; Simpson Bay and the casinos go later still. Tell us roughly and we will plan for it rather than pretend it is a surprise.

Will the driver wait, or come back?

Either. For a single dinner most people have us wait. For a night with three stops it is usually better that we stay with you the whole evening — you stop watching the clock, which is the entire point.

Is it safe to drive at night in St. Maarten?

The main roads are fine. The secondary roads are another matter: many are unlit, some are narrow, and the route between Grand Case and the Dutch side at midnight is not one to learn while tired. That, more than anything, is why people book this.

What about drinking and driving?

It is exactly the problem this solves. On an island where dinner is half the reason people come, nominating someone to stay sober all week is a poor trade.

Everything under this

A Driver for Dinner Dropped at the restaurant door in Grand Case, Maho or Simpson Bay, and collected when you are ready. Nobody drives, nobody parks, nobody watches the clock.

A Girls' Night Out Dinner, drinks and a late return with the same driver all evening. Multiple stops, no parking, and nobody nominated to stay sober.

Bachelorette and Bachelor Transport A group vehicle and one driver for the whole night. Several venues, a late return, and nobody left behind in a car park at two in the morning.

Birthdays and Celebrations Dinner, a casino and a late return for a birthday or anniversary on St. Maarten. One driver for the whole evening and one price agreed in advance.