St-Martin/Sint Maarten

Money & costs

Money

On the French side, everything is priced in euros (€), while on the Dutch side (despite the currency being the Netherlands Antillean guilder) items are always posted in US dollars. If you are paying with cash, it never hurts to ask the businesses on the euro-centric French side if they’ll take one-for-one dollars to euros – often times you’ll get a reluctant-yet-positive response.

ATMs blanket the island and transaction fees will cost substantially less than using the exchange bureaus. Note that American Express cards are rarely accepted on the ­island, especially on the French side.