Supermarkets
 

It has been some time since I have been to St John. We are renting a house in a couple weeks. The two markets I have read about online are Starfish Market and Dolphin Market. We definitely won't be stopping in St Thomas on the way - we are 6 adults travelling with 3 children - it would just be too much. We will shop after getting to the house. What is the quality of offerings at these 2 markets? I have also read people have brought food from home. This seems a bit cumbersome - but do you just check the cooler with your luggage?? I have never travelled with food!!

I had read somewhere that the Dolphin Market was a bit cheaper than Starfish. We will be in St John at the end of the month and we plan on bringing some food with us. Trying to eat out 3 times a day is too much for our finances plus there are no eateries close to our villa. We plan on bringing such things as ready to eat bacon, pancake mix, syrup,tunafish, oatmeal,chips and cookies,microwave pasta,bottled water, on-the-go drink mixes, coffee, mayo, and even some cold stuff. You can get small pouches and containers of some of these at a convenient mart.I'm dedicating a small suitcase to just food. I'll put a large plastic shoebox in a collapsible cooler in the suitcase and fill it with our favorites. (On the return trip I can use that suitcase for souvenirs.) When we get to St John I'll stock up on perishables such as eggs, milk, soda, coldcuts, and sandwich rolls. Then we can make ourselves breakfast in the morning before we go out and make picnic lunches for during the day. We DO plan on trying out some of the restaraunts there but we're saving that for suppers. We tried this in Bermuda a few years ago and it worked out well. Plus we saved a ton of money. Another reason to bring some of your own food might be the kids you are traveling with. Pack their favorite foods and they'll be happier.

I have asked this question on this forum and others and never got a helpful reply. We are going to St John as well at the end of June. I am packing cereal, breakfast bars, coffee, condiments and other snack type items in our suitcases. I am electing not to pack cold items. I understand the grocery prices are about 30% higher on St. John for the items I mentioned. Im hoping the selection of meats, eggs, milk and so on is decent! We too do not want to eat out 3 times each day. Have a great time on your trip and maybe I will run into you at the market!

hi, i can't advise about starfish and dolphin but you could take the ferry to red hook one day after you've settled in. there is a small store right across from the ferry dock and another large one about 5 mins drive.
i am one of those ppl who takes a full sized cooler on vacation. you absolutely may take a cooler of frozen foods with you to st. john. we normally take steaks, lobster meat, lamb racks, preboiled shrimp for shrimp cocktail, lunch meats, juices, butter, and numerous premade appetizers. our latest is homemade then frozen choc chip cookie dough - we bake off a few at a time for treats. all of these foods are frozen solid and packed the day of travel. take duct tape to the airport. they like to wave a little screening thing around the top and then THEY will tape it shut for you.
we bring dry stuff in our suitcases. be sure to include spices as paying $9 for a tsp of something is awful. we bring loads of tuna, pb&j, pasta, cereal, tea/coffee. mind that your cooler does not exceed the normal weight limit of 50 lbs and try to find one with wheels.
khud - i'm not clear on what you meant but chips will become crumbs and water is just plain to heavy to lug - i advise you buy those on st. john.

i forgot - if you repost this question with 'st.john' supermarkets you will get lots more replies. st. john is a fodor favorite, meaning lots have been there and should know about the 2 markets.

Lilly's Gourmet in Coral Bay is small but a nice small grocery store and the prices weren't awful. There is also Love City Mini Mart nearby for some basics, including decent beer prices.

Obviously, if you aren't staying near Coral Bay, this won't help.

Debi

Thanks for your help. We really could do a cooler. We would then be using the cooler to go to the beach anyway. Another thing we have to determine is how many evenings we want to cook vs going out. I actually used to live there before hurricane Hugo. I know how expensive it is. True, we could always ferry to St Thomas - but you do lose about 4 hours doing so. Ksea - we are leaving the 19th of this month! I hope you have a great time as well - I know you will love St John.

Thanks Virginia, your post was very helpful. My hubby is diabetic so Im bringing alot of things for him. Im wavering back and forth about the cooler. I think it makes sense, but hubby says just pay island prices and dont worry about it. I have six weeks to make up my mind!
Debi, thanks again for your good wishes. Again I hope you have a wonderful time.

We just got back from St. J on May 12 (or something like that, I'm still floating around on island time). I posted a message as well about taking food. Picture two elderly souls hauling around 40+ pounds of solid frozen meat in a soft side cooler and you will see us! For a 10 day trip, for 2 people, we took a whole beef tenderloin, a whole pork tenderloin, a small boneless ham, a small turkey breast, a package of pinwheels, 6 chicken breasts, a small cheese tray and coffee bean because we were scared that meat would be expensive and supplies scarce. Boy were we surprised! Our hostess will eat for 3 weeks on what we left behind. Meat is not that much more than in a stateside premium grocery! Good quality ribeyes were about $11 / per pound, not that much more than here in NC.

What shocked us most was the cost of canned goods, frozen goods and fresh produce. We shopped at Starfish exclusively, but our gracous host, Mary, told us that the Dolphin market had better produce prices. We never could get over the headache of getting to Dolphin. It is right in the center of the busiest part of town and just parking was too much for my nerves, and my hubby's patience with my nerves.

If I had it to do over again I would still take groceries - only I would take frozen vegies and canned goods - maybe even frozen concentrate juice (at $7 / half gallon you don't want many screwdrivers!)

Overall, I would say that food prices are about half as bad as you think. Focus on basics - a couple of quality meats (Costco rules), a few frozen veggies, and as many cans of veggies as you can fit into your luggage. Incidentally, you only need about 1/2 the clothes that you actually pack.

We just returned from St John and did not find the prices too bad. As Mullis2, we are from NC too (sounds like we were there the same week but missed seeing you lugging the cooler around town). We shopped at Starfish since it was more accessible then Dolphin Market. There is also a small convenience store that is reasonable. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the name but it starts with a "P" (on a one way street just down from a corner gas station). The locals seemed to use it quite a bit. We found veggies and fruit to be pricey. Eating out can be expensive. Chilly Billys was recommended for breakfast. We found it to be over priced (in comparison with other places) and very limited menu. The market area where Starfish is located as some very good restaurants for breakfast and lunch.

Good luck and have fun!

Molly

We just returned from our trip to St. John and the food that I packed(mentioned above) worked out VERY well. We got to our villa at 6:30 and did not feel like going out to find a food store on foot. We did not have a car rental until the next day. For supper we had microwaved pasta and drinks we made from powdered mixes and the bottled water I brought. For breakfast we had pancakes, bacon, tang and coffee. After getting our rental car we drove to Dolphin Market and picked up milk, bread, eggs, cold cuts, cheese, bottled water(I only toted 4 bottles in my suitcase), sodas, and beer. That plus the things I brought, provided us with breakfasts(eggs, french toast,cereal, oatmeal) and lunches-sandwiches and chips, for the whole trip.( the chips arrived unscathed because I packed all squishables in a shoebox first). I didn't want to have to worry about a cooler, especially with the quirks of airplane flights. Plus we wanted to eat out at some of the awesome restaurants in the evenings and we were much to busy to grill. Cafe Roma and Margarita Phil's in Cruz Bay were great and inexpensive. Skinny Legs,near Coral Bay was a hoot. Good burgers and sandwiches, reasonable prices and atmosphere that was pure St. John. Pastory Gardens was great too. An oasis, outside of Cruz Bay with enclosed lush surroundings, mini golf and a cool view. St John was like nothing I'd ever experienced and we loved every minute of our trip. The beaches were gorgeous, the snorkling incredible(especially at Waterlemon Cay and Trunk Bay) the scenery awesome, and the people a delighfully mixed bunch. Prepare to downgrade from new, modern strip malls and landscaped roads and grounds and enjoy the simple,tropical, Caribbean atmosphere. Also, watch out for the no-see-ums at the beaches, especially after it rains. They are sneaky and vicious.

check out the posts there was just another supermarket question... the basic thing is my friends and i didn't feel like lugging food with us so we paid a little bit more to not have to deal with an extra suitcase. most of the villas may have coolers to take that trip to st. thomas previously mentioned.

the starfish market is just plain easier to get in and out so we used it. also there was a gourmet coffee store in the complex and we took advantage

meat was very expensive. so was produce. we decided to eat dinners out (who wants to cook after sun and fun all day???)

when we did cook we grilled.

we saved by having all breakfasts and lunches from the market. cereal, toast or yogurt for breakfast

fruit, crackers/cheese , peanutbutter for lunch on the beach. we bought gallons of water and refilled individual water bottles after initial purchase of the little bottles. we froze them half way each night and they stayed pretty cold all day as long as we covered them from the sun....

We used Dolphin Market on our first trip to St John in June 05..it was closest to our villa.

We used Starfish Market on our trip in Sept.05..it was closest to our hotel.

I feel that Starfish Market was much nicer than the Dolphin Market...more variety and a better meat selection..(though not as good as the meat selection back home in NC).

Starfish has a nice deli with fresh,hot food.

I would definitely go to Starfish on our next trip!:)

Christie

One thing that is cheaper in St John is liquor...Cruzan Rum is good and cheap...buy some at the airport.

If you are a juice drinker..I would bring some in your cooler as it is very expensive in STJ.

Have fun!!it is one beautiful island!!
Christie