Cheap Transportation on St. Thomas

[rferr]

That is awesome. How far of a walk is it from crown bay to Wendys?

 

I think we were at Havensight, the Carnival Victory, and I would say it was maybe a half a mile. Nice walk to us. Got to see some stuff. Also after you get out of cab driver hell just ask a local. I asked this little old lady who took us by the arm and took us right to the stop.

[O2B@Cagain]

Just to clarify: Crown Bay is not near Havensight. Wendy's is at Havensight.

[trishs]

Just to clarify: Crown Bay is not near Havensight. Wendy's is at Havensight.

 

Does anyone know where to pick it up at crown bay? And how far of a walk

[rferr]

Does anyone know where to pick it up at crown bay? And how far of a walk

 

I do not sorry I have always docked at Havensight.

[karinski]

Does this local bus also take you to Emerald Beach?? And how often do they come around?? Did you have to wait long? We wanted to go to Coki but when someone mentioned that there was a playground at Emerald I think I may have changed my mind because we will have our 5 year old with us.

[CarolRoy]

I am also interested if there is a local bus to Emerald Beach?

[efinand]

Not sure this thread is still alive, but trying to find out where to catch the cheap local buses if we are docking at Crown Bay?? Anyone know??

[efinand]

Hey, I found the answer to my question on another thread! Posting it here in case anyone else is looking.

 

Directions if your ship docks at Crown Bay Port:

 

From Crown Bay you will catch the $2 per person open air Safari bus.

Leave the Port area. On the street (Route 304), turn right (heading east toward downtown) and walk to the forked 3 way intersection.

Cross the street, and go left going up the hill. (There will be a shopping center on your left.)

At the top of the hill, continue across the 4 lane road (Moravian Hwy/Veterans Drive) and turn left.

The open air Safari bus will stop across from the covered bus stop that you will see on the other side of the street.

 

Verify with driver he is going to Red Hook and ask that he let you off at the Marina. Pay driver in cash after you get out. One way per person on the Safari bus is $2. (Have singles for the driver.)

 

The ferry from Red Hook to St. John leaves on the hour and takes 15 minutes. Cost $12 per person round trip.

 

At St. Johns catch the Safari Taxi to the beach. (Easy to find as they will be waiting for tourists at the end of the dock) Cost $12 per person round trip.

 

Entrance fee to the beach is $4 per person (only $2 if you are a senior and have the national park discount card.)

 

Total cost for transportation=$32 per person.

 

(On your return be very conscious of the time since this is the west side of Charlotte Amelia and traffic is always extremely tied up.)

[Livethelife]

The local safari vans that efinand is describing are used by local individuals to travel to work, to school, and for all sorts of errands. These vans are often crowded and make frequent stops. They do not operate on a schedule and while they run frequently there is no guarantee that you would not have to wait for a second or third one to come along before you would find room on one.

 

While cruise passengers can get to Red Hook this way, the trip often takes in excess of an hour because of frequent stops. Same holds true for the return to the ship at the end of the day. IMHO for most cruisers (who have only 8 hours or less to enjoy all that St. Thomas has to offer) this seems like a poor trade off to save a couple of bucks.

 

I have no financial interest in either the taxi or the safari business on St. Thomas. It just seems that with what you paid to get here – do you want to waste that much of your day on transportation?

[efinand]

Well, this thread is titled "cheap transportation..." rather than "fast, reliable transportation..." :) although Livingthelife may well be right. But I've been researching this and other threads and so far haven't heard any real horror stories of people who have tried this and been sorry they did. We will be allowing ourselves plenty of time in the afternoon to catch the ferry from St. John and get back to the ship, regardless of taxi method, so we're hoping that will provide us a cushion to try this, at least on the way there. If we feel it slows us down, we may pop for a taxi on the way back.

 

And I guess it depends on your financial situation how you view the savings. Yes, we could afford this cruise, but for the 4 of us to do this $2 method vs a $10-$12 taxi ride is a difference of $64-$80, which is still a lot of money to us. Not a couple of bucks. Hunting for bargains like this for the 25 years of our marriage is what has allowed us to afford a cruise like this to be honest!

 

Finally, part of what we really like when traveling is to experience the daily life of the locals and to get a feel of the flavor & spirit of the community. To us, that is a big part of "all that St. Thomas has to offer."

 

Not trying to argue, just figuring that those reading this thread might be pondering both philosophies, as we have, and want to hear the reasons why we are going to give this a try.

[Livethelife]

I’m glad you responded in the way you did. I agree whole-heartedly with your philosophy and think you and your family will undoubtedly enjoy this traveling experience, however not everyone shares your spirit of adventure. I never said traveling this way will result in a “horror story”. I just wanted to point out that traveling this way can be very time consuming. Individuals having limited time here usually don’t want to take the chance of having to wait an extra hour for the next St John ferry because they just missed an earlier one. Good luck and let us all know how it went upon your return!

[efinand]

I’m glad you responded in the way you did. I agree whole-heartedly with your philosophy and think you and your family will undoubtedly enjoy this traveling experience, however not everyone shares your spirit of adventure. I never said traveling this way will result in a “horror story”. I just wanted to point out that traveling this way can be very time consuming. Individuals having limited time here usually don’t want to take the chance of having to wait an extra hour for the next St John ferry because they just missed an earlier one. Good luck and let us all know how it went upon your return!

 

Thank you, Livethelife! I can definitely see what you were saying. Just home from our cruise and we did it!!! But it was sort of funny, as we were traveling with another family of 4 (our good friends) and they didn't enjoy our "adventure" as much. It seemed to make some of them uncomfortable to ride with the locals; they felt the walk up the hill was long & hot; but most of all I think the uncertainty bothered them. They ended up taking a taxi back, and I think they only arrived 10 minutes or so before us. But I am totally fine with that and like you, understand that it's not for everyone.

 

A few tips: the instructions I listed above for getting to the stop from Crown Bay are pretty good, but not exact by any means. Basically just go right out of the port area, then left up the hill until you get to the "highway". We definitely saw the covered bus stop, so went across the highway where 2 ladies were sitting. We asked them if they were waiting for the bus. They were not, but they helped us. It fit the description of what I've read here. Unfortunately, now many of the tourist "trolleys" look very similar, so it isn't always easy to tell... except for the fact that these are filled with dark-skinned rather than light-skinned people.:p

 

Coming back we got a little confused about which side of the street to be on, but eventually figured it out. There were TONS of school children in uniforms also waiting for rides, busses, but it seemed these local busses didn't like to take them. We worried we wouldn't fit since there were so many kids, but when it finally stopped, only 2-3 kids got on with us. As we traveled, the bus driver ignored kids along the way who were clearly waiting for it! I guess they give preference to adults. The kids were boisterous, but not "bad" and acted exactly like middle schoolers in the US. If kids like that make you uncomfortable, you would not have enjoyed the wait at the bus stop. I think that's why our friends decided to take a taxi.

 

But as a family of 4, we made it to and from Red Hook for a total of $16 instead of $96. That's worth a lot to us, plus it was fun to see the "real" St. Thomas for a little bit.

[Livethelife]

Glad it worked out for you! :)

[goeva]

You don't have to catch it next to Kmart.. you can catch it anywhere starting at where the Pueblo is.. only on the opposite side of the street. So, basically you can just wait next to the Blockbuster that is across the street and then flag it down.

 

Just to verify..so we can catch the bus in front of Kmart side of the street and Blockbuster across the street from Pueblo?

This is the map that I was looking at.

Can you point it out where to catch the bus, please.

TIA.

 

[goeva]

On the left side of the photo, is that a bus stop?

Or is it just a sign?

TIA.

 

[manoverboard]

Just to verify..so we can catch the bus in front of Kmart side of the street and Blockbuster across the street from Pueblo?

This is the map that I was looking at.

Can you point it out where to catch the bus, please.

TIA.

 

 

TIA:

When are you going?, and can you please post how you make out. I am contemplating taking my granddaughter to Saphire beach this way in October. Thanks in advance.

 

J.

[goeva]

TIA:

When are you going?, and can you please post how you make out. I am contemplating taking my granddaughter to Saphire beach this way in October. Thanks in advance.

 

J.

 

Hi, J:

I'm going to St. Thomas in November.

I'm still trying to figure this out.

Sorry I can't be more help.

By the way, TIA = Thanks in advance.

[jvitatoe26]

Sorry!

[KeepCalmNCruiseOn]

I'm planning to spend a few hours in Sapphire Beach and go Downtown Charlotte Amalie to do a little shopping afterwards.

Does anyone know if the bus will stop at Downtown area?

Thanks!

[blue_water]

When staying on STT the ($1 / $2 bus isca viable option. But on a cruise stop the time you spend waiting and walking is precious and just isn't worth the little $ you save by taking a taxi in our opinion. When we stay at the Sapphire resort and drive into Red Hook we see people walking up the hill from Sapphire to meet the bus, and they're still standing there in the sweltering heat when we return. Such a waste...

[trishs]

I'm planning to spend a few hours in Sapphire Beach and go Downtown Charlotte Amalie to do a little shopping afterwards.

Does anyone know if the bus will stop at Downtown area?

Thanks!

 

The local bus worked out for us. We had a group of 11 so we were worried about getting all on the same bus. But the first buss came by within about 1 min. We went to Sapphire Beach and then walked up the hill and within 3 min. the bus came by. Then we drove through town but we didn't get off we went back to ship.

 

Maybe we were just lucky but it was great. The locals were very nice and told us where to get off at Sapphire.

 

A taxi I'm sure would be easier but we wanted the adventure :)

 

If you have a big group there might not be room for everyone on the local bus.

[BaiAilian2013]

Stupid question: how do you know when you're at your stop? (On the buses at home they make an announcement, but it's usually inaudible so you sorta have to know where you're going...) Are there signs or something?

 

Second question: we want to go to Coral World, so it sounds like the Coki Beach stop would be most appropriate for us?

[AZ ParrotHead]

Stupid question: how do you know when you're at your stop? (On the buses at home they make an announcement, but it's usually inaudible so you sorta have to know where you're going...) Are there signs or something?

 

Second question: we want to go to Coral World, so it sounds like the Coki Beach stop would be most appropriate for us?

 

Yes the 2 dollar bus goes to Coki. Just ask. The bus driver will help and so will the people on the bus.

[AZ ParrotHead]

Just to verify..so we can catch the bus in front of Kmart side of the street and Blockbuster across the street from Pueblo?

This is the map that I was looking at.

Can you point it out where to catch the bus, please.

TIA.

 

 

Yes this is accurate. If you are going to Coki the best place to pick up the bus is on the Kmart side.

[Hommiette]

Interested in the response to this as well. I see you r going on theLiberty, going on the Eastern Caribbean on the Liberty in March and going to Coral World as well so please post about your experience doing this :D . Enjoy your cruise :)

Stupid question: how do you know when you're at your stop? (On the buses at home they make an announcement, but it's usually inaudible so you sorta have to know where you're going...) Are there signs or something?

 

Second question: we want to go to Coral World, so it sounds like the Coki Beach stop would be most appropriate for us?