Driving and Parking in San Thomas and San John

[aprilsp88]

Hi,

 

We'd like to take a self guided photography driving tour around San Thomas and San John, as our ship will stay in the port from 8AM to 7PM, and we prefer the freedom of driving by ourselves.

 

Can we park along the road when we want to stop to take a picture? Is it easy to find a parking if we want to go to a beach?

 

We understand the road is pretty hilly, and driving side is different from U.S.

 

Thanks,

April

[thinfool]

Except for the 'wrong' side driving experience, you are in the US...and driving is much the same.

Highway signs are in english and look much like they do in the mainland.  Have fun!

[tallyho8]

We went a few weeks ago when there were 7 ships in port and it was very crowded on the highways. Some of the road signs are still down from the hurricane so it is easy to miss your turns. A GPS is recommended.

[shaneandpamela]

Taking a car/Jeep from St. Thomas over to St. John right now is really time consuming.  You'll be in line for the ferry for up to a couple of hours each way depending on the traffic waiting to cross.  If you really want to see both, get a taxi to Red Hook and ride the ferry over to St. John, then rent a Jeep there, see your sights, then turn the Jeep back in and ferry back to St. Thomas, then figure out where you are going to rent on St. Thomas.  Good luck...

Left side.  25mph.  DO NOT get in a hurry.  You'll be the only one.

Edited December 9, 2018 by shaneandpamela

[aprilsp88]

15 hours ago, shaneandpamela said:

Taking a car/Jeep from St. Thomas over to St. John right now is really time consuming.  You'll be in line for the ferry for up to a couple of hours each way depending on the traffic waiting to cross.  If you really want to see both, get a taxi to Red Hook and ride the ferry over to St. John, then rent a Jeep there, see your sights, then turn the Jeep back in and ferry back to St. Thomas, then figure out where you are going to rent on St. Thomas.  Good luck...

Left side.  25mph.  DO NOT get in a hurry.  You'll be the only one.

Thanks all for replying and suggestions.

 

Shaneandpamela,

 

Thanks for the tip that the waiting for car ferry will be long. Does it make any difference if we arrive on Saturday and is the only ship in town?

 

Thanks,

April

[shaneandpamela]

Saturday may be worse than a weekday for the car barge to/from STT.  That's the day working people get to go from STJ to STT for big resupplies at Home Depot, Wal Mart, and the Cost Less mega store.  I wouldn't try to car barge back and forth in a day and hope to see anything other than the view from the barge.  These islands are still recovering from Irma and Maria.  The volume of traffic waiting for the car barge is still very high.  I've seen locals ask that tourists not use the car barge so that the residents can get to and from to continue recovery work.

[Stinger-pr]

Having driven in St. Thomas a couple of time I can honestly tell you that you'd have a hard time pulling off the side of the road to take pictures. The roads in St. Thomas are a bit narrow with little space to spare on the sides. We took a chance this last trip and pulled aside for a moment at a certain point near the Mountain Top shop and put our blinkers. I stayed in the car and DW got out to take a few quick pics. Only two cars passed by so it wasn't an issue with traffic but we were blocking a lane for a moment so I would not recommend it.

[aprilsp88]

Thanks all for replying. It looks like driving might not be a good idea. Our original plan was to do scenic drive and photo stop along the way, but given the wait time for ferry and difficulty to park, maybe we should just take a taxi tour, although it's less flexible.

 

Thanks,

April