we are confused - how much can we bring back to USA per person and where is the best place to puchase liquor and what does duty free mean? help we are leaving on tuesday!
How much - 2 liters per person Best place to buy - I prefer Walmart downtown and La Europea which is acorss the street from Walmart in the building that says Super Fitness Damas in giant bright red letters about 4 floors high. Duty Free - essentially means that you don't pay any duties (taxes). The catch here is "multifold. Duty free stores are at the airport. You buy your booze there for an outrageous price, get your receipt, give them your airline and flight number and you get your purchase as you board the plane. The problem, in addition to the higher "convenience" prices is that if you have a connecting flight in the US to your final desitination, you have to first clear Immigration when you arrive at your point of entry. Then Customs where you may be asked if you have anything to declare. On the back of your customs form you will have written 2 liters of rum for $xx.xx. Then you have to recheck your luggage, assuming you have checked baggage. If you have booze, you will now have to cram it into your otherwise already overpacked suitcases. Why you ask? Because you now are in a public part of the airport so to get to your connecting flight you have to clear Security again and you cannot take liquids, gels, pastes, etc. as carry on unless they weigh 3 oz or less and you put them all in a single zip lock 1 qt. bag. My unasked for suggestion is to go to Walmart and look at prices for what you want. Then go to the way cool La Europea where you have better selections and usually the same or better prices so you will probably end up buying here. Then carefully pack your purchases in your luggage. You can find bubble wrap probably in Walmart but I never bother. I wrap in dirty clothes and then put in a plastic bag which you get every time you make a purchase anywhere. I have probably taken booze from Mexico to the US 30 or so times and I have only had one bottle break and it was my fault for not packing it better. If you want to live on the wild side, and I would never suggest this, in the back left corner of La Europea on the shelves underneath the RUM or it may say RON (= rum in spanish) sign, you will see a very inexpensive and very very tasty brand called Havana Club. There are 4 types, a Blanco (white) for about $8 US, an anejo for $10 or $11, and two more anejos for like $16 and $20. The hint here is the brand name. If you purchase this brand be sure to only write 2 liters of Rum. I suggest you do not write 2 LITERS OF RUM MADE AND BOTTLED IN A COUNTRY WHERE THE U.S. HAS A 40 YEAR OLD TRADE EMBARGO. But this rum is very good and the prices are unbelievably cheap. Or you may like tequila. A very good brand, inexpensive that comes in a tall, skinny, shiny, dark blue bottle is called Corralejo Reposado. This bottle is so cool if you can display it in your home and the tequila is very smooth. A great bargain at under $20 per liter. Also, be sure to note the bottle sizes. Many are only 700 ml so this is important when comparing prices. Good luck.
I would have to disagree with my buddy TJ on some of what he posted. As a US resident, you get what is called a Duty Free Exemption. Think of it in terms of a Tax Free Exemption. It is the total value of merchandise you may bring back to the USA without having to pay and duty (tax) on it. You MAY bring back MORE than your exemption, but you will have to pay duty on it. The exact amount of Duty you are entitled to depends on various factors. If you are looking to bring back as much as you can for free, I would suggest that you go to the US Customs website and read everything starting from page 14 in the brochure to see how much you can bring back for free. For some reason, the PDF link is not posting for me. I will post the link to the main site in the next post. I have to go get it since the pdf is not posting for some reason. Michelle
Go here: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/kbyg/ and click on "know before you go" and then scroll down to page 14. NOT page 14 on the pdf scroll, but page 14 of the actual brochure. The numbers on on each page at the bottom, right. Michelle
Scroll back up to TJ's post....then re-read the second sentence. You can catch the bus from the hotel zone.....catch any one that says Walmart on the front window, tell the driver "walmart" and sit up front. Once you get to the downtown area, it's only a couple stops away from the 1st downtown stop. Michelle
