Currency is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar (XCD).
Few shops, hotels or restaurants accept credit cards.
US Dollars are widely accepted (but not for paying port fees)
The territory has limited but modern banking facilities.
On 1 July 2015, the I cent and 2 cents EC coins were withdrawn from circulation.
A price rounding system operates within the ECCU countries for the settlement of cash transactions only, whereby the total payment, inclusive of duties, fees and taxes, will be rounded symmetrically to the nearest five cents. Non-cash payments using cheques, debit and credit cards will not be impacted and therefore will not be rounded.
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The best restaurant on Montserrat is Ziggy’s; Marcia and John are delightful, and to the extent that any place on Montserrat is “upscale”, Ziggy’s is it. It is a little hard to find, but they are on Google Maps.
The last time I cleared in, I was told that it was permitted to anchor in Isles Bay, (4.5 miles south of Little Bay), which is a better anchorage in most ways than Little Bay. But the Customs agent told us we were only permitted to leave the boat in Little Bay. That said, I have seen many people come and go off their boats while anchored in Isles Bay. The holding in Isles Bay is excellent, since the bottom is thick mud laid down by ash from the volcano over the last 30 years.
And uf somebody can tell somebody at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (website mvo.ms) that their website does not work, that would be nice (I forgot).
The MVO is a must see, especially for the movie about the eruption.
Montserrat is a lovely green island with nice inhabitants and a history shattered by the volcanic eruption. .
We visited the outskirts of the buried capital, Plymouth, and other parts of the island, with Cecil Wade, +16644922814, who made the visit very interesting and lively.
There is extensive dredging going on in Montserrat, Little Bay as of August 2023, which unsettles the sea floor. That means your anchor won’t hold well, and in addition you may be in the way of a 80m Ro-Ro cargo ship anchoring stern-to to the crumbling wharf, or facing a dredging barge, both prospects being stressful. In addition, two wrecks marked on the map in front of the beach seem to exist.
All the formerit existing moorings for yachts have been removed, as well as those for the local fishermen.
All this makes anchoring in Rendezvous Bay (north), or maybe Carr’s Bay, just south, the only reasonable option. The Cap’t’n alone must dinghy to the wharf for formalities.
Tying the dinghy to the wharf can be done on the south side. This is a rough place, do not go barefeet (customs won’t let you in without shoes and shirt anyway).
We enjoyed our visit at Montserrat.
Visiting the volcanic-buried town of Plymouth was a special experience of a lifetime.
The Montserrat Tourism Division, phone +1664 491 4703, was very helpful in finding a tour guide. We connected with L&Yve’s Tours, phone +16644935031, visit Plymouth and many more. We enjoyed the tour with highly recommended guides.
Free Wifi in the harbour. Try to go during the week as museums and Volcano Observatory are closed not the weekend.
I can recommend the following Tour Guide – Joe Philips. His knowledge of the island and it’s history is extensive and he complements the tour with pictures and videos of the island both before and after the extensive volcano devastation. At the end of the tour he will email a link to some of the information that he has provided. His tours last 3-5 to 4 hours.Contact details are:
Joe Phillip
Box 432
Brades
Montserrat
West Indies
Phone: 1-(664)-492-1565
Email: joephillip@live.com
Marine VHF Channel 08: Avalon