Alaska woman’s yearly trip to Costco takes 20 hours by boat — how the trek saves her and the remote community money on sky-high grocery prices

That’s the reality for Shelby Ellingsen, who resides in the island community of Sitka, Alaska,. Ellington and Charlie, her fisherman partner, can’t drive, so they take the 95-mile ride to Juneau, where the closest Costco is.

“We might not be able to drive more than 14 miles of road, but boats take us everywhere we want to go,” Ellingsen told People. “Think of the ocean as our highway!”

Ellingsen and her partner use a larger vessel to carry all the groceries on the return trip, and rent a U-Haul to bring food, drinks, and household products from Costco to the boat.

The once-a-year trip is worth it, Ellingsen said, as the cost savings justify the long trip. At the Juneau Costco, a big bag of tortillas goes for $8.99, compared to $15.89 for a similar bag in Sitka. The same goes for beer for Charlie’s crew: A case of Rainier costs $15 at Costco versus $28 at a Sitka grocery store.

The couple, who also visit Home Depot while in Juneau, say the boat also comes in handy while docked.

“We’re buying so much that it saves us from making a million trips between Costco and the harbor,” she noted. “It also gives us dry storage while we’re running around town, which is nice because Costco usually isn’t our only stop.”

Rural big box store trips are a geographical necessity

While the mode of transport Ellingsen and Charlie use for their annual Costco trip is unique, their circumstances aren’t. From Idaho to Puerto Rico, rural dwellers also make long trips to big grocery stores like Costco, Sam’s Club, and Walmart, almost always for the price savings.

Some savings, shopping analysts say, are better than others.

“The biggest payoffs come from items that don’t spoil and that you’ll use steadily, and batteries are a perfect example,” Kristen Markel, founder of Warehouse Wanderer, a Costco newsletter that breaks down store prices for consumers, told Moneywise. “In my tracking, Kirkland AA batteries work out to about $0.35 each in a 48-pack at Costco, compared to $0.50 for Amazon Basics and $0.83 for Duracell-branded batteries, even when you buy those Duracells at Costco.”

That’s less than half the name-brand price, and Costco’s former CEO has said publicly that Duracell makes Kirkland batteries. “Alkaline batteries also keep for about a decade in storage, so a big pack is no risk for a household that’s hours from a store,” Markel said.

The same logic applies to paper towels, toilet paper, trash bags, detergent, rice, dried beans, canned goods, and pet food, Markel said. “Freezer-friendly items like butter and meat work too if you have the space,” she noted.

A good cash savings plan for faraway shoppers like Ellingsen also includes knowing which products to avoid.

“False economies include fresh produce you can’t finish, oversized condiments, giant containers of spices (they lose flavor long before you use them up), cooking oil and nuts (they go rancid), and anything with a short expiration date,” Markel stated.

The rule Markel uses is whether you’d finish it at your normal pace, not a hopeful one. “A per-unit price only saves you money if you use every unit,” she added.

A big-box road trip battle plan

If you’re located a hundred miles or more from your closest warehouse store, preparation is everything. Markel advises building a checklist that includes these tips.

Shop from a stock list, not a whim

Know how much of each staple your household uses in a month, then buy enough to last until your next trip. “For most remote households, that means going every one to three months,” Markel advises.

Combine the trip with other errands in town

That includes medical appointments, pharmacy pickups, or car maintenance, so you’re not paying the travel cost for groceries alone. “My threshold is the basket should save at least twice what the trip costs,” Markel noted. “That margin covers your time and the occasional item that goes bad.”

It’s a long shot, but check for delivery options

It’s also worth checking whether your address qualifies for Costco, Sam’s Club, or Walmart delivery. “Sometimes paying a delivery fee is cheaper than making the drive,” Markel added.

Factor in transport costs

Is a long trip to Costco worth it? It sure looks so when you tally the store savings, but budget experts advise counting the full trip cost, not just the receipt.

“A 90-mile round trip in a 25-mile-per-gallon car at $3.20 per gallon is about $12.00 in fuel,” Zeeshan Abbas, founder and lead financial analyst at US Finance Calculators, told Moneywise.

“Add roughly $15 in vehicle wear and about $5 per month for a $65 warehouse membership, and the trip costs about $32 before you save anything.”

At typical warehouse savings of 15-20%, “You need to buy about $160-$220 of items you’d buy anyway just to break even,” Abbas added.