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useful Tips |
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What essentials should we bring with us to SXM? 
major credit card(s) like Visa or MC and an ATM card (Cirrus, Star, Plus, Interlink networks)
 Call your CC company and tell them about your travel plans (SXM) to avoid any embarassing/inconvenient hold on your account.plenty of suntan lotion with a min of 15 SPFchapstick with sunscreentowel clips (large chip bag clips work ok, too)a hat for the beach (wide-brimmed if you have fair skin)at least one bottle of your favorite bug spraymeat tenderizer (e.g. Adolphs) in a film capsule (works great on bug bites)a couple of candles and a small flashlight (maglite)a couple of new pocketbooks for the beach or for a lazy day @ "home"a good digital camera with the charger and at least a 1GB memory stick
bring a corkscrew and a bottle opener if you don't have them on your Swiss Army pocket knife
remember to pack either one in your checked luggage and not in your carry-on a few of your favorite music CDs or your iPod several DVDs (you can also rent the latest if you are so inclined)a soft-sided cooler for the Caribs or Heinekens  some ziploc bags for the cheese, crackers, sandwiches, KFC pieces etc. you may also put in that cooler a thermos for a sunrise mimosa @ Orient Beachfeminine products (if necessary)nail clippers
a small calculator to help you with your currency conversionsa small journal book to jot down tidbits for posterity or a trip report a couple of pens (have one handy on the plane to fill out the immigration and/or customs forms)
Neil Rooney posted these Travel Tips March 28, 2010 on TTOL. Take a look.
How can I protect myself against mosquito bites?
Use vitamin B, garlic, mosquito milk, gin
bite balm (in tube) and/or meat tenderizer (e.g. Adolphs)
Where are the best Liquor Buys in the Caribbean?
On St. Maarten/St. Martin, of course!!! 
Following are the where, when, what and how much liquor we took home December 13th, 2009:
on Nov 27 at Le Grand Marché (supermarket) on Union Road in Cole Bay:
1.14L Mt. Gay rum for $9.95 (promo)
on Dec 09 at The Captain's Duty Free Shop on Captain Hodge Pier in Philipsburg
2 x 1L Stolichnaya vanilla vodka for $16.00 cash
on Dec 11 I drove to the Ma Doudou factory (shack) in Cul-de-Sac to buy a few liter bottles. Each painted liter bottle of 30% punch au rhum cost 10€, just like a year earlier. I had a couple of free Ma Doudou shots before deciding to buy 3 liter bottles: one bottle of Banane/Vanille for our older daughter, one bottle of Orange/Ginger for Vlasta and "only" one bottle of Bois Bandé for me; btw, bois = wood and bandé = erection, it's supposedly the local viagra. I also bought a 0.5L painted plastic bottle of Banane/Vanille (8€) for a neighbor/friend. The 4 bottles totaled 35.50€ or $53 (1€=$1.49). When I gave her three $20 bills the mademoiselle asked me if I had any smaller bills. Nope, so she gave me a 10 dollar bill as change which I accepted with a huge grin .
All 4 Ma Doudou bottles were plastic and weighed quite a bit less than glass bottles. Breakage was also not an issue in our checked luggage but a little bit of Ma Doudou seeped out of one. No harm was done though since we had wrapped the bottles in plastic bags.
We bought these for our 17 days on SXM:
on Nov 26 at the Maho Food Express at Rhine Rd 2 on the Maho Reef:
a 12-pack of 355ML/12oz Presidente bottles for $9.95
on Nov 27 at the Ma Doudou shack in Cul-de-Sac:
a 1L bottle of Orange/Ginger Ma Doudou for 10€/$14.50
and at Le Grand Marché (supermarket) on Union Road in Cole Bay:
a 12-pack of 355ML/12oz Coors Light bottles for $7.58
a 1L bottle of Captain Morgan spicy rum for $10.31
and on Dec 02 at the same Le Grand Marché
a 750ml bottle of 2006 Chateau Les Trois Tours Bordeaux for $5.53
I noted this price on Nov 27 at Tap Five in Le Village d'Orient: 1 can of beer in the cooler: Heineken, Bud Light, Presidente, Leffe etc. for 1.50€ 
on Nov 27 and Dec 02 at Le Grand Marché in Cole Bay:
1L Stolichnaya vodka (unflavored) for $8.50; 1L vanilla flavored for $9.75; 1.75L (unflavored) for $18.04
1L Absolut vodka for $12.04; 1.75L for $22.92
1L Skyy vodka for $9.95
special: 2x1L Grey Goose vodka for $51.66; 1.75L for $56.50
1L Tanqueray gin for $15.00
1L Bombay gin for $12.86; 1.75L for $28.32
1.14L Mt. Gay rum for $10.72
1L Capt'n Morgan spiced rum for $10.31
1L Myers dark rum for $11.50
1L Grand Marnier for $28.33
1L Ma Doudou for $15.00; ½L for $7.50
1L Jägermeister for $27.50
1L St. Remy VSOP for $48.50
1L Hennessy VS for $34.03
1L Jack Daniels whiskey for $22.69
1L Chivas Regal scotch for $32.56
1L Crown Royal whiskey for $17.50
1L Seagrams VO whiskey for $10.24
1L Canadian Club whiskey for $9.04
1L Jim Beam bourbon for $9.75
750ml Old Grand Dad whiskey for $7.92
6-pack of 355ml/12oz Presidente bottles for $5.38
6-pack of 355ml Heineken bottles for $5.85; 12-pack for $11.70
6-pack of 355ml Coors Lite bottles for $4.50; case for $16.74
6-pack of 355ml Red Stripe bottles for $5.22
6-pack of 355/12oz Bud Lite bottles for $5.26
6-pack of 330ml Stella Artois bottles for $6.75
6-pack of 330ml Amstel Lite bottles for $5.36
6-pack of 330ml Carib bottles for $4.99
on Dec 05 in Grand Case
at U.S Supermarché
1L Ma Doudou for 12.70€
1L Tanqueray gin for 12.50€
1L Jim Beam bourbon for 8.22€
1.14L Mt. Gay rum for 8.60€
1L Stolichnaya vodka (unflavored) for 7.90€
1L Stolichnaya vodka (vanilla flavored) for 8.20€
on Dec 09 in Philipsburg
at the Captain's Duty Free Shop on the pier
1L Stoli vodka for $9.00
1L Absolut vodka for $10.50; 2x1L for $20.00
1L Skyy vodka for $10.00
1L Tanqueray gin for $14.00
1.14L Mt. Gay rum for $9.95; 2x1.14L for $18.50
1L Capt'n Morgan spiced rum for $10.00
2x1L Myers dark rum for $22.00; 1L for $12.00
1L Malibu for $9.50; 2x1L for $17.00
at Caribbean Paradise, 107 Front Street
1L Grand Marnier for $22.95
2x1L Stoli vodka for $15.99
1L Grey Goose vodka for $23.95
1L Absolut vodka for $8.95
2x1L Tanqueray gin for $20
at Divinitii, 103 Front Street
2x1L Stoli vodka for $17.90; 2x1L vanilla vodka for $7.95 cash
at Gulmohar's, 76 Front Street
1L bottle of Stolichnaya vanilla vodka for $9.95; 1L bottle unflavored for $8.95
on Dec 13 in the PJIA terminal past security at a liquor shop
½L Ma Doudou for $13.13
1L Ma Doudou for $17.70
What is Guavaberry Liqueur?
It is the legendary folk liqueur of Sint Maarten. Guavaberry liqueur is made from rum and the wild local berries from which it gets its name. Go to the Guavaberry Shop at Front Street in Philipsburg for a free tasting. You can also taste other fine island liqueurs at historical Philipsburg's Créole townhouse built on the site of an ancient synagogue.
Where's a good Place to look at Cruise Ships?
We used to go to Everyt'ing Cool on Front Street with our camera and appetites, but E Cool lost its lease in July 2004.
Taloula Mango’s Caribbean Café on the "famous" boardwalk at Great Bay Beach appears to be an adequate replacement. I took this pic of Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's Oasis of the Seas from the boardwalk on Wednesday, December 9th of 2009, when 4 cruise ships were in port. It made for some happy faces on Front Street. The 220,000 gross tonnage Oasis of the Seas was on its maiden voyage. It's currently the world's largest, longest, tallest, grandest ocean liner.
You can also go up to Ft. Amsterdam as we did on November 25, 2004 for a terrific view of Little Bay, Great Bay, Philipsburg and any ships in port. That Thanksgiving Day
there was "just" one cruise ship in port, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's relatively new 90,090-ton/2501-guest Radiance of the Seas.
How can I contact a local Car Rental Agency?
Always reserve a rental car before you get to the island.
We had read/heard a lot of good comments about Marius Andrews and his St. Louis Car Rental Agency and, therefore, gave him a try for our Nov-Dec 2001 vacation. Well, this past Nov 26-Dec 13 was the 9th year in a row for a rental car from Marius or an associated rental agency. That pretty much says it all. If you rent a car from Marius for 7 days you can get 2 chairs and an umbrella for just $20 per week. Click beach gear for details. Marius can be contacted via email stlouiscarrental@yahoo.com or stlouiscarrental@hotmail.com.
Obviously we will again rent a car through Marius for our Nov 22-Dec 09, 2010 vacation on SXM.
How much is a Gallon of Gas?
Gas stations on SXM only take cash and the pump meters show liters, not gallons. About 3.8 liters equals 1 U.S. gallon. We just got gas twice on the French side, for $10 at the Gess station in Orleans on the way to Philipsburg and at the Cadisco station on the road to Orient Beach, by the turn to Boo Boo Jam. It's been $1 for 1€ there for our last four annual vacations. They still did $1=1€ on Dec 13, 2009. We paid $0.89/0.89€ for a liter unleaded. That's about $3.36 for a U.S. gallon. We got 5 bucks worth to fill the tank to just a touch over the level it was when we picked the Toyota Yaris rental car up at the airport on November 26. You guessed it, we didn't drive all that much (233.3km) during our 18-day vacation (Nov 26-Dec 13, 2009).
Where can I watch jumbo jets land?
The big Air France, KLM or Corsair jets approach Princess Juliana Airport over Maho Beach. Take your camera or camcorder to the Maho Beach end of the runway, take some pics by the Sunset Bar & Grill and have a Heineken.
It's abbout 0.9 mi or 1.4 km from the SSBG to PJIA terminal parking.
Go to SXM FAQs to find out when the KLM 747s and MD11s, Corsair 747s as well as the Air France A340 jumbo jets are scheduled to land on SXM.
Are there any good Supermarkets on SXM?
Following are the dates and markets where we bought the essentials for the kitchen. Beer and booze purchases are listed above.
...on Nov 26 at Maho Food Express on the way from the airport to our apartment in Orient Bay Village. I parked right in front and stayed with the rental car and luggage while Vlasta dashed in and bought:
a dozen large brown eggs for $2.85
6x1.5 ltr Volvic bottles of water for $8.75
a 13oz. jar of Bonne Maman cherry preserves for $4.50
250g of unsalted butter for $1.89
Note: You also have 1 hour free parking in the La Terrasse parking garage but you must bring your parking ticket and have it validated.
...on Nov 27, a Friday, we (John, Rae, Vlasta and I) stopped at Le Grand Marché after lunch at La Croissanterie to do some serious shopping. The supermarket is located near the Port de Plaisance Resort entrance.
4 Dannon Activia mixed yogurts for $3.42
250g of unsalted butter for $1.94
2 lbs of frozen Tyson tequila lime flavored chicken wings for $12.39
64oz. Tropicana orange juice for $4.00
2 mega rolls of Scott paper towels for $4.05
2 Granny Smith apples (0.516kg) for $1.28
12-pack of 12oz. Pepsi cans for $4.75
We purchased 5 additional items but I have no notes of their size or weight and, therefore, decided not to list them here. Also 3 beer/liquor purchases are already listed above. All total we spent NAf127.05 or $70.59.
...on Dec 02, a Wednesday, Vlasta and I stopped at Le Grand Marché again to do a bit of shopping before dinner at the Peg Leg Pub which is located next to the Princess Casino on the Port de Plaisance Resort. We brought a soft-sided cooler for the spoilables.
16oz Coffee-Mate cream (original) for $2.75
4 Dannon Activia mixed yogurts for $3.42
250g block of Emmenthaler cheese for $3.31
Australian Gold SPF15 lotion for $10.00
64oz. Tropicana orange/pineapple juice for $4.00
2 Danjou pears (0.540kg) for $1.35
110z bag of Doritos cool ranch chips for $7.35
6x1.5 ltr Volvic bottles of water for $9.50
We purchased 1 additional item but I have no note of the size and, therefore, decided not to list it here. Also a bottle of wine is already listed above. All total we spent NAf88.31 or $49.07.
...from Nov 26-Dec 13 we only bought a few items at the Tap Five mini-mart because of their higher prices:
baguettes for 0.80€/$1.12 each, 0.90€/$1.26 for a croissant de beurre (butter croissant), 0.95€/$1.33 for a pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant), 4.50€/$6.30 for 4 very little cans of cream for coffee
Click supermarkets for more locations and a map.
Are there any Fast Food Outlets on SXM?
Fast Food is readily available on the Dutch side of the island if you cannot do without it: Burger King, Domino's Pizza, KFC, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, The Subway and Taco Bell. There used to be a KFC in Marigot but it was replaced by a mini-market. Rumor has it that the high euro drove that KFC out of town. Late 2005 it was rumored that a McDonald's would open in Howell Center by the Match supermarket, but we again didn't see any golden arches this trip. The Subway was the only fast food outlet we've seen on the French side.
No fast food for us on this trip.
Where can one buy a good Baguette?
I walked about half a block or a block and a half every morning to the Tap Five mini-mart (tel: 0590 77 12 13) across from Le Village d'Orient (Orient Bay Village) where we had rented apartment Amérindiens #604 the first 8 days and then townhouse Caribbean Riviera #4 the next 9 days. A "bonjour" and 0.80€ got me a fresh (still warm) baguette. T5 opened its door to the hungry crowd at 7:00a, well, at least no later than 7:15a. One morning I also bought a croissant de beurre (butter croissant) for 0.90€ and all mornings except three a pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant) for 0.95€. The first couple of days I paid 1.75€ for a baguette and a chocolate croissant. At the T5 exchange rate of $1.40 for 1.00€ that would come to $2.45. Well, when on the 3rd day a different cashier said "two dollars", so I paid 2 bucks from then on .
Is there WiFi and/or an Internet Café by Orient Beach?
I used DVD Plus at Le Place du Village (next to Le Piment) 3 times in Nov/Dec 2005. They had 4 PCs set up for internet access using ADSL. A year later they had 7 PCs and WiFi but I never used their services again in subsequent years.
Some of our friends have brought a laptop from home to stay connected with their biz and offspring. They graciously let us use their laptop 3-4 times to check email and a couple of financial sites. We used the WiFi at Bikini Beach in Nov/Dec 2007. They gave us the key code if you at least bought a drink (I got a coke). Btw, the code changes every day. Our friends, Al and Bonnie Romeo, stayed a few doors down from us in Caribbean Riviera #4 from Dec 02 to 15, 2007. This rental townhouse has WiFi. Al let me check my email on the evening of the 9th. The next day was D-Day (Departure Day) for Vlasta and me. Hotel Alamanda also has WiFi, but only for their guests. Al and I tried to use it but it was a no-go w/o a security code . Aloha and Andy & Cheryl's on Orient Beach and Rancho del Sol have free WiFi as does the Sunset Bar & Grill at the SXM airport.
What does it cost to rent Lounge Chairs & Umbrellas at Club Orient?
Chairs & Umbrellas cost you $6.00 each day to rent. You can also do a weekly rental at Club O and possibly save some bucks, e.g. you can go to the Club O Watersports building and ask for the special, i.e. pay for 5 and get 7 in 9 days . You can charge it to your credit card: $100 if you need to park a car on the Club O lot and $90 if you are a day guest and walk to the Club O Beach or park your car somewhere else, e.g. behind Pedro's. We walked, of course, to the beach from our apartment in Le Village d'Orient every day of our 17 days on SXM. The French chair man at the watersports insisted we had to pay $100 even though we didn't park a car. You are probably thinking "that's the way to save some bucks"... well, you can if make it to the Club O beach at least 6 times in 9 days. But Mother Nature and other commitments may prevent that. Consider bringing a couple of foldup lounge/beach chairs to save some bucks. You can also rent chairs and an umbrella from Pack Light: you get two light-weight, easily portable chairs and an umbrella for just $25 for the entire week.
Note: All price quotes are from Nov/Dec 2009 and in U.S. dollars (USD or $) or Euro (EUR or €).
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