To judge from comments on some of the St. John travel forums, a lot of people have more then flip flops, t-shirts, and magazines in their luggage.
Many also have food. Which results in folks trading tips about what to bring, and how.
Tinkerbelldee says granola bars, coffee, Splenda, and Crystal Light are among her must-packs. Besides several cans of Pringles, "In our small backpack cooler, I have chicken, hamburger, bacon, and cheese. ( I am picky about certain things, meat being one of them)."
It's not the high cost of groceries on St. John that prompts people to bring their own food. Convenience is a big factor, as well as being sure you've got what you like. "Because I'm a little bit of a foodie and just want to have certain things. And this foodie likes to have her Twizzlers and Gummisavers poolside!," said Mari6625.
Bluewater43 has this strategy: "Vacuum pack & freeze anything … at least a week ahead. Morning of the trip, throw everything in the cooler, packing lunchmeat & cheese in-between the frozen meat. Don't use ice packs at all (can't in carry-on) and everything is still frozen 8 hours later when we arrive." In that cooler – steaks, pork tenderloin, chicken breasts, burgers and Italian sausages.
The whole concept was news to Cfbbnell." I didn't know you could bring meat as a carry on! We are serious about our meat – 3 freezers in the garage. We buy whole cows, hogs and lambs. Being able to pack it into a cooler for the trip is awesome."
We don’t want to miss a single great meal offered by the wonderful restaurants and bars on St. John. No way am I hauling food. It’s not a third world country!
We fly back and forth 4 times a winter and bring a lot of frozen meat and shrimp. We tried coolers but found things were melting on arrival. We put frozen meat in a cooler bag and wrap in in polar fleece and pack cloths around that in a duffle bag. Everything is still frozen solid after 12 hours, assuming TSA does not dump it out. Lots of fresh spices, garlic, red peppers and a trip to Coral Bay garden center for organic greens are essential.
For years, when the kids were young, we brought all kinds
of goodies – and I would totally recommend Parents of young
ones to definitely pack their favs. But us big kids now are very healthy eaters and certainly don’t need tote all that extra fat & preservatives down to the islands. I do cook a lot when I there & we do partake in a whole lot of Happy Hours with good finger foods, Sushi & we enjoy La Tapa. I agree with Karen – STJ has some wonderful offerings and it seems to be getting better every time we visit!!
Plus, there is terrific, delicious, wondrous pork for sale on this island, and very fresh chicken–all at a reasonable price in the gorcery stores.
Love bringing homemade sauce & pasta. Love bringing that as part of my carry-on. Stays frozen~& it’s great one night. The rest…I’d rather purchase on STJ or go out to eat. After all…that’s why we are there. Oh, and LOVE my sweedish fish! LOL
Must have my Bare Naked low fat granola and my “A Fig Walked into a Bar” bars available only at Trader Joe!s and Tazo Awake Tea.
I own Perelandra and mail flat rate priority shipping boxes to my management company and my renters can do the same. That leaves more room in the suitcase for bathing suits and flip flops.
you know, I agree with Karen. why bring food to St. John’s when there’s so much great food. I love the seafood out there specially on St. Thomas. If you’re concerned about meat, there are SOOOO many places you can find on St. Thomas where you can ask for a whole lamb or beef to have cut and prepared for ya. And keep in mind, the sheep/cows on those islands are not raised like they are on main land. They are all organic and raised in a very healthy way. I don’t know what to tell you guys but I like to enjoy an organic non GMO meal any chance i have.