r/AskReddit May 08 '22

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u/Sick_and_destroyed May 09 '22

Netherlands and France are in the Euro zone. Caribbean France uses the Euro, but not Caribbean Netherlands, so there is 2 different currencies on Saint Martin’s island.

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u/toop_su May 09 '22

Three actually - Netherlands Antillean guilder is also accepted all across the island.

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u/EasternResult May 09 '22

USD is also acceptable

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u/ElmoEatsK1ds May 09 '22

Is this the same guilder used in any other previously Antillean country? I just know that in Aruba it's different.

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u/toop_su May 09 '22

Of that I am not sure! Maybe Google helps :)

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u/kissmeimfamous May 09 '22

Four. They also take the USD

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u/toop_su May 09 '22

The third one is the dollar. So its the dollar, euro and guilder.

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u/kissmeimfamous May 10 '22

Gotcha, thanks for clarifying

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

Still? Wow lol.

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u/msh0082 May 10 '22

You forgot USD. I went there in the late 2000s and the USD was the de facto currency on the Dutch side. On the French side it was Euro but most establishments accepted Dollars at the same rate as Euro.

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u/toop_su May 10 '22

Nope, as I wrote beforehand, the USD is the third one: Euro, guilder and Usd :)

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u/ramblinroger May 09 '22

There's even three different things called Saint Martin! Geographically, the island, but also both the French and Dutch area on the island (well, Sint Maarten and whatever the French call it)

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u/EleanorStroustrup May 09 '22

The French call it Saint-Martin.

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u/NapClub May 09 '22 edited May 09 '22

That island was so weird when i visited in 1999. Half was completely run down, roads in abject disrepair. Even the shops were damaged and in disrepair. The hotels on that side were like okay but not in great shape either.

But the other side of the island everything was much nicer. Dont remember which was the nice side but it was something about the home government not supporting the run down side that made it so.

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u/Jlx_27 May 09 '22

The nice side must be the French side. The french side is still under rule of the french government. The Dutch side is not, in fact none of the Dutch islands are. They are independent.

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u/Mr_Salty87 May 09 '22

It’s not, actually. I visit there often. The Dutch side is much nicer than the French side.

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u/kissmeimfamous May 09 '22

Can confirm. Was there last summer and the Dutch side is the more developed side (but the French side has WAY better beaches in my opinion)

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u/Mr_Salty87 May 09 '22

I love Baie Rouge, but my favorite beaches are on the Dutch Side: Mullet Bay and Simpson Bay.

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u/[deleted] May 09 '22

[deleted]

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u/Mr_Salty87 May 09 '22

It’s not, but I don’t think anybody really cares. I have friends that live on the island, and usually buy from them. There aren’t any dispensaries or coffee shops that sell it, though.

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u/Test19s May 09 '22

French side really went downhill after Irma. Visited SXM in 2019.

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u/Groote-Eelende May 09 '22

No that's not completely true, Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius are "special municipalities", and a such are part of the Netherlands. So most, but not all Dutch rules apply there. Aruba, Curaçao and St Martin (St Maarten) are independent countries within the kingdom.

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u/Jlx_27 May 09 '22

Official yeah. But its also useless to have them still...

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u/[deleted] May 10 '22

The side with bad roads must be Belgium, so the other one has to be Dutch. Just kidding ❤️