What can I bring back?
 

I'm going to be going to Barbados, St. Lucia and St. Thomas soon. This will be the first time I'll be out of the country and I'm a little confused what I can bring back into the country from my trip. Alcohol? What is duty and duty-free?

Do people suggest anything to be sure to pick up and bring back with me? Any specific Barbados Rum? Thanks!

I found the following info....

$800 Exemption
If you are arriving from anywhere other than a U.S. insular possession (U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, or Guam) you may bring back $800 worth of items duty free, as long as you bring them with you. This is called accompanied baggage.


For Caribbean Basin or Andean countries, your exemption is also $800:


Antigua and Barbuda Ecuador Panama
Aruba El Salvador Peru

Bahamas Grenada Saint Kitts and Nevis

Barbados Guatemala Saint Lucia

Belize Guyana Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Bolivia Haiti Trinidad and Tobago

British Virgin Islands Honduras

Colombia Jamaica

Costa Rica Montserrat

Dominica Netherlands Antilles

Dominican Republic Nicaragua

You may include two liters of alcoholic beverages with this $800 exemption, as long as one of the liters was produced in one of the countries listed above

So it sounds like going to Barbados and St. Lucia, I could bring back 2 liters of alcohol.

Can anyone verify this from experience? Is this rule 2 liters per person or per group?

I believe that you may bring in 5 liters of alcohol purchased in Saint Thomas per adult person.

The 2 litre amounts are per person.

If purchased in the USVI and 5 of the bottles are USVI produced (i.e. Cruzan Rum), you can bring back 6 bottles in total. Other Caribbean countries allow 2 per person, as long as one of the bottles is produced in the Caribbean.

You can bring back as many bottles as you want but up to two litres are duty free.

That two litres may be six bottles or two bottles but it is the combined amount.

Also, if you bring back more, the duty is still miniscule in relation to the fines for smuggling.

I meant liters in my post and duty free amounts. 6 liters from the USVI if 5 are USVI produced.

The Cruzan Rum was cheapest at Kmart on STT when we were there (a friend who lives there had recommended it). They put it in a box with a handle. It held 6 bottles. There was also a Costco there, which we didn't try.

Just remember sleping through airports with this is heavy, if you carry on...which is what we did. Anyone ever try checking this...or is that not allowed?

Belle

Many years ago I brought back my allotment from St. Croix (I lived there) and checked it in. Well....5 bottles survived and the one that didn't left a nasty stench of rum on the baggage carrousel. It was pretty amazing that 5 survived considering my itinerary that required stops in San Juan, Chicago and finally Mpls! Anyway...I have always carried it from that point on.