Renting a car in St. Thomas

Has anyone rented a car for the day in St. Thomas? We want to explore the island and then take the vehicle ferry over to St. John - it's looking like about $66 for the day for a compact car.

We've never been to either islands, and I'm more wondering how the driving and the traffic is? Would it even be worth it or enjoyable?

We just got back from a week trip to St. Thomas. We rented a jeep for the week. First , you will probably not be able to ferry the car St. Johns, they prohibit rentals leaving the island. $1000 fine for doing it. Secondly, I would say just pass on the rental. Not much to explore or see with your own vehicle. Just take a cab (they are open air buses that seat 10 to 15 people). And hit up one of the beaches or take a ferry to st John for a tour of the National Park, swimming at trunk Bay and shopping .

Many of the rental car companies DO allow you to take their vehicles over to St John. Hertz is one, however, that does NOT.

I think you would not have enough time to tour both islands in a day. I have seen some people map out a route that takes them to most of the easily accessible beaches on the island, snap selfies at each one, so they can better decide if they want to return for a land vacation, and to help them decide where they might want to stay.

I haven't seen anybody post a review on this forum about spending the day in this way, though. Sounds like a great day to me!

Just a few issues about rental cars. They do drive on the left (tough for many Americans) and the roads are 2 lane and sometimes narrow. The traffic in, and around, Charlotte Amalie can sometimes be more like a big parking lot (especially when there are many ships in port). If you do rent a car, consider being back at the port at least an hour (or more) prior to when you must get back on the ship.

Hank

I was in St. Thomas last year and having been there but not really having explored much I decided to rent a car for the day. The thing is you have to take some things into consideration when driving in STT like others have said. You drive on the left side of the road but also on the left of the car like regular cars in America. It can be a bit tricky on intersections and when turning on/off a road. GPS/Google maps is your best friend there. I made a schedule and stuck to it almost to the minute in order to do everything I wanted to do/see. Spent almost two hrs. at Coki, same at Sapphire, went to Drake's seat lookout (Meagan's bay and northern islands), Skyline Dr. lookout (view of Charlotte Amalie/docks) and spent about an hour shopping some specific things downtown.

I know it has basically nothing to do with going to St. John but just wanted to let you know that you CAN indeed rent a car and spend quite a day at STT. Just plan it out good. I DO echo the statement of being back to the ship with an hour to spare. Traffic in the area CAN be a bit heavy around that time and you have to remember to gas up the car before bringing it back in.

You have to understand that things are done on "island time"- translated- slower than slow. If someone else is renting a car and is front of you it can take an hour or more to get a car. If they have to bring in a car longer.

Traffic, especially around the cruise ship areas, and town can be bumper to bumper

Some GPS systems work well and some not so much. There are few road signs and if you know the island getting around isn't yo bad but if not its easy to get lost or go in circles.

I would recommend taking a taxi or tour and if you like what you see come back to stay on the island.

Avis and Budget allow rental cars from St. Thomas to be taken to St. John. Some smaller companies not located at the airport also allow this.

For a 1 day trip travel to St. John is not recommended--the barge service can be crowded and the number of vessels in use can vary-so making in back on a schedule can be iffy. The cost is $50 round trip.

Also in the winter season most rental cars are booked days and weeks in advance--so availability can be difficult