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Hello, I will be renting a villa in St John in the Coral Bay area.
My question is, would it be better to rent a car in St Thomas or St John... My reason for considering renting St Thomas is I would like to stock up on a few groceries before heading onto the villa in Coral Bay. I understand the grocery stores are less expensive in St Thomas and more of a selection, or am I just wasting my time going to a grocery store in St Thomas? Staying in Coral Bay will I need 4 wheel drive? Budgets selection of 4 wheel drives seem expensive compared to Local St John rental companies, and vehicles without are less expensive but I don’t want to be without one if I need it, and thoughts or idea will be greatly appreciated ,,thanks
Check with your rental agency to see if 4WD is needed to access the villa. You do not ned 4WD, but it does add security feel to driving on some of the roads, especially when wet. The Lamshure bays are probably not accessible without 4WD but all of the remaining beaches are.
Depending on what you want, I really don't think prices on STT are that much better than STJ. Starfish Market has a good selection and unless there is a big cost saving on the car, I would rent from STJ.
Thanks again Chris @ Work ,I thought maybe if I rented at St Thomas airport I wouldnt have to deal with a cab and luggage as much. Trying to figure out whats best for me.
Getting from airport to ferry dock in CA is ~$10 and ~10-15 minutes. Longer and more expensive to Red Hook but ferry runs more often. I would think the villa rental agency will meet you in Cruz Bay to escort you to the villa. You could meet up with the STJ car rental then, get some groceries and follow the agency to the villa.
If you rent at the airport, you can find the groceries in Red Hook and catch the car ferry to Cruz Bay. The car ferry runs from $35 - 52 depending on company and schedule. Once on STJ, you can then hook up with the agency and follow them to the villa.
Either way has it's plus and minus so it really depends on your comfort level. If you are not comfortable with the LH driving thing, I think it will be easier to acclimate on STJ compared to STT (less traffic) and you will not be in a rush to meet up with ferry schedule.
Your call...your vacation. Have a wonderful time 🙂
Thats a great point, glad you brought it up, didnt think of that.
Thanks again.
