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Euro? #252792
04/14/2021 11:23 AM
04/14/2021 11:23 AM
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 399
Detroit
bluejacket Offline OP
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bluejacket  Offline OP
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Detroit
Looking forward to our late may trip and wondering what people think about bringing euros to use in sxm instead of dollars. Is it necessary, does it matter?

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Re: Euro? [Re: bluejacket] #252795
04/14/2021 12:02 PM
04/14/2021 12:02 PM
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 933
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SammyM Offline
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SammyM  Offline
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Necessary? No. U.S. currency is accepted just about everywhere from my past experiences. But, I do typically bring a small supply of euros to SXM for dining purposes for those situations where the prices in USD are set much higher than in euros. You will only encounter this on French St. Martin, and not on the Dutch side. The last time I checked one U.S. dollar is worth .84 euros. Kind of weak IMO. It's been much higher than that in past years. So, if you encounter a restaurant in Marigot or Grand Case that, for example, applies a 30 percent surcharge if you pay in USD, you could be better off just paying in euros or using a major credit card. Menus usually list prices in both currencies, or will have small type print at the bottom which will show the amount of exchange. If nothing is displayed I usually ask this question before ordering. In addition, if you plan to shop on the French side for groceries I prefer to pay in euros rather than trying to figure out if I'm being overcharged if I pay in USD. On the Dutch side I use U.S. currency for everything I do.

Re: Euro? [Re: bluejacket] #252797
04/14/2021 12:08 PM
04/14/2021 12:08 PM
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 399
Detroit
bluejacket Offline OP
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bluejacket  Offline OP
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Detroit
Thanks Sammy.

Re: Euro? [Re: bluejacket] #252799
04/14/2021 12:22 PM
04/14/2021 12:22 PM
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 18,571
Auburn, WA
SXMScubaman Offline
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SXMScubaman  Offline
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 18,571
Auburn, WA
Current rate is 1.198 to 1.

Re: Euro? [Re: bluejacket] #252801
04/14/2021 12:32 PM
04/14/2021 12:32 PM
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 291
South Carolina
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dvesc Offline
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South Carolina
For the majority of our past trips to St. Martin and Martinique, we took out some euros at an ATM when we arrived but primarily used a credit card. For our most recent trip to St. Martin in December, we didn’t make it to the ATM for the first few days and never had any issue paying with USD or a card. We eventually decided to just skip the euros completely and were fine. We stayed in Orient, so most places seemed OK with either a card or USD. Our credit card doesn’t charge a foreign transaction fee, which made things easier. We did occasionally have to ask to be charged in euros, though. Some places assumed we preferred USD. I’m not really sure if this impacted the exchange rate, but I figured choosing euros couldn’t hurt. The only time I wished I had euros was to tip in cash. We were able to tip in dollars, but I would have preferred euros since that's what we were paying in for the meal on the credit card and I thought it might have been easier for the servers to eventually use.

Last edited by dvesc; 04/14/2021 01:43 PM.
Re: Euro? [Re: dvesc] #252808
04/14/2021 01:50 PM
04/14/2021 01:50 PM
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 5,082
Massachusetts
boucharda Offline
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boucharda  Offline
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Yup.....on the French side CC if allowed, Euro if the establishment makes it's own rate which may be higher than the official rate (except for Super U which usually has an advantageous USD cash rate....and Cadisco near Orient for gas which was still 1:1 USD:Euro)

..and I would not "bring Euro" to SXm. Just get them at an ATM on the French side which will give you the best exchange rate.....assuming no ATM fee with your card

Last edited by boucharda; 04/14/2021 01:50 PM.
Re: Euro? [Re: dvesc] #252814
04/14/2021 02:25 PM
04/14/2021 02:25 PM
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 538
Sugar Land, Tx
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IslandBoi Offline
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Sugar Land, Tx
always request to be charged in local currency, then your bank will do the conversion to USD...don't allow the CC machine/terminal to do the conversion for you into USD, it won't come out in your favor


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Re: Euro? [Re: bluejacket] #252816
04/14/2021 02:45 PM
04/14/2021 02:45 PM
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 291
South Carolina
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dvesc Offline
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dvesc  Offline
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South Carolina
This discussion reminds me of a problem we had in Jamaica two years ago. There was a little grocery store across the street from our hotel in Negril, and we shopped there quite a bit during our stay. A couple of days into the trip, I asked to pay in Jamaican dollars when buying a few things since I was using a credit card. The total should have been 3,800 Jamaican dollars, or about $25 US. Somehow, the cashier mistakenly charged me 3,800 USD instead. I didn't even notice until I came back into the store the next day. The owner had been trying to track me down to refund the money, and my credit card company apparently didn't have any issue with that amount being charged in a foreign country at a grocery store. Everything worked out OK, but it's something to double check when dealing with these types of transactions.

Last edited by dvesc; 04/14/2021 02:53 PM.
Re: Euro? [Re: bluejacket] #252823
04/14/2021 04:30 PM
04/14/2021 04:30 PM
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 234
Parrish, FL
deliveryskipper Offline
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deliveryskipper  Offline
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Posts: 234
Parrish, FL
We will be traveling from the airport to Anne Marcel marina on the French side by taxi and a week later make the return trip. How are taxi fares handled (currency) traveling to and from the different countries?

Re: Euro? [Re: dvesc] #252824
04/14/2021 04:32 PM
04/14/2021 04:32 PM
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 399
Detroit
bluejacket Offline OP
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bluejacket  Offline OP
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Detroit
dvesc,

I actually left my card at l'express in Hope Estates and didn't notice until I paid for lunch the next day. I instantly remembered that I left the card on the counter. Thankfully, the cashier stored it safely for me, I was able to retrieve it no problem.

Re: Euro? [Re: bluejacket] #252829
04/14/2021 05:44 PM
04/14/2021 05:44 PM
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 933
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SammyM Offline
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SammyM  Offline
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For taxis, which we have often used on St. Martin, you can always pay in cash in USD regardless of what side of the island you are on. Taxis (at least the ones I have used) don't take credit cards.

Re: Euro? [Re: SammyM] #252831
04/14/2021 06:14 PM
04/14/2021 06:14 PM
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 383
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Uksimonusa Offline
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Originally Posted by SammyM
For taxis, which we have often used on St. Martin, you can always pay in cash in USD regardless of what side of the island you are on. Taxis (at least the ones I have used) don't take credit cards.


Some do take credit cards, we always use Patrick at Silverline Tours and Taxi, he has a CC option but we have never used it

Re: Euro? [Re: bluejacket] #252833
04/14/2021 06:25 PM
04/14/2021 06:25 PM
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 933
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SammyM Offline
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SammyM  Offline
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Thanks for pointing that out. Nice to know that some taxis may take a credit card in case the cash starts to run low!

Re: Euro? [Re: deliveryskipper] #252842
04/14/2021 07:52 PM
04/14/2021 07:52 PM
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 18,571
Auburn, WA
SXMScubaman Offline
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SXMScubaman  Offline
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 18,571
Auburn, WA
Originally Posted by deliveryskipper
We will be traveling from the airport to Anne Marcel marina on the French side by taxi and a week later make the return trip. How are taxi fares handled (currency) traveling to and from the different countries?

US Dollars works everywhere on island. Taxis and all.


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