What is St. Martin known for?

Any specialty items that people buy?

The destination is best known for its dual culture, its beaches and duty free and tax free shopping. I think the only indigenous item it has is Guava berry liquor.

We bought some beautiful delicate glass angel Christmas tree decorations in a French shop near the port at Marigot. :D

Sint Maarten Guavaberry Liqueur, pure heaven on earth when mixed into a colada, and only about $15 a bottle!:D

Dianne

Guavaberry! The first time we went we bought 4 bottles- the second time 6! We are going again in a couple of weeks and will be buying more!:D

Try the passion fruit too It was awsome in a pina colada. :D

Any liquor that tastes like cough syrup straight up (Guavaberry) doesn't cut it for me. My favorite is MaDoudou

Any liquor that tastes like cough syrup straight up (Guavaberry) doesn't cut it for me. My favorite is MaDoudou

 

All the Ma Doudou bottles are hand painted and each flavor is different. We like the Coconut and Vanilla flavors. You can get Ma Doudou all over the island and the price varies. It should be about $9-$12. The plastic bottles are cheaper.

Six of us go to Pinel Island and during the stay we always go thru 5-6 bottles of Ma Doudou. Sometimes it's very difficult to leave the island! :eek:

Sound like fun !! We will be touring St. Martin for our first time ( 13 ) of us I'll have to get some for the ride too :eek: !! Hope I remember the tour :D !!!

Do you any you who are buying liquor have to fly back home? If so, what's your recommendation on traveling with liquor with the recent ban on liquids on planes?

Thanks!

Do you any you who are buying liquor have to fly back home? If so, what's your recommendation on traveling with liquor with the recent ban on liquids on planes?

 

Thanks!

1 - Pray they pack it up nicely for you in the shops

2 - Bring second checked bag for heavy items such as shoes, toiletries

3 - Pack liquor in a suitcase tie in tight, surround by clothes

4 - Close your eyes when the suitcase is coming around on baggage claim just in case in broke!

Some brands are now available in plastic bottles. That would substantially cut down on weight. Also, DO NOT check the 6- or 8-bottle cardboard carry boxes with your luggage. There are MANY, MANY stories where the contents are missing upon arrival. The graphics on the outside of the box is a huge invite to theft. Matter of fact, the airlines will warn you that the box may not even arrive at your destination.

Any liquor that tastes like cough syrup straight up (Guavaberry) doesn't cut it for me. My favorite is MaDoudou

 

Cool bottle, I will try it when I am there in Sept. But, I must be honest a lot of ppl in our group are head over heels for the guavaberry rum. I must try them both, LOL

Do you any you who are buying liquor have to fly back home? If so, what's your recommendation on traveling with liquor with the recent ban on liquids on planes?

 

Thanks!

Most I've brought back since the liquid ban is 4 bottles. I take an empty liquor box with us from previous trips (flatten it and put it in the bottom of our suitcase when packing for the trip. I also take several sheets of bubble wrap with me, extra gallon and 2 1/2 gallon ziploc bags and duct tape.

Liquor we buy in port is normally boxed. When it arrives in our cabin I repack the liquor, rewrapping each bottle in bubble wrap then encasing it in a ziploc bag before putting it into a liquor box (I buffer the bottles with tissue paper, plastic bags, etc.) then duct tape the boxes shut and encase them in a 2 1/2 gallon ziploc before packing them in the luggage.

Haven't had a broken bottle yet, not even during the cruise when our luggage didn't make the flight and was delivered to our house 2 days later.

Dianne

Cool bottle, I will try it when I am there in Sept. But, I must be honest a lot of ppl in our group are head over heels for the guavaberry rum. I must try them both, LOL

Do a real taste test by tasting each product STRAIGHT. The Ma Doudou will be very nice, while the guavaberry will taste extremely bitter and terrible. Isn't it strange when you can only drink something when it is diluted with lots of sugar (Coco Loco), water (ice) and cream?

There is a shop on the French side called Les Exotiques (Oyster Pond) area and she creates some beautiful handpainted plates and other ceramic pieces. Really beautiful and they have unique island designs on them. She is at 76 Rue de la Flibuste. We also like the Murano Glass shop on the Port in Marigot, not typically "island" type goods, but very nice glass pieces and they will custom design a piece of jewelry, using the beads you select. Very reasonably priced, as well.

We bought a bottle of Guavaberry when we first went to St Maarten in early 80's and never had more than a few sips out of it. Now MaDouDou is another story... YUM!!!

There is a shop on the French side called Les Exotiques (Oyster Pond) area and she creates some beautiful handpainted plates and other ceramic pieces. Really beautiful and they have unique island designs on them. She is at 76 Rue de la Flibuste. We also like the Murano Glass shop on the Port in Marigot, not typically "island" type goods, but very nice glass pieces and they will custom design a piece of jewelry, using the beads you select. Very reasonably priced, as well.

We bought a bottle of Guavaberry when we first went to St Maarten in early 80's and never had more than a few sips out of it. Now MaDouDou is another story... YUM!!!

Rory - I forgot all about Les Exotiques. That's one place where a person can take home some true locally crafted ceramic art. Last year we bought gifts to take home to many friends, some of whom are from St. Lucia. They really enjoyed the work as it was truely Caribbean.

Wonderful news about Les Exotiques as I love handmade anything from the islands. We will stop there on our private tour and I'm sure I wil find some pieces to bring home :) !!!!

The artist's name is Marie Moine and she is from France. What I really like about her pieces is that they are quality and she puts alot of thought into her designs. Her studio is right there with this huge kiln and she creates each piece from a piece of clay on up. I also buy the little trinket boxes as gifts for people. I have quite a few of her plates in my collection. We went last year and I really liked the design of this one plate. I realized how much I liked it because when I got it home; I saw I already had the same design that I had purchased previously!:D but this one is a bit different with cut-outs on the plate...