Please Register / Login to take part in discussions about the Virgin Islands.
We are going to St. Thomas on 12/27, will be staying there for four nights, then taking the ferry over to St. John and spending ten nights there (three in a B&B and seven in a villa with 12 family members).
My husband and I are planning to rent a Jeep, while other family members are probably renting a mini-van when they arrive later. We have been debating on whether to rent the Jeep from one of the national agencies (not Hertz since they don't allow you to take their vehicles over to St. John) or rent one from the local companies at Cruz Bay.
The two major advantages to renting over on St. John are if you have trouble with the vehicle, the agency is on the island and the other is that you can park in their lot (if there's room) when you're in Cruz Bay. The advantages to renting a vehicle on St. Thomas is you can put your bags in the vehicle at the agency and go, buy groceries on St. Thomas transporting them to St. John (saving money) and use the same vehicle for the entire two weeks which is less hassle than going with two different agencies. If you have a large group, it seems like it would be more cost effective to take the car ferry over with all of the bags, so renting a van on St. Thomas seems like it would be the way to go. You would avoid paying the per person and luggage fees on the ferry as well as the taxi fares on both St. Thomas and St. John. The cost seems to be less renting from an agency in St. Thomas as well. However, I was told if you need towed due to an accident or vehicle problem caused by you (and don't purchase their insurance), it's your responsibility to get it back to the rental agency on St. Thomas, which is on the other side of the island from the car ferry and that can be very expensive.
So, what are your thoughts on renting a vehicle on St. Thomas vs. St. John? If you rent from one of the national car rental agencies on St. Thomas, which one is your favorite and why? On the Avis website, the vehicle models are 2003. Do either of the other agencies (Thrifty or Budget) have newer vehicles, specifically mini-vans or Jeeps? I called Thrifty and they couldn't tell me, so I thought I would ask on here.
Thanks ahead of time for sharing your opinions!
I prefer to rent on STT and take the vehicle to STJ for all the reasons you stated. Perhaps the number one reason we rent on STT is because of the fairly signifcant savings in the cost of renting the vehicle as well as taxi/ferry charges if you have more than one person.
Other people have the opposite opinion, so you just have to decide what is best for you 🙂
We are renting a jeep in STT in May for the first time (from Dependable). This will be the first time for us as we usually rent on St John. But since we are staying a night in STT, we decided to be brave, rent there and risk a breakdown in St John.
I find it interesting how, myself definitely included, the worry of breaking down is at the top of the list. I have to say when I have rented a car, even while travelling by myself on business, the thoughts of the car breaking down never occur. Yes I know it's different with Island time and I know all the problems that could happen, just that they never have any other time.
