Hey Mates,

Is it cheaper to bring alcohol (rum/whiskey/vodka) or buy it there? How much can you bring before you pay taxes?

Thanks,

One Bad Jack

Have fun rclinscott!! :wine: :wine: :wine: :dine: :cheers: :margarita:

When you say you purchase at the duty free shop, are you refering to the ones here in the US or the ones available once you arrive in the Caymans? I was always under the impression rums were cheaper in the islands. Not true?

There are so many questions about this, and even though it’s mentioned and explained many times in many other threads, I thought I’d just create a new topic for it to make it easier to find.

First of all, to answer the question of how much alcohol you can bring in duty free:

When traveling to the Cayman Islands from the United States, each person 18 years or over is allowed to bring in EITHER 1 liter of spirits (rum, vodka, etc) OR one case of beer OR 4 liters of wine, without having to pay duty. You must declare it on your Customs form upon entering the country, but you will not have to pay duty on it, if you do not exceed those limits. What’s nice is that if you are traveling as a family, you only have to fill out one Customs form. On that form, you can just list the total alcohol that your family is bringing in, and as long as you don’t exceed the limits for the total of the people in your family who are 18 and over, you’ll be fine.

Alcohol is very expensive in the Cayman Islands, since they have to pay a hefty import tax themselves to bring it into the island, so I personally think that it’s a great idea to bring in your allowed amount. Now sooner or later, that liquor you brought in will be gone, and that’s when you’ll pull out your Cayman Activity Guide discount coupons! There is one worth a 10% discount off of wine and spirits at all Big Daddy’s liquor stores, and I believe that there will soon be a coupon for a discount on rum at the Tortuga Rum stores on the island.

Now, another issue that can be confusing to some is buying “duty free” alcohol, whether in the US or in the Cayman Islands:

Most airports have duty free liquor stores located in the secured area of their airports, close to the departure gates for flights leaving the country. There is such a liquor store located in the departure lounge at the Cayman Islands airport as well, but that is only accessible to visitors as they leave. Many people think that they can stop in there after they arrive on the island and save some money, but they are not allowed in there.

The only exception to this is that you might see liquor shops around the island, especially in Georgetown near the harbor, that advertise themselves as “duty free”. If I’m not mistaken, I think that those shops will only sell liquor duty free to the cruise ship passengers who can produce a ship’s boarding pass, and even then it will be delivered to the ship. In other words, it’s treated the same way for them as for the land visitors who are allowed to purchase “duty free” as they prepare to leave the island (for them, at the airport).

So, if you decide to bring some liquor into the Caymans with you, then the decision is where and when to buy it, and how to bring it in. Many airports in the US have duty-free alcohol shops within their secured areas, close to the departure gates for flights leaving the country. When you purchase “duty-free” alcohol there, you might save some money, since the shop is able to sell it to you “duty-free”, but just remember that that has nothing at all to do with how much you can bring into the Cayman Islands “duty-free”. No matter where you bought the alcohol that you are bringing in, and whether or not you bought it “duty free”, you still have to adhere to the duty free allowance when entering the Cayman Islands.

Obviously, if you choose to buy your liquor at your local liquor store at home, you need to pack it carefully in your packed luggage (since liquids of that volume cannot be brought through security), and if you choose to purchase it from your departure airport’s duty free shop, then you would be carrying it on the plane with you. We’ve always packed ours in our luggage, with no problems, but I know many prefer to carry it on.

Again, I think it’s worthwhile to bring what you can in, and then use the CAG discounts once on the island!

Hopefully, I have this all correct…..please correct me if I’m wrong about anything that I said, but I think I have it right.

Char

Excellent Char! Thank You. :clapping:

Hi,just a story re bringing alcohol into the islands.We left Tampa onroute the Brac in September & bought a couple of bottles of Malibu from the duty free.We were given it as we boarded & then on arrival at Grand Cayman we checked our luggage in for the flight to cayman Brac still holding the duty free.We left check out & went through security when we were told the bottles should have been checked in the suitcases.I just said to my wife we might as well just find some staff & let them have it as a gift but she said no way ,left the security area & went back to checkout.They said all they could do was put a fragile sticker on the clear plastic bag containing the booze & hope for the best.I fell about laughing when I heard this as flying around UK airports I’ve seen what happens to luggage being loaded.Anyway we waited at Cayman Brac luggage carosel,me saying it will be in a hundred pieces,when round it comes in the middle of the suitcases,bolt upright,not a scatch.Got the usual,there,I told you so from the wife.So a big thank you to the people of G/C & Cayman Brac because of the care you not only took of my drinks but for all the care friendlyness you gave to us during our memorable stay on your lovely islands

Alan

Thank you! this helps.