Climate and Currency |
Climate
The sun is brutal for those not used to it. Protection is absolutely necessary to avoid sun burning, severe sunburn or sun poisoning, any of which can occur in as little time as one hour. Click on the links below for 30-year statistics:
 | Average and/or maximum & minimum temperature by month: |
| Average rainfall by month |
| Average wind speed by month |
| Average hours of sunshine per month |
northern Caribbean islands; central Caribbean islands; southern Caribbean islands
Currency
Islands and their common currency are identified below. In case of dual currencies, the first quoted is the preferred. The second listed currency may be taken by taxi drivers, restaurants and the like. Note that the Dutch guilder (florin or NAf for Netherland Antillies florin) is fixed at 1.76 to the U.S. dollar, but few if any visitors use this currency. The Eastern Caribbean dollar is fixed at 2.67 to the U.S. dollar. Where Euros are quoted and used, the exchange can vary widely depending on the establishment, some exchanging at par with the U.S. dollar, some charging a significant premium over the exchange rate current at any given time.
| Anguilla: Eastern Caribbean dollar; U.S. dollar. |
| Antigua: Eastern Caribbean dollar; U.S. dollar. |
| Barbuda: Eastern Caribbean dollar; U.S. dollar. |
| British Virgin Islands: U.S. dollar everywhere. |
| Dominica: Eastern Caribbean dollar. |
| Guadeloupe: Euro. |
| Montserrat: Eastern Caribbean dollar. |
| Nevis: Eastern Caribbean dollar. |
| Saba: Dutch guilder; U.S. dollar widely accepted. |
| Sint Maarten/St. Martin: Dutch guilder; Euro; U.S. dollar widely accepted. |
| St. Eustatius: Dutch guilder; U.S. dollar widely accepted. |
| St. Christopher (St. Kitts): Eastern Caribbean dollar. |
| All Others: U.S. dollar. |
Weather Statistics
|
Latitude: 19.45N Longitude: 033.50W Altitude: 5m | ||||||||||||
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |
| Maximum | 84.2 | 84.2 | 84.2 | 86 | 87.8 | 89.6 | 91.4 | 91.4 | 91.4 | 89.6 | 87.8 | 84.2 |
| Minimum | 62.6 | 62.6 | 64.4 | 66.2 | 68 | 69.8 | 69.8 | 69.8 | 69.8 | 68 | 66.2 | 64.4 |
| Mean | 73.4 | 73.4 | 75.2 | 75.2 | 78.8 | 80.6 | 80.6 | 80.6 | 80.6 | 78.8 | 77 | 75.2 |
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |
| Total (in) | 7.5 | 5.5 | 5.1 | 4.9 | 5.4 | 2.2 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 2.6 | 4.4 | 9.0 | 9.1 |
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |
| Rel. Humidity (%) | 84 | 83 | 82 | 81 | 80 | 77 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 82 | 81 |
| Wind Speed (km/h) | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
Latitude: 15.35N Longitude: 061.18W Altitude: 14m | ||||||||||||
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |
| Maximum | 82.4 | 82.4 | 82.4 | 84.2 | 86 | 86 | 86 | 87.8 | 86 | 84.2 | 30 | 29 |
| Minimum | 71.6 | 71.6 | 71.6 | 73.4 | 75.2 | 77 | 77 | 75.2 | 75.2 | 73.4 | 23 | 22 |
| Mean | 77 | 77 | 77 | 78.8 | 80.6 | 80.6 | 80.6 | 80.6 | 80.6 | 78.8 | 26 | 25 |
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |
| Total (in) | 6.3 | 4.2 | 5.3 | 4.8 | 8.7 | 6.4 | 7.1 | 9.6 | 11.7 | 13.1 | 374 | 240 |
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |
|
Sunshine (h) |
199 | 201 | 227 | 245 | 243 | 228 | 231 | 240 | 212 | 220 | 194 | 190 |
Latitude: 10.37N Longitude: 061.21W Altitude: 15m |
||||||||||||
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |
| Mean | ||||||||||||
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |
| Total | ||||||||||||
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |
| Sunshine | 241 | 231 | 248 | 238 | 233 | 184 | 206 | 213 | 197 | 207 | 198 | 215 |
| Rel. Humidity (%) | 81 | 80 | 77 | 77 | 79 | 84 | 84 | 84 | 84 | 85 | 86 | 84 |
| Wind Speed (km/h) | 10 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
* Data obtained from theweathernetwork.com