5 bottles per 21 year-old passenger, 6 if one is made in the USVI.

AND I DON'T THINK THAT THEY WILL ALLOW 151 PROFF. SO DON'T GO FOR THE GOOD STUFF!

BILLD

I have a quick question, I was always curious about bringing back cigarettes and alcohol. If I go through customs and declare my 5 cartons of cigarettes and 6 bottles of booze with my checked baggage but then fly into Puerto Rico where I can again buy duty free and do carry on do you think that it would be OK to double up?

Interesting question, Molly. You could ask the same question about the St. Thomas airport, where there is now located a duty free shop selling liquor. It is after you've been through customs. I don't think there are any more officials asking questions at that point, so it would seem you can buy more even if you've declared the limit. I wonder if you would even have to be limited in quantity from there. You'd just need to be sure you could fit everything on board the plane, I suppose.

I agree with Linda J - 5 bottles per 21 year-old passenger, 6 if one is made in the USVI.

But here is the important part- My daughter and husband bought some bottles downtown and they packaged them for them in a box and they were told that they could carry on for free- that is not true-you cannot carry more than 3 oz of liquids. If you buy someplace other than the airport, you will either have to check the box as a piece of luggage, which there will be a fee, and you also risk having the bottles break - you know how they throw the luggage around. Or you have to package the bottles inside your suitcases and also risk having them break. I saw so many people with smashed bottles of liquor at baggage pick up.

The best is to check in at the airport, go thru security and then purchase your six bottles at the store inside the airport. They will package in a box that holds 6 bottles and you just carry on, and it does not count as one of your carry ons, you still get to carry on one carry on and one personal item. If you have to go thru security again, if you have a connecting flight, not sure how they handle that. We had a connecting flight, but didn't have to go thru security again, so it wasn't a problem.

Good Luck! It is good that you are researching this before, we were clueless!

I understand American Airlines doesn't impose an extra baggage charge for liquor boxes but best to check with your particular airline's policy. The 6-pack sturdy liquor boxes are readily available all over the island and you can always add some bubble wrap for extra protection.

I know Delta charges, for sure! But good advice - check with your individual airline!

You can bring 6 1/5th bottles (NOT 6 of the big bottles) if at leas ONE is VIRGIN ISLANDS (Cruzan rum). Another couple of notes.... I've seen, more than a few times, at baggage claim one of the gray tubs come around with one of the liquor boxes and several broken bottles. They aren't gentle with the boxes all of the time, so try and wrap securely. Also, if you purchase in the airport on the other side of the gate you will pay a premium and you may end up with a big hassle if you connect someplace else. When I've connected through Miami I've had to leave and re-enter security. You definitely cannot bring the booze through security.

Check the Customs and Border Protection website for full details on duty-free exemptions. The USVI part, under $1,600 Exemption, is toward the bottom of the page. Here is the link: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/kbyg/types_of_exemptions.xml.

--Islander

I am a member of a wine club where they advertise this. It may be helpful in transporting and I am sure you can use it for more than wine. http://www.winecellarsonline.com/winediaper.html

There is no limit on how many bottles you can take back to the US Mainland -- you can take 5 bottles [fifth size] and 1 additional bottle[if a VI product ] without paying any duty -- after that amount you must pay duty --- but the number of bottles has no limit.

Good point exit zero! I guess we all assumed the question was "how many can you bring back with out paying a duty?" 😀

Continental doesn't charge either....but as STT Resident says check with the airline beforehand.

A few years ago we brought back a total of 18 bottles and the duty was $11.75 for the additional 6.