I lead nature and adventure tours for a living and this was one of the best I have EVER been on. Ilja and Dave are a phenomenal combination as guides: they are personable, knowledgeable, friendly, easy-going, and make you feel like you are a friend. They seamlessly blended both nature and culture in a narrative style that was more conversational than lecture. I most certainly want to go back and go on another tour with them!More
The woman ,Ilja Botha,in charge of this group is wonderful. She will arrange anything you want to do or anyplace you want to go for you. She is a knowledgable bird watcher and nature person, as well as having written a book about snorkeling places, she knows everything about the Island and is charming and personally helpful.
Hi Cynthia! Thank you so much for taking the time to write a review! We really appreciate it. I'm glad I could be of service to the two of you. Have a nice day, Ilja
Our birding tour of St Maarten with Seagrape Tours was a great experience. In 4 hours Ilja took us to numerous birding locations where we spotted more than thirty species, including a pair of mating Mangrove Cuckoos. At least a dozen were new "life list" birds for us. She is well informed about the island and its flora and fauna and was able to make best use of our limited time on the island. Her Dutch Spice Cake and iced drinks for a snack break were delicious and appreciated. I would certainly repeat a tour with Seagrape Tours if we are ever able to return to St Maarten.
Hi Sandi and Forrest! Thank you for taking the time to write a review, we really appreciate it. We had a wonderful morning of birding indeed, great we saw the two Mangrove Cuckoos and the Wilson's Snipe! And all the other birds of course. Thanks again and hope you get to see many more birds around the world. Ilja
We wanted to get a feel for the island and we were not disappointed. Ilja and David are wonderful hosts and allowed us to build an itinerary that met the needs of our extended family. Their guidance and knowledge was appreciated, making our day tip with them the highlight of our vacation.
Hi Nicole! Thank you so much for taking the time to write a review, we really appreciate it. We were happy to show you and your family the beautiful sites of St Maarten, we're glad you enjoyed it and it was the highlight of your trip! Great. Thanks, David & Ilja
We did 2 different tours.
Birdwatching: Ilja was very knowleagable about her island birds and knew exactly where to take us to see the most types possible. As we drove to different locations she explained island history, politics, seasons, or pretty much whatever we happened to ask. She also made an excellent passionfruit cake and iced coffee for snack! It was pretty much a private tour as it was Ilja, myself and my friend.
Snorkeling:
Ilja's husband David was in charge of snorkeling. My friend was not very comfortable in the ocean snorkeling, so I had asked Ilja if David would consider a half day snorkeling lesson in a quite, calm bay for my friend. He was able to fit us in and my friend was absolutely thrilled when we finished snorkeling. David stayed right with her and guided her. And, Ilja sent some more of her wonderful passionfruit cake and iced coffee.
I highly recommend contacting Seagrape as soon as you land on St Maarten. Tell them what it is you want to see or do, and they would make every effort to put a special private tour together for you!
Thank you so much for taking the time to write a review, we really appreciate it. It was great showing you St Martin's birds and underwater life :). Hope to see you again some time! David & Ilja
We wanted to see the natural side of St Martin and avoid the tour boat crowds if possible, and this tour delivered exactly what we were looking for! We hired David for the Peak, Pond and Snorkel tour.
The hike up to Pic Paradis (Paradise Peak) was an easy upward grade, with hugely rewarding views at the top. David provided homemade cake and iced tea and iced coffee afterwards, and took us to several other breathtaking viewpoints.
My husband and I are very interested in trying to learn a bit about the ecology, wildlife, flora and fauna of the places we visit, and this was a perfect tour. After the views, we visited a mangrove preserve and saw several varieties of birds. Monarch butterflies were everywhere.
The included lunch was excellent, at a local restaurant on the French side of the island.
The weather did not cooperate so we could not snorkel - that's life on an island! - but instead David found us a fairly secluded, isolated beach with huge waves for body surfing - welcome after the walking.
We are also very interested in the local history and character, and David was very knowledgeable on that front as well and also answered all of our hundreds of questions.
We strongly recommend this tour to nature-lovers and photographers, and would especially encourage it as a tour early in a visit of several days, because it is also a great introduction to the entire island!
Dear Jessica,
Thank you for making a tour with us and for taking the time to write this wonderful review! We really appreciate it and we are glad the tour was all you expected.
If you have a photo you'd like to share with us (a view or one so I can see you too ;)), email us, if you're okay with it I'd like to post it on our Seagrape Tours Facebook site.
Have a wonderful year!
Thank you,
Ilja
