Prices on St. John, USVI?

Hi guys,

In just 10 days we'll be headed for St. John on the USVI for the first
time, and we're really excited! It's our first trip there, and I'm
sure we'll have a great time, but there's one thing that we've been
wondering about after following this newsgroup for a while: the cost
of food and drinks on the island.

Many people mentioned that St. John is an expensive place, which is no
surprise. What we're wondering though is: just how expensive is it?
People's opinions differ, of course, so let me maybe just ask for some
"samples" here. How much should we expect to pay for the following...

- small bottle of water, in a grocery store
- a dozen apples, in a grocery store
- a beer, in a grocery store

- a breakfast, in an average restaurant
- a hamburger for lunch in an average restaurant
- a seafood dish for dinner in an average restaurant
- a beer for dinner, in an average restaurant

Of course I don't expect you to zero in on the exact penny amount,
just the ballpark. Is something $2, or $5 or $10, that sort of thing.

Some posters mentioned that it's worthwhile to bring food to the
island, either from home, or from a grocery store on St. Thomas. You
think that's the way to go? We're not penny pinchers, but we also
don't want to spend $100 per day and person on food.

Thanks for your input!

-Tobi

Only thing I can say is go to Coral Bay in St John and eat at Skinny Legs
and have the best hamburger I've ever had! It wasn't over priced and the
food was excellent (maybe 5.00 for the burger and fries). We cruised to St
Thomas and rented a jeep in St John and it is very bueatiful there! Sorry I
can't say how much the groceries are though.

"Tobi" <don_tobim> wrote in message
news:93068291.0405200436.6b556636@c om...
> Hi guys,
>
> In just 10 days we'll be headed for St. John on the USVI for the first
> time, and we're really excited! It's our first trip there, and I'm
> sure we'll have a great time, but there's one thing that we've been
> wondering about after following this newsgroup for a while: the cost
> of food and drinks on the island.
>
> Many people mentioned that St. John is an expensive place, which is no
> surprise. What we're wondering though is: just how expensive is it?
> People's opinions differ, of course, so let me maybe just ask for some
> "samples" here. How much should we expect to pay for the following...
>
> - small bottle of water, in a grocery store
> - a dozen apples, in a grocery store
> - a beer, in a grocery store
>
> - a breakfast, in an average restaurant
> - a hamburger for lunch in an average restaurant
> - a seafood dish for dinner in an average restaurant
> - a beer for dinner, in an average restaurant
>
> Of course I don't expect you to zero in on the exact penny amount,
> just the ballpark. Is something $2, or $5 or $10, that sort of thing.
>
> Some posters mentioned that it's worthwhile to bring food to the
> island, either from home, or from a grocery store on St. Thomas. You
> think that's the way to go? We're not penny pinchers, but we also
> don't want to spend $100 per day and person on food.
>
> Thanks for your input!
>
> -Tobi

We just came back from this awesome vacation the other day (more
detailed report coming up shortly), and I thought I'd just answer my
own questions here, in case anyone else comes across this and ponders
the same questions I was...

don_tobim (Tobi) wrote in message news:<93068291.0405200436.6b556636@ com>...
[...]
> How much should we expect to pay for the following...
>
> - small bottle of water, in a grocery store

$1

> - a beer, in a grocery store

$8 for a sixpack of sam adams

> - a breakfast, in an average restaurant

~$10

> - a hamburger for lunch in an average restaurant

~$10

> - a seafood dish for dinner in an average restaurant

$20-$30

> - a beer for dinner, in an average restaurant

$4


So, while things are more expensive on St. John than in the lower 48
states, I didn't think it was all that outrageous, and in hindsight,
I'm glad we didn't bring our own food there.

One good way to save money is to make lunch your main meal of the day.
But then again, one should really be out on the beack around that
time ;)

-Tobi