What To Expect

What‘s Included

Reviews

• Book private tour not this tour

  robertjA2810QJ,Apr 1, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  1.00

  Very crowded bus. We left tour on first stop

• This tour was a great way...

  Michele F,Mar 31, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  This tour was a great way to see the island. Our guide was very friendly and knowledgeable. He allowed us to adjust our time at the various locations passed off of our interest level.

• Horrifying experience

  Jim M,Mar 30, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  1.00

  This tour with Presidential tours was awful. Tour was supposed to be 5-6 hours, which meant it would gave been done by 3:00 at the latest. My on-board time for cruise ship was 4:30, so I wasn't worried. Driver even confirmed that he would have us back at dick by 4:00 (a little tight but still enough time). The tour itself was good. There were 12 passengers from my ship and about 6 others from hotels. After our last stop the driver stopped at the airport and left us while he went inside and got a pizza (10 minutes). He then asked if anyone wanted to stop at a rum shop for 10 minutes (this was actually supposed to ve our last stop) it was about 3:45 at this point. The hotel guests said yes to the stop and we said we need to get back to the ship. At this point we were in a traffic jam and had no idea how dar the ship was. He stopped at the rum place and we said we can't stop here we need to get back. He said some folks wanted to go there so that's why he stopped. The driver said we didnt need to be back until 5:00 and we said no the ship leaves at 5:00, we need to be on board by 4:30.The hotel guests agreed to skip the rum stop so we would have a chance. After he dropped off the hotel guests we sat in traffic. We finally arrived at the drop off point at 4:22 and had to walk/run through the entire market to get to the ship by 4:28. I do not know if the rest of the ship mates made it as some were older and could not walk fast. The tour stops were fine but I will not book outside the ship Excursions again

• Worst Tour Experience!!

  993tonyam,Mar 30, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  2.00

  As a travel agent, I will not be recommending or booking this excursion for any of my clients in the future. I’ve traveled extensively around the world and taken many Viator tours and excursions, but this was by far the worst one I’ve ever experienced. I rarely leave negative reviews, but I feel strongly that other travelers — especially cruise passengers — deserve to know what to expect. I took this tour on Friday, March 27, 2026, and I would never book it again, particularly for any cruise clients. When booking independent excursions outside the cruise line, you’re already taking a risk of not making it back to the ship on time. The ship will sail without you if you’re late, and you have to get yourself to the next port or home on your own dime. Our driver (whose name I unfortunately cannot recall) did not seem particularly concerned about the cruise schedule, even though the majority of passengers on the bus were crew or guests from the Virgin Voyages Valiant Lady. While I understand the tour company cannot control traffic, they can and should control the itinerary and timing of stops to ensure cruise passengers return safely and on time. The day started smoothly enough. The first stop at the Amsterdam cheese factory was enjoyable. The second stop was a quick photo opportunity (name forgotten), which was fine. However, the third stop was completely nonsensical — we pulled over at a t-shirt stand where iguanas were being coaxed out of the mangroves for photos. I do not remember this stop being listed in the itinerary and felt like a waste of valuable time. The fourth stop was Orient Beach. By the time we arrived, only two sets of umbrellas and chairs were available at the recommended restaurant. Two ladies returned to the bus just 4–5 minutes late, and the driver’s reaction was unnecessarily harsh and belittling. While I understand the need to stay on schedule, his attitude was unprofessional and created a tense atmosphere. The fifth stop was in Marigot, where the driver recommended conch fritters and then proceeded to sit at my friend’s and my table, flirt with her, and ask for her phone number. This behavior made us both extremely uncomfortable and was highly unprofessional. Things went from bad to worse at the sixth stop, Maho Beach. After waiting about 10 minutes for the driver, he pulled over at the airport drop-off area, said “I’ll be right back,” and left the entire bus sitting in the heat with inadequate air conditioning for 10–15 minutes. He returned with a personal pizza. This was incredibly frustrating — especially after he had harshly criticized the two ladies for being five minutes late earlier, and knowing we were already running significantly behind schedule in heavy traffic. By the way, another cruiser who was on the same tour also mentioned the bizarre pizza stop in her Viator review. The company responded by claiming it must have been the wrong tour operator, stating that “none of my drivers would stop the tour just to get pizza.” I can assure you it was absolutely St. Maarten Presidential Tours. I was on the same bus. I’m still shocked by the incident, especially given how harshly the driver had criticized other passengers for being just a few minutes late earlier in the day. Despite the mounting delays and growing concern from the cruise passengers, the driver still insisted on stopping at the distillery. The group became very vocal about our worries, and thankfully, the resort guests on board convinced him to skip it. Rather than simply moving on, he turned around and lectured the entire bus about the importance of being on time (ummmm, pizza stop). We finally dropped off the resort guests and raced back to the port. We boarded the ship just as the “all aboard” horn sounded. What was advertised as a 5–6 hour tour turned into a mostly stressful and awkward 7.5-hour ordeal that was far too close for comfort. Also, the bus was not very clean. Recommendation: I strongly suggest that this tour operator either separate cruise passengers from resort guests or adjust the itinerary and timing to properly accommodate the strict schedules of cruise ships. Mixing the two groups creates unnecessary stress and risk for those who must return to the ship on time.

• Disappointing Tour

  David Y,Mar 30, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  1.00

  We weren’t able to go on the tour despite arriving at the meeting location on time. Although we registered and paid for the tour through Vitor, the local tour operator (Presidential Tours) never called our names and the tour left without us. The tour operator said it was our responsibility to register with them upon arriving at the gathering place with over 100 people and several other tour operators leaving from the same place. There was no signage at the facility and the email instructions we received were vague. We asked several local operators at the facility and they told us to sit and wait until our names were called. Although we didn’t get to go in our tour, Viator and its local tour operator refuse to refund our money. Very disappointing experience and we didn’t get to see Saint Martin.

• Presidential Tours

  210garryr,Mar 28, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Nel was our driver. He picked us up at our hotel and toured us on a loop around the island (all day drive). He was very friendly, and knowledgeable. He provided us with some of the island history and a number of short stops on boh sides of the island. Great tour if you want to see the whole island in a day. We used this as a way to get oriented to the island before we "self-explored." Thanks, Nel

• From the Blue Jay fans

  346christles,Mar 28, 2026

  - Review from Tripadvisor

  5.00

  Excellent time! Nel was wonderful and had lots of recommendations. He explained lots about the history of the island and great food!

  

  

• Not worth it

  Tamara R,Mar 27, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  1.00

  We were rushed through everything. Don’t understand how we had three different pick ups for people on our tour. We barely have enough time to do anything. We could’ve done without feeding iguanas on the side of the road that was not a part of the trip. Also didn’t appreciate our driver stopping at the airport for 10 to 15 minutes to pick up Domino’s Pizza. We also waited a long time for pick up at Maho Beach. Traffic was horrible he knew it would be any Access if we wanted to still go to the distillery which wasn’t even a real distillery. It feels like they were trying to get money out of us like shopping all day. My purpose of the trip was to get some rum exclusive to the island and Maho beach. I’m so angry. I dreamed this for so long and had to be rushed and barely made it back to the ship. I was in tears angry. The least he could’ve done has played music for us when we were stressed out, trying to get to our boat on time. I definitely would not book this tour again. He was also rude and had the nerve to tell her. Let’s have a discussion instead of putting a bad review. I’m going to tell the truth. I use Viator for many years and I’ve never had a bad experience. This is my first time ever leaving a bad view and first time ever having a bad experience. I wish I could show the photo of him getting pizza from Domino’s at the airport while we’re waiting on the bus not knowing what’s going on for 15 minutes barely offered us anything to drink so we need to go up upon ourselves while he was at the airport to get our drinks.

• Poor time management

  Christy R,Mar 27, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  1.00

  It was not a 5 hour tour. We started on time and that part was organized and great. But we told the guide we had to be back to the ship by 4:30. This was the case for nearly everyone. At 3:30 when there was stop and go traffic and we were still 30 minutes from the port, he stopped to do the rum sample. He argued with us about needing to head back to the ship, saying we signed up for a rum sample and the people from a hotel wanted to try rum. The hotel people then had to give permission to skip this part of the tour. He stopped for personal reasons of some sort at the airport which also made us late. The whole experience was bizarre. There was rum punch, one bottle for the entire bus. Lots of water and beer available. The stops were otherwise as described.

• Jamal's got it all!

  William H,Mar 25, 2026

  - Review from Viator

  5.00

  Our tour guide Jamal has got it all! He was very knowledgeable, informative and patient. I loved the beach time and we saw a lot of things along the way. A great ftour or cruise ship passengers. Definitely would recommend!

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