Money Matters in St. Martin
1/26/2013
In St. Martin, there are three main currencies: The Euro on the French side, the Netherland Antillean Guilder (ANG) on the Dutch side and the U.S. Dollar, which is accepted everywhere. The exchange is about .75 Euro cents for every Dollar and 1.79 Guilders for every Dollar. This is why the French side prefers using the Euro and the Dutch side prefers using the Dollar.
But seriously, since the Dutch Antillean islands are the only places on earth that use the ANG, there is really no incentive for them to use this currency anyway.
The first thing you need to be careful of is on the French side where sometimes you go to pay something and you’re simply told “Thirty”, “Fifty” or whatever. Are they talking about Euros or Dollars? Well, either!
That means that if you’re told 30 and you pay in Euros you will really be paying almost 40 bucks! Don’t be afraid to ask questions and don’t assume they only want payment Euros. One place where you can always come out ahead is in the town of Grand Case where the restaurants are famous for their 1:1 exchange of the Dollar to the Euro. Bring your U.S. Dollars and spend them here.
On the Dutch side everything, as far as I could tell, is charged in U.S. Dollars. So technically you can get away with never touching a Guilder if you don’t want to. This is good too because even though your bank may charge you to take money out of the ATM since it’s not your home bank, you won’t get charged the exchange fee that you might normally incur if you needed to make a conversion.
The restaurants in Grand Case are really great. There are 40 restaurant, shops and galleries. Yon dine and shop till you drop. One of the best options is to either dine in or take out local food at the
lolos, which is a kind of informal food stand — it is very good, offering grilled ribs, chicken, caribbean lobster, Jonny cake, grilled fish and more good eats....the best news is this is the cheapest way to eat on the island. think about a slab of ribs cooked to perfection for just $5...yes, we ususally but=y several slabs for take out and eat ribs for days....
If you have more questions about Money Matters in SXM call the island experts at St Martin Reservation Center 800 480 8555. They can help you make reservations for hotelss in Saitn Martin or get you a great vacation renta villa in St Martin.
http://stmartinluxuryvacationhomes.com/stmartinluxuryvacationhomes/island_info
