Of course.

RL

Kmart, CULess, PriceSmart etc. And some of them have the "bag-type" insulated containers too which are pretty handy.

I recommend you buy the bag or collapsable type and take it home with you. I am afraid we may all be paying for that 'cheap' styrofoam cooler decades from now.

We have a soft side cooler that we're packing in our luggage with all our toiletries. That way if something explodes en route, it won't get all over our clothes. Then we have a cooler for the trip!

I know this might sound silly, but if I bring my soft side cooler, can I buy ice at say Starfish or Dolphin Markets? If I can buy bags, then I can just keep them in the freezer & stock the cooler as needed (along with water & of course, beer!)

Geri

Yes, you can buy ice...however, the problem with softside coolers is that they leak...you might have better luck if you get some reusable freezer packs to use instead of ice...or, you could do what my husband and I do...we take a hardside cooler with us and check it for the plane ride (we fill it with frozen meat and dry ice so we don't have to pay big bucks for it later)...then we make ice at our villa and use that in the cooler every day.

We pack a small soft sided cooler that'll hold a six pack or about 4 bottels of water...plenty for the day...keep them cold in the fridge and get a couple of scoops of ice from the hotel ice machine (free) or our favorite bartender 🙂 ,should last all day.
Pack lite...enjoy.

Soft pack cooler is the only way to go, so that you can just jam them in your luggage when you go home. We also freeze bottles of water and use that as the ice.

It worked out great for us and we were happy to have that soft cooker.

forget the styrofoam ones. They crack and are just a pain in the neck to carry around.

For the trip home, we fill our hard sided cooler with dirty clothes and then carry on our allowed 6 bottles of rum each 🙂

Can you pack a cooler full of meat for the plane ride?

Michael...yes, you can in a cooler. We do it every year. It has to be frozen, and if you can find it, dry ice is best, otherwise you can use ice packs.

Sorry - from what I have learned you can not take dry ice onto the plane anymore (if you ever could)

The cheapest cooler is what I call the "ghetto cooler." Go to your corner market, buy a $2 bag of ice and a 12 pack of beer. Stuff the beer in the bag of ice. Done. At the end of the day everything is gone and you have nothing to carry.

I always take dry ice...when you check your baggage, you have to tell them the initial weight of the dry ice, and they put a special sticker on the checked item declaring the amount contained. I called United this morning to confirm, and they still have a 4.4 lb. limit, which is more than enough. I have also taken dry ice aboard Delta flights...I'm not sure about the policies of other airlines.