Hello Gerry,

There are a few grocery stores on St. John... no huge supermarkets. Here is a grocery list with prices from a grocery store on St. John... you can see what brands they carry and get an idea of price.

Granny Apples $1.75/lb
Kiwi $1 for 2
Red Seedless Grapes $2.95/lb
Iceberg Lettuce $1.95/a head
Cucumber $1.25 each
Tomatoes $1.75/lb
Green Peppers $2.65/lb
Dole Celery $1.95
Marlboro Cigarettes $20.95 a carton
Edy's Ice-cream $9.95/1.75 qts
2001 Robert Mondui Pinot Noir $16.25
Ocean Spray Fruit Juice $5.95/64floz
Motts Apple Juice $4.95/64floz
Minute Maid Berry Punch $5.25/10pk
Crushed Red Pepper $4.75
Oscar Meyer Jumbo Wieners $4.95/16oz
Oscar Meyer Variety Pack $5.95/16oz
English Muffins $3.49/6pk
Boneless Chicken $5.95/lb
Whole Chicken $1.45/lb
Steak - Angus Beef $13.95/lb
Ground Beef $3.85/lb
5 Italian Sausages $4.95
Honey Mustard Dressing $5.95/12floz
Ida Seasoned Fries $4.95/2lb
Green Giant Corn $7.95/12 half ears
Tostitos $2.29/8oz bag
Lipton Green Tea $3.95/20 bags
Carnation Evaporated Milk .95/a can
Aunt Jemima Original $2.75/12oz
Cottonelle 4 pack $2.45
Bounty $2.95 a roll
Rozoni Spaghetti $1.25/8oz
Dawn for Dishes $4.95/25floz
Ragu $3.45/1lb 10oz
Close Up $2.95/4oz
Kotex Tampons $7.55/18 pack
Campbell's Tomato Soup $1.55/10oz can
Huggies Diapers $14.95/18pack
Whiskas Cat Food $8.95/6.6lb
Pedigree Dog Food $1.45/22oz can
White Bread $2.09 a loaf
Tillamook Cheddar $5.75/8oz
Oscar Meyer Bologna $2.95/8oz
Tropicana Orange Juice $4.95/64floz
Milk 1/2 gal $2.95
Post Honey Bunches of Oats $4.95/13oz
Budweiser 6 pack Bottles $5.50

--Islander

Gerry
My wife and I have stayed at Caneel Resorts (very nice and very, very expensive) on our own and most recently at Second Wind villa with our chidren. We believe the villa offered the best combination of convenience, accommodation and expense. If you want to really save money compared with a hotel, you can prepare all meals in the villa or you can mix and match eating in or dining out as best suits your schedule and budget.
While not stocked with everything you will find on the mainland, the markets are more than adequate. As you can tell from Islander's list, the prices are all over the map and for the most part more expensive than back home. I strongly suggest you bring main entree foods (steak, chicken, etc.) with you as well as any favorite items your family needs (cereals, local spices, etc). We brought frozen steak, chicken, shrimp and sausage in a soft sided cooler (Walmart ~$10) with dry ice. If your travel time to the villa is less than 24 hours, you may not need the dry ice. Cereals are already expensive on the mainland and 2-3 times that on STJ. Couldn't find cajun spices so we made due with what we could find.
We bought milk, bread and fresh produce on STJ and supplemented lunches with local sandwiches, BBQ, etc.
Unless you are concerned about the young ones, I strongly suggest apool to use as a cool down at the end of the day and to rinse off the salt water. Depending upon your tolerance for warmer nights, you should get AC in at least the bedrooms. You may not need it, but it is always nice to have the relief if needed. We never used ours.

Feel free to e-mail if you have further questions or continue to post on this board.
Enjoy

We rented a villa last month and will do it again. It was wonderful.

We also froze food and brought it down. Some meat, coffee, breakfast foods etc. The supermarkets were more expensive, but not as bad as I'd expected. The main thing that I saw was that produce was a lot higher. Meat was almost comparable. The selection's not quite the same, but you can find what you need for your time there.

We were forewarned to being condiments/spices along. We ended leaving them all behind in the villa. I think it's hit or miss when you show up whether or not anything's already in the house.

The house we had was wonderful. We were right near Cruz Bay and had our own pool. We had to pry ourselves away from the house to go see the island. I couldn't believe the convenience of it all. We'd be on the deck, sitting by the pool and whenever you wanted anything...walk to the fridge and get another beer or rum drink. Nobody bothered us and we had a fantastic time.

I can't really imagine ever staying at a resort ever again. The villa experience certainly spoiled us.

I agree that villas are the only way to go. Unless you want to be waited on hand and fist, a private home is always great. The price is not too bad unless you go really nuts on your rental, and it's great not having a lot of other people around, especially if you're on your honeymoon (1st, 2nd, 25th whatever). I think that there are some rentals where you can get a waitstaff, but be prepared to pay.

Thanks everyone for your information. We have booked to stay at Las Brisas Caribe - it looks beautiful from the pictures and we all can't wait!!

As for cooking we'll probably just do breakfast at the villa, not too much in the way of dinners since we're on vacation. I know for half of our group it will be hard to pry them away from the pool.

I can't tell you how much I enjoy this site - I have learned so much from reading everyone's inquiries. It is very, very helpful.

I'll keep reading and I'm sure before we go I'll have a couple more questions.

Thanks again!!

Gerry
Make sure you get a copy of 'St. John Off the Beaten Track'. It is without a doubt worth it's weight in gold. It will be especially good for your group as they can review it and determine what some or all of you might want to do while on STJ.
A link is in the upper left hand corner of this page.