Louise

My brother inlaw thinks $150.00 per person is way to much money for groceries..We plan to rent a villa (8 of us total), and if you multiply that by 8, that is a bit much money. Has anyone else rented a villa and paid $150.00 per person,or do I have my figures wrong???<BR><BR>Thanks

Jody

It depends on where you are going and what you plan to eat. Some islands are pricier than others. Are you planning to dine out at all? Is this for 3 meals per day? If so I think $150.pp is a safe number. It's always better to be on the high side so your not scrimping for money. But remember on the islands, a lot of groceries are shipped in so it will be more money than home.

Statia

For what length of time? $150 per person for a week?<BR><BR>When my husband and I rent a villa with one child, I'd say we spend about $50 (more or less) per day for food at "home" for all of us combined. <BR><BR>You do have to keep in mind that groceries are a bit more expensive here in the Caribbean. It depends on what types of items you will be purchasing, as well. We tend to stick with lunch meats, cheeses, breads, fruits, sodas, wine, easy dinner items, and maybe a few "splurge" items.<BR><BR>

Eva

It really depends on where your villa is located and what your dining habits are. In my experience of provisioning sailboat charters with food and liquor, in the BVI and the Out Islands of the Bahamas, $125 per person is not out of line (and that assumes we ate out for several meals during the week). Beer, wine and rum account for about 30% of the total bill, so if you don't imbibe, you can save some money. Most of the islands don't produce their own food, so it is shipped in at some expense. Also remember that on vacation, you may tend to eat "luxury" foods that you might not eat at home -- lobster, steak, etc.<BR><BR>Whenever we travel with a group, we start a "kitty" of $150/person, with an agreement to replenish it if it runs out. The kitty pays for food, restaurant meals, and other group expenses. We've never had money left at the end of our trips, and have usually had to replenish the kitty.<BR>

jam-man

Louise,<BR>When we (two couples) rented at Tryall, each couple gave the cook $150 for the week's food. That was 3 meals a day, full breakfast (eggs, pancakes, bacon, sausage, juice, fruit, coffee, tea, toast, butter, jelly--everything), lunch (soup, sandwich, iced tea, dessert of some type--soups were usually left over from night before, as were desserts, after the first night), and dinners (dinners!!! 5 courses, eat til you could barely move [well, not really], fish, chicken, shrimp, curried goat, homemade desserts, homemade soups [pumpkin soup,mmmmmmmmmmmm].<BR>We did have to kick in a little extra when we asked Patricia to do lobster one night. I wouldn't do that again. The other, more readily available local foods made better meals.<BR>We paid separately for wine and liquors, as well as beer and sodas ourselves at the commissary. Maybe another $150 per couple - 2 bottles of wine with dinner, drinks in the afternoon, port and brandies after dinner. Look, we were on vacation, playing golf every day, and having a wonderful, first class, time.<BR>So, the villa was $1400 per couple (four bedroom villa), food and beverages was $150 per person, and tips were $150 per couple.<BR>We think we got a great deal, and the price was absolutely right. Others may not agree.

tivertonhouse

US$150/week/per person is a very fair assessment, even a low one, for both food and liquour.Many islands, Jamaica amongst them, levy taxes on all sales, with considerably higher prices than what one expects stateside on quite a few items, such as lettuce (iceberg at US$10/head),<BR>US branded products like cereals and snackfoods,etc. Even going in to the D&Y in Sav and coming out with 2 bags of groceries can cost one US$80. Islands where produce is not grown (St.Barts,US/Brit Virgins,etc.will have higher prices on all foods. And weather/growing season can be a factor with scarcity of even common commodities like escallions/green onions. <BR>Plan on at least US$150/person -- if you spend less, congratule your cook at having good resources and tip her extra.