Provisioning

[JBarb]

Hi all I am new here i am heading to mexico from Florida I need to provision but I have heard it is cheaper to provision there is that true and where to get goods from since I haven't been there yet? If not then where is the best place? Thanks

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, JBarb.

Expect you'll provision in Florida, then re-provision in Mexico.

[Dockhead]

Where I was cruising in Mexico -- which admittedly was some years ago, and was on the Pacific side -- the best provisioning was to be had in two different places -- the markets, and at Costco.

At least in the part of Mexico where we were, I thought the provisioning was excellent, very good and very cheap, and I wouldn't have felt necessary to stock up in the U.S. other than things you really want to have, which are harder to get there. I'm not sure what that would be -- the variety of food available is excellent, and we didn't lack for anything we wanted -- but you might have some special tastes.

Also eating out in Mexico is a real joy, so you might not be cooking as many meals on board as you are used to.

[travellerw]

I'm guessing you will be heading towards Cancun (Isla Mujeres). If so, then the cost difference will be negligible.

Cancun has Costco, Walmart and Chedraui all with similar prices to the US. Personally i would provision at Winn Dixie in the US and then plan on reprovisioning in Mexico.

[dwedeking2]

When I lived in Mexico the only thing I saw price difference wise was housing (much cheaper) and electronics (much more expensive). Costco for american style food stuff, plenty of mercados for local style stuff.

[nhschneider]

Of course, you want to have enough food on board so you can have both a variety and enough in the case of an emergency but, frankly, there are few places between Florida and Mexico where it's hard to find a grocery store or super market. I think many people make the mistake of buying large quantities of food when it isn't necessary. Obviously, if there are unusual foods that you like but suspect that they might difficult to find, by all means I would suggest that you stock up before you leave. However, I have been surprised at how easy it is to find things even in some pretty remote places. Even if you can't find stuffed grape leaves in a small village, exploring the local foods is one of the aspects of cruising that I enjoy most.

Fair winds and calm seas.

[a64pilot]

On something like this, I would try to make sure I had plenty of whatever is my favorites, everything from shampoo, deodorant, soap and toothpaste to spices and several months of toothpaste doesnt take hardly any room.
Of course you can find all these things in Mexico, just maybe not your favorites though

[redhead]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

On something like this, I would try to make sure I had plenty of whatever is my favorites, everything from shampoo, deodorant, soap and toothpaste to spices and several months of toothpaste doesnt take hardly any room.
Of course you can find all these things in Mexico, just maybe not your favorites though

And TOILET PAPER!!! Captain Cranky needs top shelf stuff or life isn't worth living!