Driving in St. Thomas and St. John

[hnjjz]

How's the driving in St. Thomas and St. John? I know you drive on the left in the Virgin islands and I think I can handle the mountainous roads and narrow lanes, but I'm wondering if there are any other driving hazards (e.g. ultra aggressive local drivers, law enforcement that pick on tourists, etc) and things that I should be aware of. Also, how's the parking situation on these islands? Thanks for any info you can provide!

[CaribbeanBlue]

In general the drivers on St Thomas and St John are very kind and patient. In general the locals are very patient with tourists while driving. If you need directions someone will usually be kind enough to help. Police do not pick on tourists, there are no whacky roadblocks, but they do strictly enforce no parking zones and seatbelt laws. Drinking and driving is not tolerated at all.

 

The downfalls of driving here are the very narrow streets, many are one way only, parking is a nightmare. To park near the downtown area you need to be in the lot by 830am or you may not find a spot until 2pm when some people leave for lunch.

 

You may find yourself driving along and the driver ahead will stop suddenly to talk with his friend who is walking along the road. This is considered perfectly ok. People use their horns here a LOT as a friendly communication device. They honk to allow another driver into traffic, or when going around a curvy mountain road or because theyare driving by their friends workplace.. In the US honking is usually out of anger, here it's a friendly communicator.

 

Sometimes livestock will decide to use the roads too. Again this is considered ok. You can be driving along a mountain road, make a curve and there will be a 1500 lb bull or a group of goats or chickens.

 

If your here only for the day I'd suggest hiring a driver and relax and enjoy the views. The person who is driving can only concentrate on the road ahead and misses so much.

 

CaribbeanBlue

 

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[hnjjz]

CaribbeanBlue, thanks for the info, it's exactly what I was looking for. Do you know how much it would be to hire a driver for an entire day? Will they charge per person like the taxi's? The reason I want to drive is because I'm travelling in a group of 4 people and it seems like it would be much cheaper to rent a car than hire taxi's since we'd like to go to several of the sights (Magens Bay, Trunk Bay, Mountain Top, and maybe others if time permitting).

[jayevee44]

We visited St. Thomas in October and we took a taxi to get to other parts of the island. I was not surprised that they drive on the left side, but I was surprised that they drive vehicles with the driver on the left side, same as in the US, which puts the driver next to the curb rather than the center of the road.

 

Although I think I would have no problem driving along the highway, I got thoroughly confused when we turned at intersections. I know I would have caused an accident if I were driving. For me, I’ll leave the driving there to the locals.

 

Jim