TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums British Virgin Islands Bringing Liquor to BVI

We will be chartering a catamaran in February 2020 and we are thinking about bringing several bottles of liquor from home. Can anyone tell me if there is a duty that we would have to pay when bringing it into EIS airport?

Why bring sand to the beach?
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I thought it would save us a little because we are bringing a checked bag anyway.

Nope..bad idea..buy local at decent prices.

+1...

That is funny

The duty will be anywhere from 5-20%. It's really a crapshoot as to what it will be, or whether you will be charged at all. Make sure that you declare it, and I'd say that the chances that you'd have to pay anything to be 50/50. In all of the scores of times I've entered with declared merchandise, I've probably paid duty only 10% of the time. Courtesy and respect goes a long way to mitigate the duty!

As another reason to buy local. I was flying from BVI to Miami for the boatshow. Packed some rum VERY carefully in a checked back. Security somewhere opened my bag at EIS or SJU along the way and did not repack with the same care. When I got to baggage claim, my bag was the one dripping and smelling like coconut rum. Had to buy new clothes for the weekend as mine had glass pieces, wouldn't have been an issue if just smelled like rum. Should have just bought the rum in MIA and said I brought it from the islands.

It is typically WAY WAY cheaper to buy the same alcohol locally due to the tax. In most cases, liquor is cheaper than the mixer. i.e., rum is cheaper than coke.

Not to mention lugging around the extra weight. You can order it ahead of time, and it will be sitting on the boat when you arrive.

Liquor is generally cheaper in the BVI than in the states and the selection is great. Most people buy liquor in the Caribbean to take back to the states!

We find it much cheaper in BVI than what we used to spend in Ohio. A couple examples: Crown Royal $13 BVI, $35 OH; Grey Goose Vodka $21 BVI, $50 OH. Absolut Vodka $9 BVI, $18 OH. Wine is a different story. Prices are very similar to OH IF you can find what you want. If you have special wine that you like, sometimes that's worth bring a couple of bottles.

I agree with everyone else...liquor is much cheaper in the BVI's...but wine is not. It is harder to find a good wine and it is usually much more expensive.

I asked this question in another thread - Is there an “official” site or reliable info describing limits on bringing alcohol in via ferry? Specifically liters of wine (that is obviously not available on Tortola). Don’t mind paying a tariff if not ridiculous...

Absolutely spot on.

Rum and Carib tends to be the most popular drinks on my boat... not mixed together (although now I am thinking about it....)