ok so the columns did not hold
Basically next to each product the first price is the Grande Marche price, the second is the Match Euro price and the last is the Match converted price:
i.e. 1lt long life milk costs $2.05 at Grande March and 1.80E at Match which equates to $2.68 at yesterday's exchange rate!

Yeah, but who can drink that stuff?

On a high note, the gasoline is much cheaper on the French side!

This has been the best & most useful string of comments I have ever found. My husband and I are considering renting a condo in St. Maarten/St Martin,Simpson Beach area, yet we know nothing of the island. One of our considerations is that because the rent for our condo is high, how will we be able to work food into our budget. I googled cost of food and this is the string I found. I believe based on what I've read we might be able to afford this island after all. Thank you to all who took the time to inform the rest of us who are interested in cooking for ourselves on the island. If anyone has suggestions on where I might find all the other information, ie., getting around, where to stay, snorkeling, fly fishing, where to buy wine,etc....that would be great too.

After our trip, I promise to post our findings and suggestions as well.

Hi Valerie,

Will leave others to comment on the other questions - but buying wine you can do at the supermarket with the groceries. All the larger supermarkets here have extensive wine sections. In the French supermarkets you gets some great value French wines - starting as low as 1.95E (some obviously taste better than others!!)

Getting around? Rent a car.
Snorkling? Pinel Isle, Little Bay, Orient, Creole Rock. There are also some great day boat excursions to good snorkle spots, lunch & drinks included.
Where to stay? A condo in Simpson bay is perfect.
Fly fishing? Well, ya got me there. Lots of peope fish off the rocks along Marigot harbour. Some fish for tarpon in the lagoon.
Wine? Ah yes, great wines to be had! There are also some good wine shops on the island. In Marigot and near the Harley Davidson dealer.

Elaine! Thanks for your comment above (agree about the long life milk....but when I deseprately need milk for my morning cup it comes in hand at times!) - just a quick question on the gas prices being a lot cheaper on the French side, PLEASE tell me where you get your gas.

So far I have found on the Dutch side I pay US$1.00 a litre and on the French side E0.85 a litre which is about US$1.25. Is there somewhere much cheaper, or maybe places that will accept E1 = $1? Your knowledge would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Warwick

We get our gas at Cadisco or Gess. Most are 1:1 Euro to Dollar. We save about $11 a fill up in our little Terios.

So we're not paying $1.25, but $0.85 a liter.

I know Cadisco on Marigot and Orient Bay for sure are 1:1. And Gess in Orleans.

Cadisco in Nettle Bay is NOT 1:1.

And since we are over near one of these stations usually once within our two week gas tank life, it's a no brainer. Even if we went out of our way, for that kind of savings...........

Hope this help Warwick.

Thanks Elaine - I will give one of them a try!

Warwick,

I noticed this afternoon the Gess station as you enter Grand Case from Marigot had the E - $ sign covered by tape. Hope it's not a sign of the times!

to hofstedder

you wrote: We found a new store on the island which opened about six months ago and the fruit and Veggies were a whole lot better than Grand Marche and the traffic is not a problem. It is SXM version of Fresh Foods or Fresh Market. It is the cleanest market on the island.

What is the name of the store and where is it located where you can get the best fruits and vegetables?

It is actually called Fresh Market
and it is over by Amsterdam Shopping Center, across the street from the Shell station and what used to be the bowling alley.
Their selection of produce is quite nice.

[barcann.livejournal.com]

B, what day do they get the produce in? I know you posted this before but CRS strikes again! I'll be arriving in SXM Wednesday afternoon and plan on doing my shopping the next day.

Annie - Wednesday and Thursday are usually the best.

But then again, sometimes not! Getting good produce is a real crapshoot - no matter which store.

Elaine and Annie,

For what it's worth (and that could easily be not much...) last April we were having trouble finding 1/2 & 1/2 during our second week. After checking the Maho store early in the morning, we headed over to LGM and at the one on the circle someone in the dairy department told us that all the fresh supplies get to the stores on Mondays and Thursdays (the big day for fresh supplies) and if we stopped back later they'd have it. Sure enough, we stopped back on our way out of P'berg later in the afternoon and they had a shelf full along with some very nice fresh fruit and veggies. The Maho store indicated the same thing the next day when we commented that they now had the 1/2 and 1/2.

Respectfully,

pat

Elaine and Pat...thanks for the info. I plan on going to the Fresh Market on Thursday and see what they have and then might even run up to Grande Marche. I just love the grocery stores in SXM and wish that I could get half the stuff they have here in Florida.

Annie