St. Maarten Phillipsburg

Summary: St. Maarten Phillipsburg is one of the few duty free ports in the world that is the best place to buy international fashion and luxury items as well as hand-crafted souvenirs.

St. Maarten is a place of hundred activities. To name a few would be hiking, horse riding, scuba diving and snorkeling, sunbathing, parasailing… there are a lots of activities that are typical to any Caribbean destination: activities in the sun. And like any other places too, St. Maarten is a place to shop for exotic goods.

St. Maarten is blessed as a commercial center. Being one of the few duty free ports in the world, it is the best place to buy luxury items even from your country. It of no cause of surprise really if cruise ships almost regularly dock in St. Maarten, often just to allow its passengers a chance to shop for exotic goods and imported items or just mingle with hundreds of nationalities that also do likewise.

Most serious shopping is over the island's Dutch capital at St. Maarten Phillipsburg. Especially at the Four Street in St. Maarten Phillipsburg where designer boutiques and world renowned labels lined the streets, shopping becomes more or less serious with choicest catalogs of items, apparels, equipment and even electronics coming from all around the world with prices that would rival anywhere. Designer boutiques of all sorts such as Calvin Klein, D&G, Tommy Hilfiger, Levis, and DKNY line the Four Street of St. Maarten Phillipsburg.

One favorite shopping item prevalent in St. Maarten Phillipsburg is jewelry. In fact, several shops of different nationalities compete with each other selling jewelries of any kind. These Front Street shops offer everything, from silver to loose diamonds to emeralds to rubies and sapphires, St. Maarten Phillipsburg is the best place for items such as authentic and pricey jewelry since other regulated places (even the most lax regulations) still requires a good percentage of duty taxes. Many jewelers do sell authentic and pricey watches, like those Swiss watches and chromium originals and several Rolex.

While most shoppers do tend to concentrate more on international fashion and top-of-the-line French cosmetics, there are other shops that sell native items that are handcrafted and designed by St. Maarten inhabitants. Like summer t shirts, caps, native hats, and even a bottle of the popular Guava berry Liquor. Some quaint art galleries offer native crafts and arts that would be perfect souvenirs for anyone's stay in St. Maarten Phillipsburg.

In keeping close tradition, most stores in St. Maarten Phillipsburg and some around the corner do tend to remain open 24 hours to facilitate those needing to buy something even at wee hours of the morning as well as departing guests that sometimes leave at dawn.