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Re: Stretch the Loonie
[Re: Canuck54]
#79220
12/22/2015 10:55 PM
12/22/2015 10:55 PM
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Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 13,145 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
islandgem
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 13,145
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
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I agree our dollar is at an all time low. We found the exchange rate is still better with the US dollar than with the euro so we didn't bother using euros at all. We also found the cost of purchasing things on the island was more expensive. We were there for 5 weeks and didn't change our spending habits much. We just said, "C'est la vie" and had a wonderful vacation!
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Re: Stretch the Loonie
[Re: CanadianCutie]
#79224
12/23/2015 09:04 AM
12/23/2015 09:04 AM
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 4,412 Rhode Island
RonDon
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 4,412
Rhode Island
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There's no law that says you must eat out in high-end restaurants each day. We have a kitchen where we stay and I only buy breakfast items, snacks and a roti chicken. Frequent stops at French bakeries for delicious baguettes make a good lunch with fruit, cheese, wine or chicken sandwiches.
We eat out nearly every night. Some times in fancy places (Ocean 82, Bistrot Caribes, Auberge Gourmand), other evenings in restaurants serving good food at reasonable prices (Enold's, Yvette's, Le Taitu, Marks) and some times at the Lolos. Sometimes we switch up big meal at lunch and light dinner from leftovers.
We stay 2 or 3 weeks and allow $100. per day. Some days we spend a little over and some days far less. It works for us. I'm on vacation and the last thing I want to do is cook. One visit hubby landed in emergency room left with meds that wiped him out so no driving to dine at night. I shopped at grocery store and found it almost as expensive as eating out in a small restaurant plus i had to cook and clean up after!!
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Re: Stretch the Loonie
[Re: RonDon]
#79225
12/23/2015 10:47 AM
12/23/2015 10:47 AM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,947 Central Florida!
Carol_Hill
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,947
Central Florida!
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Agreed, I personally CAN'T eat rich huge meals every day any more anyway. And even if you're not going out, you don't have to cook, per se. There are plenty of places to pick up a quick, pre made sandwich or some cheese and bread, etc., to take to the beach for lunch, or a rotisserie chicken with salad for dinner. Or go to a high end place for LUNCH, which is often much cheaper, and then have a lighter dinner.
Carol Hill
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Re: Stretch the Loonie
[Re: Canuck54]
#79227
12/23/2015 12:01 PM
12/23/2015 12:01 PM
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Joined: May 2012
Posts: 680 Burlington, Ontario, Canada
JohnandBev
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 680
Burlington, Ontario, Canada
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Same dilemma for us. Normally we just bring US $’s, but last yr stayed part of vaca on the Fr side, this yr all on the Fr side. If we get 1:1 US to Euro, not an issue, but if I have to convert CAD to US and then pay a store conversion charge for US to Euro, cheaper to bring Euro’s than pay exchange twice. We always bring a little Euro – maybe 100, but this yr will bring a bit more for the places that do not do 1:1 I read that Simply in Hope Estate was doing 1:1, was that only for off season? What about Orient Village, who does 1:1 there? Thanks J&B
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Re: Stretch the Loonie
[Re: JohnandBev]
#79228
12/23/2015 12:08 PM
12/23/2015 12:08 PM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,947 Central Florida!
Carol_Hill
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,947
Central Florida!
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Don't know about Simply, but the Super U in Marigot definitely does 1 to 1, and it is a great store!!
Carol Hill
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Re: Stretch the Loonie
[Re: Carol_Hill]
#79231
12/23/2015 12:43 PM
12/23/2015 12:43 PM
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,081 Clearwater, FL
Biturbo
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,081
Clearwater, FL
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Last month (we came home 11/27) Simply was 1=1. We try to alternate our dining out meals between breakfast, lunch, dinner and plan for 1 "splurge" meal per trip. The rest of the time we eat in, sometimes we cook and sometimes we take home prepared items, such as rotisserie chicken. It really doesn't have to be expensive.
I'm going where the weather suits my clothes.
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Re: Stretch the Loonie
[Re: Biturbo]
#79233
12/23/2015 01:02 PM
12/23/2015 01:02 PM
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Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,654 Brookfield, CT.
pat
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 14,654
Brookfield, CT.
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Biturbo,
I agree absolutely. I think over the course of our most recent two week stay, we enjoyed breakfast out only three times, and while we did do lunch out more often than at home, they weren't necessarily expensive lunches. Ribs at Rosies, burgers and salads at El Zafiro, and a couple of times we actually shared a huge burger and fries at the Towers pool bar. We had lunch in several times to atone for the crazy expensive nights we ate at a few of our more expensive favorites and we did a couple of very expensive beach lunches, foregoing dinner out those nights because we were still stuffed from lunch. We also have a few favorite and relatively inexpensive (at least by island standards....) dinner nights - Bavaria, and the Green Monkey steak nights.
We enjoyed many a bottle of wine on our balconies - far less costly when purchased at the usual places as opposed to purchasing at high end restaurants - but just as enjoyable and no worries about gendarmes and the like.
You really can cut the costs of dining if you want to and still have a most wonderful and enjoyable trip. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />
You really
Respectfully,
pat
"Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them."
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Re: Stretch the Loonie
[Re: JohnandBev]
#79236
12/23/2015 04:18 PM
12/23/2015 04:18 PM
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Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 415 Quebec, Canada
extreme
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 415
Quebec, Canada
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First week of december Simply was doing 1 to 1, same thing at le Petit Casino and Yellow Sub in Orient Bay !
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Re: Stretch the Loonie
[Re: pat]
#79237
12/23/2015 05:01 PM
12/23/2015 05:01 PM
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,081 Clearwater, FL
Biturbo
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 2,081
Clearwater, FL
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[i]pat said: Biturbo,
We enjoyed many a bottle of wine on our balconies - far less costly when purchased at the usual places as opposed to purchasing at high end restaurants - but just as enjoyable and no worries about gendarmes and the like. Oh yeah, the bottle of wine is de rigueur when dining in. We also enjoy Bavaria and Tutta Pasta for reasonably priced dinners.
I'm going where the weather suits my clothes.
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Re: Stretch the Loonie
[Re: Canuck54]
#79242
12/23/2015 08:08 PM
12/23/2015 08:08 PM
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Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 247 Okanagan Valley, BC, Canada
jaxon60
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 247
Okanagan Valley, BC, Canada
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We are here at Orient now. Some places (yellow sub and petite casino for example) do 1:1. Others seem to be doing 1:1.10. So for us, we use whatever gets us the best exchange from Canadian dollars. One thing to note... if you plan to use the ATMs to get cash as needed, you may want to up your daily cash limit from the standard $500 CAD prior to arriving ... 500 CAD doesn't go to far. I contacted my CU to get the limit increased as I hated having to go to the ATM (3 k away) frequently. As noted on this site before, if you are at Orient, the Credit Mutuel at Hope Estates is the best place for ATMs. There are 3 ATMs at Hope Estates the Credit Mutuel is the only one that will give USD and Euros.
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Re: Stretch the Loonie
[Re: islandgem]
#79243
12/23/2015 11:48 PM
12/23/2015 11:48 PM
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Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 837 Florida
wilsonck
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 837
Florida
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islandgem said: I agree our dollar is at an all time low. It was worse back in 97/98. I remember the CAD being worth 64 cents US. But the all time low is just under 62 cents us back in 2002. There probably are some deals still available through Canadian travel agents. I know Sunwing had some great packages for stays at the Sonesta Maho that I thought was priced really great for Air and all inclusive. Might be better than trying to book on your own.
Last edited by wilsonck; 12/23/2015 11:49 PM.
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Re: Stretch the Loonie
[Re: jaxon60]
#79244
12/24/2015 08:45 AM
12/24/2015 08:45 AM
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,089 Massachusetts
boucharda
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,089
Massachusetts
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500 CAD doesn't go to far A DAY??? If we spent over $350-400 US cash per day, every day, for two weeks THAT would be a problem.
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Re: Stretch the Loonie
[Re: MotownTim]
#79246
12/24/2015 10:06 AM
12/24/2015 10:06 AM
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Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,089 Massachusetts
boucharda
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,089
Massachusetts
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Yes, I realize that...it seems that the concern was that getting $500 CDN in one day was not enough...point was that the next day (or the day after etc.) would get you more cash if needed.
Maybe it's just me but I just take out around $300-400 US and then take out more when I need it. My $500 limit does not come into play at all
Last edited by boucharda; 12/24/2015 10:08 AM.
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Re: Stretch the Loonie
[Re: boucharda]
#79247
12/24/2015 10:16 AM
12/24/2015 10:16 AM
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Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,947 Central Florida!
Carol_Hill
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 82,947
Central Florida!
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I don't ever use ATM's myself, but if I did, I'd prefer to go fewer times and get more money each time, especially on vacation, when I may have to go out of my way and/or pay a fee to use the ATM.
Carol Hill
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Re: Stretch the Loonie
[Re: PineapplePete]
#79250
12/24/2015 11:58 AM
12/24/2015 11:58 AM
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Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 1,590
MotownTim
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 1,590
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Re: Stretch the Loonie
[Re: PineapplePete]
#79253
12/24/2015 11:11 PM
12/24/2015 11:11 PM
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Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,891
Bahston
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,891
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PineapplePete said: After reading this post, Pineapple Pete would like to offer Canadians some stretch to their dollar! $1.00 US currently costs $1.38 CDN. For a limited time, Pineapple Pete will take $1.00 US for $1.20 CDN if it helps in any way. (Not available with any other promotions or discounts). It's always nice to know that sponsors are reading TTOL, and reacting to what they see. Thanks!
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Re: Stretch the Loonie
[Re: wilsonck]
#79255
12/27/2015 01:38 AM
12/27/2015 01:38 AM
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Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 289 Edam, Saskatchewan - Canada
PrairieGirl
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 289
Edam, Saskatchewan - Canada
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wilsonck said:islandgem said: I agree our dollar is at an all time low. It was worse back in 97/98. I remember the CAD being worth 64 cents US. But the all time low is just under 62 cents us back in 2002.[/quote] Oh please, don't remind me of those years (we were in SXM for both)! And younger then too, so on a tighter budget as well. Here is how we made that loonie go further then, tips that should still work today ... we always ate breakfast on our balcony (and still do, not for the $$, more from habit and for convenience, and you can't beat that view!). Half of a fresh baguette with fruit and cheese suited us just fine and left the other half to make sandwiches with for the beach that day with deli meat we had picked up. Grabbed stuff at the grocery store for quick and easy meals in - we actually used to take a brand new small BBQ ($20 at Canadian Tire on sale) with us (just pack it in your suitcase and fill it up with clothes, really doesn't take that much more room) pick up a propane bottle at ACE (less than $10) and grill away (fresh fish, chicken, pork). We always left the BBQ for our maid each year and each one was very happy because they told us they could then take them to the beach on Sundays with their families. A Win Win situation! Similar but an easier option is to bring home roti chicken or stay at a resort that has their own grills. We ate out at nice restaurants sometimes at lunch hour (same food, less cost), scouted around for reasonable nights out and only did the big splurge evening once or twice in a three week trip. While those years are now a distant memory, I loved my time there every bit as much as I do today when we can afford to spend the day at Palm Beach or Dreams and eat a delicious lunch and enjoy a bottle of wine. And don't be too concerned about the 1:1 euro:dollar idea. Calculate your FINAL cost and see if you think the price is fair for the value you receive. 1:1 is great marketing, but can also be a trap. You WILL be able to make some adjustments that will help with the hit on the dollar and not reduce your enjoyment of the island!
LeAnn url=https://www.tickerfactory.com] [/url]
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Re: Stretch the Loonie
[Re: ApeBro]
#79256
12/27/2015 11:56 PM
12/27/2015 11:56 PM
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Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 92 Ontario, Canada
CdnCouple
Traveler
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Traveler
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 92
Ontario, Canada
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ApeBro said: So, there aren't any restrictions for bringing meat to St Maarten? I save fast food ketchup and mustard packets to bring and people (my husband) make fun of me ApeBro, doesn't look like anyone answered your question. We have been taking meat to SXM for years. We buy the good stuff at Costco, repackage it in meal sized portions, then freeze it. On the morning of our departure from Canada we pack it in soft sided coolers in our checked baggage. Never had a problem with SXM customs, and everything is still frozen solid when we get to our room. Into the freezer in the room, and it's good until we need it. We've found this a great way to stretch our vacation dollars to allow us to stay longer and go more often <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />
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