Bringing food with..worth the trouble?
Mar 22nd, 2003, 05:56 AM
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Bringing food with..worth the trouble?
I know I'm going to get slammed for sounding super cheap BUT I'm wondering about taking some food items (like boxes of granola bars or cereal) with me when I go to T&C next month. I'm planning on doing some grocery shopping at the IGA to be able to eat breakfast and most lunches "in" and since it sounds like groceries will be pretty pricey I wonder if I can bring some food items into the country. First is it "legal" and second is it worth taking up room in my luggage?<BR><BR>Obviously I'm not talking about produce or meat or anything like that. Any advice? Please be nice! I know I sound like a big cheapskate but I'm just planning ahead for all the yummy but expensive dinners!<BR><BR>Thanks.<BR><BR>
Mar 22nd, 2003, 06:29 AM
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When we went to Barbados this year, we brought in all sorts of food for our young son. Kraft dinner, ceral bars, canned food, bags of cookies, and no one said a thing. I think as long as it is packed in it's original wrapper , you won't have any problems.
Mar 22nd, 2003, 07:11 AM
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Taking things IN is no problem, just don't try to bring any food back.<BR>The IGA is expensive, but normal food items like crackers and cereals and stuff are not that much more - not enough for me to waste packing space on. <BR>We did save a lot by eating most breakfasts in also. They have very good croissants at the bakery at the IGA.<BR>What we found to be most over-priced were things that are expensive in the U.S. too, like cheese, fancy stuffed olives, etc.<BR>Granola bars don't take up much space, (you can take them out of the box and stuff them in shoes), so if I were to pick one thing to take, that would be it.
Mar 23rd, 2003, 09:26 AM
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Hi Leslie,<BR><BR>Just wanted to post to say that we are heading to Turks and Caicos in July (second trip) and we are also bringing some food with us.<BR><BR>Our budget just doesn't allow eating breakfast, lunch and dinner out everyday. The restaurants in Provo are pretty pricey. We plan to eat a dinner out now and then, as well as a breakfast and lunch but I plan to do some cooking in our suite to save $$.<BR><BR>In fact, I was going to post about this very topic about what I should bring. We went to an AI last time we went so we didn;t bring food. My plan was to carry on our groceries. I'm not going to go crazy, but I am going to bring as much as I think I need.<BR><BR>Have a blast and please post a report when you get back. Also, please let me know what you took for groceries and if everything worked out alright.<BR><BR>Have fun!<BR><BR>Denise
Mar 23rd, 2003, 11:42 AM
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We always bring some food primarily for breakfast and a few lunches as many of the condo type resorts don't serve breakfast. We bring coffee in a zip lock bag because we prefer our own brand, tea bags for iced tea, bacon, sausage, lunch meat, ham, turkey, corned beef etc--cheese, something for snacks with drinks in the evening. I freeze everything and put it in an insulated cary on bag and it keeps well. Chex makes individual packets of a morning mix cereal which is light very good and doesn't take up much room. The foil packets of tuna or a couple of cans are a good idea The packets of mayo, ketchup, jam and jelly etc you get at fast food restaurants are easy to bring. Fruit bread and pastries are rather inexpensive at the IGA. We will be in Provo 3-13 June and I will post a trip report on the COL forum when we get back
Mar 25th, 2003, 01:28 AM
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I'm kinda in the same boat. My question is however....Can I FED X a box of food in ahead of time to my condo resort? And......Id also like to FED X my snorkel thing ahead of time as well. How if at all does customs charge anything for this?
Mar 26th, 2003, 09:40 AM
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The IGA is not within easy walking distance, it is up in town and you will need car/taxi/bus etc. to go and shop. We took items such as Howard, coffee, tea, creamer, non-perisahbles, oatmeal, snacks, peanut butter, jellies, easy things to pack and transport, etc. and bought our meats, deli and such at IGA and there is a hydroponic farm down off of the road going out to Chalk sound where you can buy fresh veggies, if you like. We ate breakfast and lunch in and had dinner out all but three nights out of eight, and dinners are expensive so save on two meals if you can and splurge on dinner/drinks.<BR>have a great time and safe travel.
Mar 27th, 2003, 01:55 AM
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A more efficient way to save money on food is to anticipate what things you will want small amounts of and bring that to avoid buying a whole box of that a never use it up. For example, if you will use a cup of sugar or 6 tea bags, bring that so you don't buy 2 lbs of sugar or a box of 25. Little things like salt, pepper, seasonings, coffee add up faster than bulky cereal or bread.
Mar 27th, 2003, 02:52 PM
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hi leslie had to put in my two cents. we always travel with a full sized cooler. we try to freeze everything thus no frozen blue things. as said dry goods are not so much more $ that taking up alot of space seems reasonable. but butter is 6.00/lb and meats are half again stateside prices at least. when carrying meats you must leave the USDA label showing even if you have repackaged. we have taken premade cookie dough, premade or packaged appetizers,juices, lunchmeats and cheeses, and even a whole roasting chicken to name a few. provo is british and they like you to have an itemized list of all the foods you have brought but it is definetly legal. suggest you bring duct tape to the airport to seal the cooler as your checking it (giving chance to inspect is desired then its sealed to prevent accidental opening or pilfering). enjoy some steaks on your patio!!!!
Mar 27th, 2003, 03:57 PM
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Went with several families to Grand Cayman recently. My sister checked a medium sized extra sturdy cardboard box full of girl scout cookies, easy mac & cheese, granola bars, cereal, all kinds of good stuff and tied packing string all around it. She also froze meats and brought them in an insulated bag. I laughed and laughed until I started snacking on the girl scout cookies and we had some terrific home cooked meals, then I thanked her a lot.
Mar 28th, 2003, 05:54 AM
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Cindy, We ate at Bay Bistro, Coco Bistro,Fairway's Bar and Grill at the Provo Golf Club, twice at Hemingway, but Howard can give you the scoop on almost the smallest of details as far as cuisine/wines etc. at others as well. He is so kind to share informatin about Provo and everything he posted prior to us going and then finding out first hand was right on the mark.<BR>We stayed at Coral Gardens on the first floor next to last unit, and had so much privacy and the view was fantastic looking to the left as the beach curved for as far as the eye could see. We had a 1-bdrm Deluxe and it was wonderful and we loved how the whole front glass wall pushed open and you had that feel of only having three walls.<BR>We rented through the website VRBO and saved about $800.00 by renting from the owner directly instead of the resort itself.<BR>We loved having the coral reef that people walk down to or drive to to snorkel right out our back door. We snorkeled daily three or four times.
Mar 28th, 2003, 01:20 PM
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Thanks to all for the info. Sounds like it wasn't as stupid a question as I thought! Some of the items mentioned I wouldn't have thought of -- like little restaurant jelly & ketchup packs -- or coffee, definitely need the coffee. Thanks again!
