Buying Gasoline in St. Maarten and St. Martin (Very Tricky)

Buying gas in "SXM" is tricky.

First, Dutch side gas pumps pump in liters and charge by Antillean guilders (one dollar equals 1.80 guilders).

Second, by accident or otherwise, Dutch side pump jockeys often miscalculate what you owe in dollars after buying gas. Usually they miscalculate in their own favor. I've seen it at Shell on several occasions and a long-time member, Jim H, who is on the island now, had it happen to him two consecutive times at Texaco last week.

Solution. Right now it is much cheaper to buy gas on the French side...upwards of 20 cents per liter cheaper. The station we usually go to is Cadisco on the main drag north of Orient Beach, which has been accepting dollars 1:1 with Euros, though we don't know how long that will continue. You pay what you see on the pump.

You can also:
a) Pay in guilders on the Dutch side. Scotia Bank gives you the option of withdrawing guilders from your US bank account. Bank of America account holders do not currently pay any service fees for Scotia Bank withdrawals. There's a Scotia Bank in Simpson Bay and a Scotia Bank ATM at Westin Dawn Beach, among other places. I usually get 200 guilders...filling a tank is usually 50 guilders. (See next item).

b) Pay specific amounts. For example, if you have a 1/4 tank of gas left, your compact will likely be almost full if you add 36 guilders to it, or $20 USD ($10 = 18 guilders). You can also specify $20 and know it is 36 guilders in case they "miscalculate."

Our solution was to buy on the French Side at Cadisco. Much better...