USVI-On-Line

So here's a question for my fellow STJ/Jost lovers...

I am seriously thinking about canning the trip to Amsetrdam/Florence and instead planning a week on Jost at Ivans followed by a week on STJ at a villa. We mostly eat out on vacay but like to have snack and breakfast items on hand.

But here's my question: Since jost sports only a convenience store for "groceries."

So, hypothetically speaking, if one were to want to do some grocery shopping on STT before boarding the ferry to Jost, what are the rules about bringing groceries from STT to the BVI's?

I'm hunting around on line trying to find directives and some Jost properties seem to indicate that bringing groceries from STT is do-able but I really want to be sure.

I know I've seen folks bringing what seem like groceries on the ferry over to Jost. And to be fair I'd probably just be bringing basics but just wondering what the boundaries are.

Any advice?

... have no experience with, but found your question of interest for the future -

most travel sites seem to indicate no problem (read: no attention paid by customs agents) with bringing food into the BVI but this one does mention a "possible" customs duty http://www.sandyground.com/jost_van_dyke.html as well as offers an online provisioner www.bobbysmarketplace.com

and these seem to be direct sources to call
Customs - Importation of Food
Yacht owners, charter guests, and visitors may bring food into the British Virgin Islands. For the time being, however, because of the worldwide threat of Hoof and Mouth and Mad Cow Disease, a law is in effect which bans the importation of any meat products unless an application is submitted to the Department of Agriculture for approval. Approved permits cost $25.00. For more information, please call the Department of Agriculture at 284- 495-2532.

Good quality, fresh foods are available in the British Virgin Islands from several grocery stores and provisioners on a year-round basis. BVI import duties charged on food products range between 5% and 15% of the invoice value.

For more information on import regulations and tariffs:
BVI Customs Department
Phone: 284-494-3475
Open from 8:30am to 6:30pm

the above comes from
http://www.bvitourism.com/GettingHere/E ... ments.aspx

I've been on the STT to Tortola ferry on a Saturday and there didn't seem to
be any resrictions to the stuff people (locals) were hauling back.

We had Bobby's put groceries on the ferry from West End once. Worked out great. Just a thought.

Grommit, first of all, I was wondering if you looked into flying into EIS on Tortola? Maybe not because of miles awards?

You can shop at Cost-U-Less and bring it over to Tortola with you. You will pay a 10% duty. Many trips I made to visit friends on Tortola were made on Saturdays. I dreaded those Saturdays because all the Tolans go to Cost-U-Less for their shopping on Saturday and Sunday. So avoid those days if you can. Shopping in advance with Bobby's is a great idea when you are on vacation. No worries!

I may have missed some points, this was off the top of my head.

I hadn't considerd flying into Tortola or looking at the ferry schedules coming from that direction.
I guess I'm just more accustomed to coming from the U.S. side of things.

Definitely worth considering....

Interesting.... Flying into Tortola from Dulles and then back out of STT to Dulles is about $240 more per ticket. Right now I can snag air tix from IAD to STT for $320 each.

Although the ferry schedule is more extensive out of Tortola to Jost than from STT and runs until 6pm.

The earliest our flight would get in at Tortola would be 3:20 though and I'm not sure how quickly I could do any grocery shopping and still make it to the last ferry to Jost in time (I am totally unfamiliar with Tortola).

Unless I'd have enough time to grab groceries it would kind of defeat the purpose.

Cause the extra cost of the flights to Tortola would more than cover a night on STT and give us time to shop and get what we need before catching the 2pm to Jost from Red Hook the following day.

The logistics are killing me!!
Maybe I can look into what Bobby can do for me....

Thanks for all the suggestions guys!

You may want to post your question on TTOL. Folks there are more knowledgable regardind EIS/grocery logistics since so many do boat provisioning (although many use Bobby's.

For our sailing trip in December, we provisioned in Red Hook (meat, fruits, vegetables, etc.) and went through customs in Tortola with no concern from the people in customs. However, the same was not true when leaving BVI into the USVI's. My recollection is that all fruits, vegetables and meats had to be eaten or disposed of before entering US waters and I do recall that the folks in US customs did inquire. Not sure why but I concur that flights seem to be quite a bit less into STT than Tortola. Ali~

http://www.britishvirginislands.com/ntk ... ustoms.htm (not sure if the info is current)

When my little group stayed on Jost a couple years ago we put an order in with Bobby's and they met us at the dock in Tortola. It worked out perfectly, and they even waited on our late ferry from STT. I found the ordering process really easy and their prices to be very reasonable.

Gromit, the White Bay Villas folks frequently have their St. Thomas rep (Mary) meet them at the Red Hook ferry with a cooler. Bobby's on West End/Cane Garden Bay is also great and they are my favorite provisioners.

Cheers, RickG

Thanks Rick! We'll probably be staying at Ivans so it's not like we need a lot but it sounds like Bobby may be the way to go.

Gromit,

Thanks for starting this thread because I was actually doing a little searching about the same thing. What everyone post confirms what I want to do to make it a Stress Free trip… Fly into STT, take the ferry to JVD and get a few things sent over from Bobby’s the next morning. Between the cost of flying right into EIS or spending a night on STT, then trying to match up with the ferry schedules to do a little shopping would not be my idea of fun to start a vacay. Plus all that savings of flying into STT and not EIS or a hotel on STT would buy enough Painkillers for a day (maybe two)!

My thoughts exactly Lexi!!