Good afternoon,

Can anyone tell me what the preference on St. Martin is as regards the use of travelers' checks (cheques) vs. cash.

I know that on several of the smaller islands -- Bequia, etc., it's almost impossible to cash a travelers' check, and the attitude you get on some of the larger islands makes using them (T. checks) just as difficult.

Leaving Monday a.m., so would appreciate a quick response from anyone who has an opionion on the matter.

Thank you.

travelers' checks (cheques), work fine.

Augie;

I am an agnostic dyslexic who questions if there really is a dog.

Augie is right on the money. They're better than cash IMHO, because if you should lose them, as we all know, they are replaceable.

We usually bring 2-3 hundred dollars in small bills for tips, etc., and then rely on TC's for the rest of our trip.

On St. Maarten, they are easily cashed at the major grocery stores and at the casinos but you will probably be asked for a picture id at the latter. Remember, though, much as you've experienced on other islands, really small places will have difficulty with large denomination checks and will most likely be unable to accept them.

Have a great trip.

Respectfully,

pat
:-) :-)

just use the atms all over the island / the last two years i have not even been charged a service fee to use them / i don't know if that is the case for other people i have never asked anybody else

jmasons,

There are ATMs all over and obviously a tremendous number of people rely on them and use them without issue but there have been a few reports of double dipping from accounts and as recently as Jan. or Dec. past there were major problems with ATM thefts by way of stealing data from the magnetic strips. The people doing this were caught, as was reported in the local paper.

Personally, I'd rather stick to the TC's which I know are a sure thing, as opposed to risking the potential of having my at home accounts tampered with. If you're spending much time on the French side, there are many places that will offer the one cash US dollar = one euro and they accept the TC's as cash.

We've been down the road of having our credit cards misused, although we were never absolutely certain that it happened on St. Maarten, so the TC's just suit our personal comfort level and in the end, that's really what it's all about. Re: the CC problem, it was easily straightened out but it did cause a few months aggravation for us so we'd just rather avoid the hassle altogether.

Respectfully,

pat
:-) :-)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/04/2007 12:06PM by pat.

This last time while in SXM I brought only Travellers cheques. Hubby had some cash, but we used Travellers cheques for most dinners. With the crime escalating, can't take any chances.

:-D Contessa