There are many places on StJohn to rent jeeps and they are all basically the same rates . I do reccomend the that you rent a four door jepp , like a liberty or simular , just for the fact that there are four of you . and you will do alot of getting in a and out . that rate seems a little high to me , I would rent a car you need a jeep and also I would just get one on StJohn verses st thomas . you will have to pay ferry cost to breing it ove and also some compasnies wont let you bring it over. I rented a jeep for
55$ day a small one . Have fun and watch out for the goats !

We are flying in this Saturday and have been debating the same thing you are. Where do I rent from. Here is what I have found.

We are renting from Budget. We are renting 4 jeeps for the family.
- Budget is one of the few companies that allows their vehicles to cross on the fairy. Yes you may have to pay 35.00 to ride the fairy but what will you spend in cab fees to get from the airport to the fairy. Then the fairy fees to get across. Then fairy fees back to STT and cab fees back to the airport.

- All of the jeep rental companies shut down at 5:00 p.m in STJ. So if you have a later flight you will be cutting it close, and if it is delayed at all you wont make it in time. Yes, the companies said that they will leave the keys on the seat of the vehicle but how safe is that. I myself like to sign all paperwork and inspect vehicles before leaving with them.

Hopefully this will help you out a bit.

Ohh.. and mclaughlin anderson recommended a jeep to get up to our house that we are staying in.(hakuna matata..anyone been there?)

Graham

We rented from Budget at the airport on STT and ferried over to St. John. Worked great. We were camping, and wanted to stock up on groceries at the Cost-U-Less store on St. Thomas, so renting a jeep at the airport was preferable to renting one on St. John.

If you're trying to save money, I'd consider a car instead of a jeep.

However, a word of caution if you're renting a villa...some of them are situated such that a 4WD vehicle is required. They are on roads or driveways so steep and rocky that only a 4WD can reach them. If that is the case than you really have no choice. But if that's not the case, you can reach 90% of the island just fine in a regular car and save some money that way. The other 10% you can reach on foot should you desire...especially with with 11 days to do it.

One consideration - if you have a car trouble, the agencies on STT may not assist you on STJ. Last summer while ascending a steep incline, our tire rolled off the rim - instant flat. We changed it ourselves, but didn't feel comfortable without a spare. Varlack (we rented on St. John) fixed the tire and returned it to us the next day. You never know what might happen...

We were on St. John and rented a 4-door Ford Escape for the week from Courtesy Car Rental ($450). We were very pleased with both the vehicle and the service.

As another poster above stated, there are so many car rental places... many with very good reviews.

One other thing to consider: You may want to figure out how much time you really intend to spend on St. Thomas, because from all I've heard, the car ferry is a pain. It has far fewer runs back and forth and can be cumbersome to embark & disembark... not to mention car emergencies on the opposite island from where you rent your vehicle from.

You may be happier and lessed stressed by just taking the passenger ferry over to STT for the day and utilizing taxis.... Once you've experienced St. John, you probably won't want to bother with STT (unless you're into shopping) much anyway... as St. John is PARADISE, where St. Thomas is not. (sorry St. Thomas lovers... I just don't get the appeal of St. Thomas when St. John is just a 20 minute ferry ride away... they are night and day!)

Does Budget support the cars when they are on STJ? I know some of the STT rental companies don't, if you break down your on your own.

Also consider the fact that if you rent on St, John you will be able to park in the rental companys' parking area when you are in Cruz Bay. Parking is at a premium in town. The main parking lot in town now has a 45 min. limit. Did you check out prices on STJ?
I have known people who have rented on STT and brought the car over and have not had any problems. Personally, I would rent on STJ.

We are family of 3 first timers who just got back on Mon. from 5 days on STJ and 3 days on STT. I also struggled with the where/what to rent/4WD questions and the various opinions on same on this board. So here is my 2 cents on the topic. Hope you find it useful.

We hadn’t done a beach vacation like this so I knew we would overpack and thought that wrestling our baggage on and off taxis and ferries and lugging it to the who knows where rental agency in Cruz Bay wouldn’t be too much fun so decided to go with Budget at the airport. Have used Budget elsewhere and am signed up in their Fastbreak program.

Yes - it is rolling the dice a bit not to have the local support for vehicle problems while over in STJ. I didn’t find the parking thing in Cruz Bay to be make or break issue. We parked over at Mongoose and walked everywhere. Consider how important it is to you to park closer to the center of town.

We reserved a midsized car as we were staying at Estate LIndholm in STJ. I thought that not having the ability to go off road wouldn’t be critical first time. After all, how hilly could the main roads be? Besides, as I explain to my brother Raymond, I’m an excellent driver.

I also have a built in bias against SUVs fostered by the distressing number of them driven by yahoos here in NJ who think that 4WD means “can defy laws of physics when it snows so I can drive a lot faster than you puny humans in the cars”. What they forget is they also have to brake under those conditions. Always entertaining to see the preponderance of new SUVs spun out into some mess during the first snowstorms of the winter.

Anyways, I digress. Budget didn’t have the car I reserved at check in and was lucky to get upgraded to a Wrangler with 3300 miles on it for same price I had the midsize for ($189). Sweet.

2 adults and a thin 12 yr old and their luggage is a challenge in a Wrangler, let alone 4 adults like you are considering. It would also be no fun for 2 adults to constantly climb in and out of the back seat of a Wrangler. So as suggested in this thread, you should consider 4 doors.

Wound up feeling I was glad I had the 4WD capability as I wouldn’t want to traverse some of those switchbacks after a light rain when all of the rubber and oil would surface on the pavement.

Regardless of what vehicle you get, good tires are ESSENTIAL so check them. Turns out the main roads on STJ have some switchbacks with pretty acute angles that caused a first timer like me to go “Whoa!” the first time I drove them (all you long timers can stop laughing now - you can also dispense with the "I told you so's").

It was a challenge to have to break in driving on the left with that drive from the airport to Red Hook and then to back up onto the ferry – could be a problem if you are a nervous driver. Graham, I don’t know about the “fairy fees” you are talking about in the above post, but the car FERRY is $35 round trip (just kidding) and timing the car ferry going and coming back wasn’t an issue at all.

As for the comments you see again here in this thread (and especially on the USVI board) that dismisses St. Thomas “unless you are into shopping”, this gave us the impression that STT was a dump and that the shopping would be cheesey and only worthy of the brain dead cruise people.

Granted, STT isn’t as pretty as STJ, but we loved our 3 days at Secret Harbour (props to TripAdvisor and Marty on this board).

Call us crazy, but there is something to be said for:

• a beautiful beach 30 feet from your clean spacious fairly priced room (and your self made rum drinks/water/snacks/cold Carib beer/bathroom)

• hammocks hanging from palm tress to lay in and read about 300 pages a day in that great book you brought with you

• awesome sunsets

• a nice bar and very good well reviewed restaurant (Blue Moon) that is a 100 yard walk down the beach with great live music 2x week

• very good snorkeling right off the beach with fish, coral, and yes, turtles

We found it was a great way to finish up the trip.

And regarding the shopping in historic section of Charlotte Amalie, the shops are actually very nice, good variety, some interesting architecture and people watching.

Maybe you wouldnt want to go when there were 5 ships in port, but we went when there were 2 and it was pretty pleasant.

IMO it would be nice to go in the morning and have lunch and drinks at some pretty place like Amici’s that has been recommended on this board.

But what do I know - I'm just a newbie at this.

do a "search" on this board for car rental....Lots of info.
We rented from Varlack and they were OUTSTANDING. can't say
enough about your safety, especially when it rains or after
dark, these roads are very challenging.

an update...car ferry from st thomas is going up to $50 round trip soon, if it hasn't done so already (it was in the local paper - can't remember the specifics, sorry...)

A far cry from the $27 it was when I got here! Haha!

FAIRY FEES.......LOL... my body is still at work in the office and my mind is already pumped full of rum at

FERRy fees...LOL

Graham

I thought it was pretty funny too and my brain is still where it was one week ago at Secret Harbour when I took this pic at sunset from just outside our room 214. Lets see if this works. It doesnt preview so maybe not.

Hi Graham,
What beach is it in the above photo - looks fab

Our Plane is supposed to arrive at 2:15pm, Would we make it to the rental places on St. Johns by the time they closed at 5pm? Or because of time, should we just stick to the Airport Rentals?

Solomon appears to be the name of the beach. The photo was taken by another member of this forum. (Colorado Boy...) I just hyperlinked it to my post. I am going Saturday to STJ so I will put something together when I get back for everyone to see.

Graham

Its a 50/50 chance. Our flight lands at 3:40 p.m. If you will arrive in time or not. Everyone has good responses in regards to "does budget or anyones else in STT service vehicles on the other side?" That I dont know.

Me...I would rather drive myself over to STJ and be able to use the vehicle to go back to STT when wanted and not have to worry about cabs and all that. I looked it up. I think its 10.00 pp to ride the passenger ferry. Then you have cab fares on top of that.

Good Luck.

Graham

Thank you for the great words about Secret Harbour. My husband & I will be staying there April 26 - May 1. We were pretty confident that we had made a great choice (our first visit to the USVI's) - it is great to constantly hear that others are still enjoying it.

You mentioned enjoying live music there 2 times during your stay. I am assuming that one night was the manager's night on Tuesday - can you tell us when the other night was?

Also, you said the very one word that is summing up my quest for this trip. "TURTLES". Did you actually see one right off of the Secret Harbour beach? We had heard that the snorkeling was great off of the beach - but, never imagined that we might actually spot turtles swimming there, as well. Could you tell us where you saw them (or it)?

Also, any other tips or information would be more than welcomed. Again, thank you for making a St. Thomas stay sound like it is not the totally wrong move to make - especially on our first trip.

Maybe next time it will be a villa on St. John - but, not if I am swimming with turtles off of Secret Harbour Beach!

Sue
One of the 2 nights was a Friday - not sure of the other night.

Why not give them a call and ask? It was a singer named Andrew who played steel drums with electronic bass/drums tracks in background. He was VERY good and I am picky about my music. He played Marley, etc. and a beautiful version of Eric Claptons "Wonderful Tonight".

We saw the sea turtle out in the middle and middle left of the bay not too deep and not too far out as you look at the water - certainly not further out than the point on your left.

Don’t know how frequently turtles happen, but we were pretty lucky on this trip. Just zig zag around in a logical pattern and let your fellow snorkelers on the beach know you are on the lookout and then they will be too.

Regarding the other areas of St. Thomas and maybe the reason it gets a bum rap from others who unfairly compare it to St. John, we took a ride from SH on Sunday planning to snorkel Coki, go to Udder Delight for shakes, to the beach at Megans, and then Indigo for dinner.

You ride thru a somewhat run down neighborhood to get to Coki. It was REALLY crowded. All the locals go to the beach on Sunday (and why wouldn’t they?) but we decided we weren’t in the mood for the crowd. Maybe better during the week, but then you probably have cruise ship spillover from Coral World (?).

Next stop Udder Delight for great milkshakes then to Megans Bay Resort to check out Indigo for possible dinner after the beach. The view wasn’t as good as anticipated, and the menu had the usual suspects. OK we’ll see.

Then onto the beach at Megans. Again, very crowded, birthday parties, everybody having a loud good time. The beach is long and pretty and you could easily find a spot if you wanted.

But you know what? We looked at each other and decided to punt – we have a very nice uncrowded beach, a very good restaurant with a great view right back at Secret Harbour, so we took the ride up and over the Drakes seat overlook area and enjoyed the views down onto Megans and down onto Charlotte on the other side.

Got back to SH, enjoyed the sunset on the beach with the adult beverages we had packed up for the Megans trip and decided to go to dinner just down the road form SH at Bonnies on the Beach at the Elysian Resort. They have a pig roast/buffet and live music on Sunday but the regular menu is also available.

We get there and guess who the live music is? Yes, it’s Andrew that plays at SH. Pretty neat to listen to that fine music and eat dinner with your feet in the sand. We very much enjoyed the salads with grilled Mahi and stuffed Grouper. Good Planters Punch too.

Here are some photos I’ve posted that include several from Secret Harbour.

http://flickr.com/photos/33027254@N00/