OMG...not another cooler question!

[cypressgirl]

I am so sorry for being a dope this late in the game....but....I am finally considering packing some frozen items for our next trip. I am a carry on queen, so this breaks all my personal rules. I don't mind gathering a checked bag when I get to STT, but I don't want to have to bother with it on the return. It's so much easier at the airport if you have carry on only. So...What kind of cooler can I pack, check, and pick up on arrival, that isn't expensive, and then just leave at the villa? I thought of a cheapie styrofoam with a lot of duct tape, but that doesn't sound too sturdy. I can't imagine that being allowed on a plane. I don't want to spend much on a cooler I'll leave behind.

Help?

[bevm]

I'd do the styrofoam cooler like you get from those steak companies....They get to your house in one piece, why not the VI???

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[jimg20]

You might do just as well with the Polar Bear. Flatten it out and put it in your bag on the way home.

JIM

[samoka]

When my daughter lved in Alaska brought salmon home with her and it was packed in a styrofoam "fish box" and it always got here in one piece with the fish still frozen - they layered it with newspaper and freezer packs.

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[cypressgirl]

cypressgirl - Go to Dicks Sporting Goods (do you have the in Houston?) and get a soft sided rolling cooler for $25. DO NOT TRY TRAVELING WITH A STYROFOAM COOLER. The second choice would be a hard cooler and tape but TSA may open it and thus, the lid may not be properly sealed when they are done. I like the zipper on the top of the soft sided cooler and TSA zips it back up so everything stays inside.

Thanks, SJ, that sounds like my best bet. I don't have a Dick's, that I know of, but R.E.I, and other camping, hiking stores, and also Sam's. I just don't want to pay 75. for a cooler I'd like to leave there. With all the discount stores, I'm sure I can find something. I mainly want to take filets, free range chicken, cheese, bacon, maybe some salmon, lunch meat. That's about it.

Again...thanks for your ideas.

Deb

[tedprosser]

We take a soft side cooler, REI $42 , and freeze 3 or 4 bottles of water instead of ice pack etc.. That keeps it cold all the way down to Coral Bay. We dirnk the water when we get there, roll up the cool and take it home In our carry on bag. The saving on cost of food and better quality of the food, etc will more that pay for the cooler

Remeber, what EVER you throw away on STJ, has to be hauled to STT !! It's not cheep!!

[PA Girl]

A couple of years back, we took a cheapy soft sided zipper cooler from Wal-Mart to Provo, T & C. It worked fine, not as good as a Polar Bear but certainly did the job.

[djmom]

Another option-get the polar bear cooler and then use the polar bear as your tote bag for the way home(put your purse in it, etc...).

They kind of look like tote bags anyways.

[Nancy_B]

Another option is to flatten the cooler and ship it home in a flat rate box from the Post Office before you leave. Cost is only about $15 and you may be able to fit some other items in there to lighten your load on the way home...just an idea.

[djmom]

You could wear the cooler home as a hat!

[Gromit]

We have arolling collapsible soft sided cooler and we just fill it with purchases made on island, liquor and/or dirty clothes in a plastic bag on the return.