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Cheap Transportation on St. Thomas

Brianinidaho

By Brianinidaho,
in St. Thomas/St. John

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The Islander

The Islander

Posted
Posted

Snorkel2Much, if you look in the bottom, left corner the ship points to a road that goes toward the top, right corner of the image. Following that road... on the left is an open field (right now it has a bunch of construction stuff in it as road work is being done in the area), next also on the left is a set of buildings, one with a red roof and two with brown - Blockbuster Video is there. The next big building on the same side of the road is the one with the white roof, K-mart is there. There is a bus stop close to K-mart. For the dollar rides you can flag one down prior to getting to K-mart, along that road.

 

--Islander

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Snorkel2Much

Snorkel2Much

Posted
Posted
Snorkel2Much, if you look in the bottom, left corner the ship points to a road that goes toward the top, right corner of the image. Following that road... on the left is an open field (right now it has a bunch of construction stuff in it as road work is being done in the area), next also on the left is a set of buildings, one with a red roof and two with brown - Blockbuster Video is there. The next big building on the same side of the road is the one with the white roof, K-mart is there. There is a bus stop close to K-mart. For the dollar rides you can flag one down prior to getting to K-mart, along that road.

 

--Islander

Thanks. Google Earth is a great tool, but it has limits.

 

So the dollar taxi's heading from Havensight towards Red Hook would either:

.... loop south-east around the southern coast counter-clockwise, passing Red Hook then Sapphire,

....or head north-east through the hills and then straight east to Red Hook then Sapphire

......or head north-east through the hills and then clockwise along the north coast passing Sapphire then Red Hook.

 

Do you know which is the normal route? Just trying to get an idea what side of the road to stand on with lefthand drive rules in effect.

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mark290

mark290

Posted
Posted

I am arriving on Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas and I need

to get to the Wyndham Sugar Bay. There wil be 18 in my group.

I have been quoted $15 roundtrip by the excursion company.

$2 seems a lot better. Will the $2 taxis get me where I need to go ?

If so how difficult will this be to accomplish ?

As an alternative do you think there is any way to pre arrange transportation for my group for less than $15/person ?

 

Thanks

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The Islander

The Islander

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The east end dollar ride and bus route that goes by Red Hook... Sapphire etc. also passes the entrance to Wyndham.

 

The safaris used for dollar rides (and for taxis) vary in size. Some can hold 12-14 people and some can hold up to 26 people, and there is an in between size. If a smaller dollar ride passes or if a larger one that already has people on it so not enough room for your group of 18, your group may need to split up.

 

If you were grabbing a taxi the dispatcher or drivers would get you all to a safari that could accommodate everyone together. Taxi from Havensight to Wyndham is $10 per person, one way. You can try to get additional group quotes, try http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0oGkxQs7eRIOagARWpXNyoA?p=st.+thomas+activities+%2B+taxis&fr=yfp-t-501&ei=UTF-8.

 

--Islander

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mark290

mark290

Posted
Posted

Thank you for the quick reply.

We do not mind splitting up so I think we will try the $1 ride.

Is the pick up spot near the cruise dock if we are going to the Wyndham

still by the Kmart ? I believe Red Hook is to the East and the Wyndham

the other way to the West. Does the route take us to Red Hook first and then loop around to the Wyndham ?

 

Thanks Again.

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Brianinidaho

Brianinidaho

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When we last got of the ship the island greeter said that the taxis were the only way to redhook. Of course he worked for the taxis.

 

We walked a few blocks to KMart and found the transportation all the locals use. Cheap, safe, and with the same traffic as a taxi, so they go about the same speed. Good luck, and that guy at the ship who lied to us should be fired.

 

Brian

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The Islander

The Islander

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Hello Schafer6161,

 

Taxis in St. Thomas have a fixed fare table that is set by the VI Taxicab Commission, the organization that also oversees regulating the taxis/drivers as far as licenses, insurance, conduct and so forth. Licensed taxi drivers are supposed to follow the fare table. Getting ripped off implies that the taxis are charging you more than the set fare. This generally is not a problem in St. Thomas. It can of course happen so it’s a good idea to know what the taxi fare is for the destination you want to go to. In your case the taxi fare from Havensight to Magens Bay is $8 pp, ow. $10 from Crown Bay. Incidentally licensed taxis are supposed to have the taxi fare table in their vehicle available should a passenger want to see it.

 

The transportation option discussed in this thread is the dollar ride. Its a 'form' of public transportation that follows some of the public bus route.

 

The public bus route does not go to Magens Bay. Visitors heading to Magens Bay need to take a taxi or rent a car.

 

Hope that helps.

 

--Islander

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The Islander

The Islander

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Depends on what you are looking for... snorkeling, food/drink, restrooms, watersports? You might start a new thread with the beach requirements you are looking for.

 

The dollar ride East End route passes Sapphire, Lindquist, Sugar Bay and Coki. On the West route there is Lindberg (also called Emerald).

 

--Islander

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bonnys

bonnys

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Depends on what you are looking for... snorkeling, food/drink, restrooms, watersports? You might start a new thread with the beach requirements you are looking for.

 

The dollar ride East End route passes Sapphire, Lindquist, Sugar Bay and Coki. On the West route there is Lindberg (also called Emerald).

 

--Islander

 

Basically we are just looking for a nice beach, with seashells, that is inexpensive to get to. My 9yo DD collects shells, and while I know she cannot take any home, she still likes to look and take photos. A restroom would be nice though.:p I have an issue with paying a taxi $80 (there are 4 of us) roundtrip plus tips to just enjoy the beach.

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The Islander

The Islander

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Sapphire would likely work well. Its a nice beach, has amenities like restrooms in addition to chairs and watersports and its on the dollar ride route. For beach exploring....on the far right is a pebbly side of the beach, might find some interesting rocks, possibly shells and other things there to examine. You'd want to wear shoes of some kind. If you walk passed the pool but before the marina you can explore along the shore there. And back on the beach if you walk to what looks like the end of the beach on the left side you can go on along the sandy shore a bit and check things out.

 

--Islander

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CaribbeanBound

CaribbeanBound

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I second Saphire. Sapphire Beach is a gorgeous white sand beach with lots of shade trees and awesome views of several nearby islands including St. John. The snorkeling is good. We saw several schools of fish (previously unknown to us), an eel, and a small stingray. Unpadded beach lounge chairs are $5 each if you want to rent one, or free if you just occupy one of the many chairs abandoned by their previous inhabitants.

 

Here are more of our Secrets of the Caribbean!

http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/caribbean-secrets.html

These are our very detailed personal reviews, hints, and tips for ports of call that you will be visiting.

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The Islander

The Islander

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Marnie,

 

K-mart is mentioned a lot in this thread, thats where you would go if you were going east... east is to Sapphire and Coki. For Emerald you need to head west, so in front of Wendy's (the fast food place) rather than heading toward K-mart you would instead head toward downtown. You can pick up the dollar ride along that road. You would go through town, just after passing Nisky Shopping Center you'd get off right before the airport, take the airport road a short distance and then you'll see Emerald Beach Resort signs, turn in there - it's the first hotel you'll come to. For catching it back... you'd go to the same place you got off, just the opposite side of the road.

 

--Islander

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