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Bring with you…and leave home!

May 11, 2008

Outfits and Personal Belongings

Cupecoy Beach St. MaartenRemember it’s a tropical island. At best you’re required to wear tropical elegance in an upscale restaurant. Casinos require pants, dress shoes and a shirt, but a tie is not a necessity. We suggest beach wear, light summer outfits for daytime shopping, shorts, t-shirts, blouses and shirts will do fine and some elegant slacks, shirts, dresses and shoes for the evening activities. Too much skin in towns and stores is still frowned upon.

Limit personal belongings as well. No need to show off your Rolex if the only thing you need is a simple water resistant watch to tell time. And even then….time is different in the tropics and Happy Hour starts when you want it to start. Personal belongings that need to be watched constantly are a strong deterrent for a pleasant vacation.

Bringing Family and Friends?

Orient Bay Family Beach, Saint Martin The more the merrier, we would say. Just an advice, if you need to rent a car, make sure to make reservation way in advance as there are also so many vans available. The same goes for restaurant reservations. For the rest, St.Maarten is a family friendly destination with lots of kids attractions, reputable sitter services and something to do for everyone. Most hotels cater to family vacations, so if you plan to bring family and friends, be our guest.

Medication and Prescriptions

By all means, yes bring your prescriptions as you will find that your re-fills will save you enough money for an evening in a good restaurant. Most U.S. prescription drugs are either brandname available or in generic version. And please don’t think the generic version cannot be good. They are as good as or better.

Also, if you’re a fan of natural medicines, the island has a lot to offer in this regard, mostly in the French side Pharmacies and prices are very low. So bring your medications and rest assured that if you run out or lose them, you are in good hands. Pharmacists on the island are highly educated Medical Professionals and operate under strict supervision.

Your phone and laptop

Orient Bay Family Beach, Saint MartinBy all means bring your laptop if it is necessary for you to stay in contact with work, friends and family. There are many Wi-Fi spots on the island, especially on the Dutch side, while a lot of hotels and even bars feature Wi-Fi connections. It will keep your staying in contact cost way down. Of course if you just occasionally have to check-in you may want to consider one of the many Internet Cafes on both sides of the island.

Most hotels (anywhere) view their phone system as a potential profit center. Some charge $4 per minute to call the U.S. Stay on the phone for an hour and a flight to nearby St. Thomas would have been much more economical. There are many alternatives however. Calling directly via the local phone company is cheaper. There are many call USA phones in Philipsburg where AT&T can be reached and can connect you. The Mailbox (phone 545 3890) in Simpson Bay uses a callback system that is about as cheap as you can get.

Another approach is rent a GSM cell phone for about $40 per week before you leave the U.S. or ask your mobile phone provider for their international package. You buy a prepaid phone card for a minimum of $20, non-refundable. Use up your $20 at the rate of 36 cents per minute for local calls, 50 cents for long distance and 40 cents back to the US. If you arrange the rental in advance and get the phone number, your friends can call you. Incoming calls are free. Of course you may ask your service provider at home for a plan that allows you to roam from island. Might be a little expensive however.

For longer stays it may make sense to go through the hassle of bringing your cell phone, as it can be made to work by replacing the SIM card. However it can be expensive. Cheapest by far is to use Skype, that is if you take your computer with you.

Pet and Travel

Traveling with pets to St. MaartenIf you want to bring a pet to the island (and not anything exotic or potentially dangerous), you should go to your vet within a week of traveling and get a health certificate, essentially claiming that the rabies vaccination is current and that the animal is in good health. Shortly before you return, you may have to get the same from a vet on the island. We’re saying “may”, because the rules are not completely clear here. And that is probably because most people don’t bring a large animal for a week’s vacation.

However, should you need a health certificate to take your pet home, there are several vets on the island, one in Concordia near Marigot, One on the waterfront in Marigot, one on Union Road in Cole Bay (Chris and Terry), one off Welfare Road in Cole Bay and the St.Maarten Animal Hospital on Cay Bay Hill.
The airline may charge you for transporting the animals and if they are allowed in the cabin, you may need reservations. Make sure to check in advance.

What Not to Bring!

Well that is of course a personal preference but here are some tips that may help you decide.

  • Don’t bring cigarettes or cigars if you’re a smoker. Much cheaper down in St.Maarten.
  • Winter clothes? Uh no.
  • Suntan block, any of your favorite foods, perfumes, alcohol, jewelry, toiletries, beach gear such as towels,…none of the above. St.Maarten-SintMartin has hundreds of duty-free stores that will happily sell you these items at great prices.
  • You may want to bring you’re your surfboard, golf clubs and tennis rackets if you like to travel with maximum load, but considering how cumbersome and trying air travel has become, you might simply want to rent or buy these items when on the island.
  • It is a known fact that many timeshare owners used to bring at least a suitcase full of food items for their vacation. The charge of luggage transport by some airlines at $20 -$50 per checked piece, will equalize the slightly higher cost of foods on the island, with a lot less hassle while traveling.

And just a suggestion, leave your work at home, because you will find at the end of your vacation that there really was no time to work. After all St. Maarten - St.Martin has a reputation to keep up: the party island.

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