Posted October 11, 2006

Airport Security, Passports, Money, Credit Cards, ATMs,
Gasoline, Phones, Cell Phones, Food Shopping, and
INTERNET ACCESS

Island Essentials:

• Size: 16 square miles St. Maarten (Dutch side), 21 square miles St. Martin (French side)
• Population: 35,000 (Dutch side), 30,000 (French side)
• Capital: Philipsburg (Dutch side), Marigot (French side)
• Political Status: St. Maarten is Dutch, Netherlands Antilles ( Holland ), but is moving toward autonomous country status affiliated with Holland , similar to Aruba's status; French St. Martin is a dependency of Guadeloupe Island , but it is moving toward a semi-autonomous relationship with France and the European Union Language: St. Maarten (Dutch/Papiamentu/English); French St. Martin (French/Patois/English)
• Currency: Dutch Side, Antillean “ Florin ” or Guilder ($US Dollar widely accepted) Currency: French Side, Euro (value varies, but some French Side businesses accept dollars and Euros at par if you pay cash; it pays to ask).
• Climate: 82-85 degrees year round with constant breezes. Sometimes hotter in Summer. In mid-winter, low 70s is considered an unusual cold wave; locals wear sweaters and some wear coats.
• Electricity: Dutch side 127/120 volts 50 cycles (Adapters not needed for American appliances.) French side 220 volts 60 cycles (Adapters a must for American appliances.) Time: Atlantic Standard (one hour ahead of U. S. Eastern Standard Time)
• Telephone: Dutch side-Dial 011+599+5+local number French side-Dial 590+590+ local number (590 – 690 for calls to cellular numbers)
• Drive On: Right hand side of the road

AIRPORT SECURITY / PASSPORTS: Since 9/11, airport security has much tougher and a Passport will make your trip less grueling, particularly on the return through U. S. Customs / Immigration. In fact, passports will be required for re-entry to the USA from the Caribbean effective 12/31/05, unless the US government reverses itself.

Allow at least two hours in the airport, preferably three hours, when leaving the U. S. for security before your flight time. In your carry-on baggage, don't put anything that security agents may find problematic -- including nail clippers and small scissors since they will be confiscated. Carry on only what you really need; check all other baggage. Report any remotely suspicious activity you see anywhere IMMEDIATELY. You may also want to look under your seat; if you see anything there that doesn't belong there, give it to a flight attendant before the plane leaves the ground.

SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER; when we have more information related to flying (bargain fares, revised procedures, safety precautions, etc.) our mailing list gets that info quickly. There is no charge to join the list. The newsletter is issued every Monday (Tuesdays on holiday weeks). WE WILL NEVER SELL OR RELEASE OUR MAILING LIST TO ANYONE. To receive the newsletter, just type your email address in the box below, then click Submit to sign up.

MONEY: The island is half-French and half-Dutch. Dollars are accepted everywhere. The official currencies are Euros on the French side and Antillean Guilders on the Dutch side. You can readily convert money (if you want) at banks. The only place where it helps to have local currency is in Dutch gas stations (more below). Otherwise it isn't worth doing and is NOT required anywhere. (Keep at least $25 cash per person on you when you fly home from SXM for the airport Departure Tax; they don't take credit cards, but your airline may already have included this fee in its ticket charges.) See ATMs in next item. Departure Tax is subject to change. Curious about currency conversion rates? Current currency conversion rates for every currency on the planet are here.

CREDIT CARDS and ATMs: VISA is very widely accepted, but it is not quite "Everywhere you want to be" on the island. Some restaurants take only cash or travelers checks. American Express is less widely accepted particularly by the best restaurants. ATMs are easy to access especially on the Dutch side; we use them often.  For a complete list, look here (on our friend Ray's site). We strongly suggest you avoid the Windward Islands (WIB) Bank ATMs (all of them) . Why? Several recent users of WIB ATMs reported unauthorized debits from their accounts totaling several hundred dollars and WIB has refused to do anything about it. Scotia Bank usually gives you dollars or Antillean Guilders; the latter are handy for buying gas (see next item). 

GETTING GAS FOR RENT-A-CARs: Many gas pumps on the French side clearly convert Euros to dollars, so you can easily pay for gas in dollars. On the Dutch side, the conversion is less clear. Unless you can do the conversion in your head ($1= about 1.78 guilders), we recommend you pay in Antillean Guilders...that way there are no "inadvertent" miscalculations. Because of taxes, gas for years has been cheaper on the French side, but the Dutch government recently changed that (they set the prices). Then again, at this writing the Euro is worth about $1.26, making gas pricey on the French side. When you rent a car, ask the rental agent about where gas is currently cheaper. There are both Shell and Texaco stations here (Dutch side) but they have not customarily accepted US credit cards. Shell station value the dollar at $1.80 to guilders; Texaco, $1.78. That makes Texaco cheaper, if you buy on the Dutch side. Gas now (unfortunately) costs about the same in SXM as at home.

ABOUT THE ISLAND'S PHONE SYSTEMS: 

Both sides of the island have changed their phone systems.

French Side: From overseas, dial 011-590-590 plus the six-digit number. If you're dialing a French side CELL phone, it's 011-590-690. (Check on the island to see what special codes you need to get French side numbers from the Dutch side.)

Dutch Side: If you dial any Dutch-side land-line phone numbers from the US, dial 011-599 plus the seven digit number. Usually, you will dial 011-599-54 and five additional digits. Cell numbers are (mostly) now 011-599-55X-XXXX.

ON SXM, land-lines are 54X-XXXX and most cell numbers are 55X-XXXX.

USING CELL PHONES IS STRONGLY RECOMMENDED: Later on this page you'll find a link for East Caribbean Cellular. We strongly recommend the use of analog or dual-mode analog/digital cell phones in St. Maarten because Telem, the SXM phone company, hasn't been dependable in the past and they charge astronomical fees for calls home (ECC doesn't). ECC is better than its competition because it covers the entire island. That's amazing since you may pay $5/minute at hotels, which also don't take most US calling cards, prepaid or otherwise. If you want to pay very little for calls home to the US or Canada (like 32 cents a minute or thereabouts), join JMB Website Supporters, our membership organization. Members get access to providers of such low-cost services.

Many phones from AT&T and T-Mobile will work on SXM without you doing anything, we're told; others don't. Check with your carrier before you travel.

Charges for phoning the U. S. from your hotel room in SXM are exorbitant, and Telem, the phone company on the Dutch side, has an abysmal service record.  U. S. Telephone "bargain" phonecards usually don't work here. You have three choices: 1) call from your hotel room and pay truly outlandish  charges;  2) use AT&T USA direct (over $8 for a 3-minute call); or 3) use your cell phone here. East Caribbean Cellular (ECC) charges a lot less than many other alternatives, so increasing numbers of people are bringing their cell phones; I've done it for years. That's also why you see so many locals using them. It also facilitates calling from the Dutch side to the French side (say, for dinner reservations). For details, go to the ECC website. When you set up, tell them we sent you! Or email them. Phoning is usually faster. Have your electronic serial number handy.

AVOID BLUE ROADSIDE PAY PHONES. They are astronomically expensive, users tell us. (Again, join JMB Website Supporters for by far the cheapest phone rates.)

You also can't dial 800 numbers from SXM for free. You probably will have to dial "300" first before dialing the 800 number, but the call will cost you. Ask before your call. Scroll down for more on ECC. 

Note for AT&T Users: If you try to dial "1010-ATT-0" or something similar -- the AT&T access code in the US -- you might just get Bulldog, the Laser 101 (FM 101.1) morning talk show host. The access code DOES NOT WORK in St. Maarten, and dialing "101" gets you the Laser studio. Call in the morning before 10 a.m. and Bulldog will broadcast your call, which will rapidly become idiotic. (Fair warning.) :)

FOOD SHOPPING: For reasons we've never been able to fathom, some vacationers bring their own food wherever they vacation. (How can that be a "vacation?") SXM has great restaurants and American-style supermarkets with all your favorite food -- even Lactaid milk and sugarless cookies. Leave the groceries home and shop in SXM. The best market is probably MATCH just north of Marigot. There's also a white-and-red colored market, Food Fair, just north of Philipsburg on the right (opposite FX bowling) as you head toward Orient Beach and the Middle Region.

There's a good market in Cole Bay, on the Union Road between Philipsburg and Marigot, next to a Burger King. Le Grand Marche, a market near the turnabout on the Philipsburg side of the hill, is mediocre in our experience. We brought back bad food twice and a bad (moldy cork) bottle of wine once and got three stupid arguments. We don't recommend this place unless you like bad service with an attitude to match. Le Grand Marche does sell Etna Ice Cream, made on the island. It puts Haagen Dazs and Ben & Jerry's to shame, which is tough to do. Super creamy.

RAM's, on Cay Hill ("the" hill) has come a long way and is quite good. But our favorite place to buy food is Cost-U-Less, behind Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) near Le Grand Marche. Good wine prices -- though you're best advised to get wine at Vinissimo in Marigot.

No matter where you buy, watch food expiration dates. They're widely ignored.

Internet access: Regardless of whether you use an online service (such as AOL or MSN), or an Internet Service Provider (ISP) such as Earthlink, you can access your email in St. Maarten, easily, at reasonable speed, and WITHOUT international surcharges. Just contact Network IDL / Megatropic, St. Maarten's largest Internet Service Provider. Three alternatives: use their cybercafe located right in their offices; have them sign up your laptop for easy dialup service on the island; or use one of their growing number of WiFi hotspots. In 20 minutes you'll be set to go at a low cost of $15 a week with unlimited hours (WiFi is more; tell them you heard about them here or you'll pay more for dialup access). Write to them at: sales@megatropic.com. (Their website: http://www.megatropic.com). Check with your resort; many have wireless Internet service now. We'll publish a list here soon.