St. Eustatius
| General Information
General Info, Travel Info, & FAQs are provided to assist with your vacation.
ATMs Not all ATMs in the Caribbean operate like those in your home country. Some may only accept a four digit PIN number, so if yours is longer you may want to change it before your trip. Ensure you keep your travel money in your primary chequing account as some ATMs default to this account and will not allow you to choose another. Withdrawal fees are generally much higher outside your home country.
ATMs are also called bankomaticos in St Eustatius. The main banks are FirstCaribbean International Bank (tel 599/318-2392), Windward Islands Bank (tel 599/318-2846) and the Post Office Bank, Post Spaarbank (tel 599/318-2207).
BANKING AND BUSINESS HOURS Banks Mon-Fri 7:30/8:30am-3:30/4pm (some close between 12 noon and 1:30pm)
Post Office Mon-Fri 7:30am-4pm
CHURCHES/RELIGIONS Anglican, Apostolic, Baha'ism, Baptist, Jehovah's Witness, Methodist, Pentecostal, Roman Catholic, Seventh-day Adventist and World of Faith Ministry are all represented.
CURRENCY AND CREDIT CARDS The local currency is the Netherlands Antillean florin (NAF, NAf, NAFl, NAfl, NFl or Fl) also known as the Netherlands Antillean guilder (ANG), which is divided into 100 cents. Paper money runs in denominations of NAFl 5, NAFl 10, NAFl 25, NAFl 50, NAFl 100 and NAFl 250 bills, and coins in 1¢, 2.5¢ (very rare), 5¢, 10¢, 25¢, 50¢, NAFl 1 and NAFl 5 pieces. The florin is fixed to the US dollar at approximately NAFl 1.77 = US$1. The US dollar is widely accepted. Most hotels, shops and restaurants accept major credit cards.
To ensure hassle-free purchases during your trip, you may want to contact your credit card company and let them know you will be travelling abroad.
EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS American Express: lost or stolen card, 336/393-1111 (call collect); lost or stolen cheques or cheque cards, 800/393-1966 Discover Card: 801/902-3100 MasterCard: 800-1561 Visa: 410/902-8022 (call collect) Western Union: no service available
DEPARTURE TAX For destinations within the Netherlands Antilles there is a US$5.65 departure fee. For all other destinations the fee is US$12.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS A valid passport is required. All visitors must also have an onward or return ticket.
Nationals of some countries may require a visa. For more information consult your nearest Netherlands consulate/embassy or call the Immigration Department at 599/318-2477 or 599/318-2371.
Note: As of January 8, 2007, all persons travelling by air to the Caribbean, Mexico and Bermuda will require a valid passport, Air NEXUS card or US Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Document to enter and/or re-enter the United States in accordance with the US Government's Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. For more information visit the US Government's Bureau of Consular Affairs website at www.travel.state.gov.
Some countries require single/lone parents or other adults travelling alone with children to provide documents showing evidence of parental/custodial and/or access rights, and/or documents authorizing consent from the parents, legal guardian, and/or the court for the children to travel. Parents of adopted children, particularly those of a different nationality, should carry the proper documents.
NEAREST FOREIGN REPRESENTATION Honorary British Consulate: 747-3322 (Curaçao) Consulate of Canada: 599-9/466-1115 or 466-1121 (Curaçao), 613/996-8885 (call collect to Ottawa) US Consulate General: 599-9/461-3066 (Curaçao)
EXCHANGE RATES
As of November 1, 2006
US$
ANG/NAFl
British pound sterling
1.90173
3.42311
Canadian dollar
0.88881
1.59986
European Union euro
1.27217
2.28991
Japanese yen
0.008513
0.01532
Swiss franc
0.80097
1.44174
US dollar
--
1.80000
HEALTH STANDARDS Queen Beatrix Hospital (tel 8-2211) is the only hospital on the island. There are two hyperbaric chambers available. Serious cases require medical air evacuation to Dutch St Maarten. Your home medical program may not provide payment for medical services outside your home country. Obtaining adequate medical/travel insurance, including air ambulance coverage, and consulting a physician or travel medicine specialist six to eight weeks prior to your trip to determine health risks and necessary vaccinations is recommended.
ILLEGAL ITEMS The Netherlands Antilles has harsh penalties for possession, use or trafficking in illegal drugs; strict regulations for exporting or temporarily importing firearms and certain marine and animal specimens; and strict gun control laws.
LANGUAGE Dutch is the official language, however, everyone speaks English.
POSTAGE The main post office (tel 8-2207), located on Cottage Rd, is open Mon-Fri 7:30am-4pm. Airmail to North America and the UK takes about one week.
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS Jan 1 New Year's Day Mar/Apr (varies) Good Friday Mar/Apr (varies) Easter Sunday Mar/Apr (varies) Easter Monday Apr 30 Queen's Birthday May 1 Labour Day May (varies) Ascension Day Oct 21 Antillean Day Nov 16 Statia Day Dec 25 Christmas Day Dec 26 Boxing Day
SHOPPING HOURS Shops generally open Mon-Sat 8am-6pm. Some may close for a few hours at lunch. Grocery stores generally open 7:30am-7pm.
TAXES Hotels add a 7% service charge to bills.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS The phone system on St Eustatius is modern and cellular and Internet services are available.
The country code is 599 (for the Netherlands Antilles) and the area code for St Eustatius is 318. Local phone numbers have four digits. To make a local call dial 8 + four-digit local number. To call St Eustatius from North America dial 011 + 599 + 318 + the local four-digit number.
Eutel/St Eustatius Telephone Company (tel 8-2210) provides telecommunications services. Prepaid callings cards are available at retailers around the island for use on both private and public phones.
For more information see the section in FAQs: Can I use my calling card from here?
East Caribbean Cellular (tel 599/542-4100) and CellularOne (tel 599/543-0222), both in St Maarten, provide cellular roaming services. CellularOne also rents cell phones. Check with your service provider to see if they have a roaming agreement with one of these companies.
TEMPERATURES The average daytime temperature is 81°F and at night it averages 73°F. Apr, June and Sep are the rainy months.
TIME ZONE The island is on Atlantic Standard Time year round, which is four hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). During the summer the time is the same as on the east coast of North America and during the winter, the time is one hour ahead.
Disclaimer: Information is provided as a service to visitors and is updated regularly. All
information should be verified prior to travel.
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