Shopping in St. Martin

About 50 years ago, St. Martin/St. Maarten became a duty-free, tax-free port, changing the face of tourism on the island forever.

Today, cruise ships dock, and passengers descend upon the island, scooping up top-of-the-line products at bottom-of-the-barrel prices.

The Goods

When it comes to jewelry, no island in the Caribbean can rival the sheer volume of shops available.  Everything from loose gemstones to finely crafted creations of the world's finest materials can be found in the shops on the island. 

While most people enjoy shopping for those normally expensive import products such as crystal, high fashion clothing, housewares, perfume, and so on, there are some local products to be on the look out for.  Art galleries featuring the work of regional artists are everywhere, but you can also find hammocks, guavaberry liquor, and wood carvings to represent the West Indies side of shopping.

Where to Shop

St. Martin

In St. Martin, the high end boutiques, which converge mainly at Le West Indies Mall and have very French names, have French-Riviera inspired designs, allowing guests to feel as though they are in fact shopping in France.  Clothing stores, perfumeries, and jewelry stores reign supreme here.

St. Maarten

There is quite an array of high-end boutiques along Front Street in Philipsburg, which is known as one of the top shopping centers in the Caribbean.  Stretching out for a full mile, shops include everything from Ralph Lauren to Cartier, but the majority of them are jewelry emporiums.  Nearby Old Street is a great place to go for art galleries, and Back Street has souvenir shops, clothing stores, and local markets.

Taxes, Duties, and Tips

Duty free shopping is one of the major draws of St. Martin/St. Maarten, with savings of between 15 and 50 percent being the norm on electronics, designer clothing, and other high end products.  When it comes to shopping on the dual nation island, everything is duty free and tax free on both sides, and no paper work is required to make it so.  In order to take advantage of the duty free shopping, however, U.S. citizens must have been in St. Martin/St. Maarten for 48 hours, and only $600 worth of product is considered duty free.

The official currency in St. Martin the the Euro (€ ), while the Netherland Antilles florin or guilder (NAf ) is used on the formerly Dutch side of St. Maarten.  Shopping in St. Maarten is made easier for American visitors, because the U.S. Dollar is widely accepted (USD).  If you won't be exchanging currency, stick to major credit cards, which are accepted in most places on both sides of the island. To read more about currency and credit card usage in St. Martin, click here.

Regardless of whether you shop on the French or formerly Dutch side of the island, there are always bargains to be found.  Though there is a $600 duty-free limit, the possibility of saving up to 50 percent on products means you may just return home with $1,200 worth of souvenirs.