I used Delbert Hill and he was great. Nice clean vehicle and he gave me a good price. I don't recall what the exact price was, but I was very satisfied with him. He is very close to town, and I don't know about parking in his lot.

Don't worry about it! The fastest you'll be driving is about 25MPH and you'll get used to it very quickly!

Everything is moving at slow pace, so it is not hard.

The only concerns are after a heavy rain some of the hills can be slick, so give them 15 minutes and they will dry out

Go For It!

And remember, having a designated driver SOBER is a must. Otherwise, hold a quarter in your left hand while driving to remind you. And yes, go slow. You will be fine.

Pamela

We just got back from STJ from our latest vacation there and if it makes you feel any better, one local told us that the whole of 2009 had only one driving related fatality and the person wasn't wearing a seatbelt. I can't back this up but it made me feel better. But really, if you are a wimp, have someone else drive and enjoy the views! You do need 4WD, the roads can be slick as h--- and most people do drive fairly slow and are used to the steep hills and hairpin turns. But you will probably still want someone else to do the driving for you or use the open air shuttle-taxis or the ViTran public bus. These are everywhere and its easy to pick up a shuttle in Cruz Bay. This island is so gorgeous it would be a shame for you to miss it.

It's very simple and several rules apply...
You're on vacation so slow down
Don't bring the mainland pace of life with you so slow down
There is so much beauty around to see so slow down
Put your schedule on 'island time' and slow down
You get the idea

Oh yeah, stay on the left

Most people get the hang of driving on St. John really quickly. We drive left, but our speed limit is mostly 20 MPH, 10 MPH in town. A few things that are different, other than driving on the left, are:

Horn Honking....quick little toots are drivers saying "hello" to one another. If you get a toot from behind, a little longer toot, slow down, get as far left as you can, and let the person behind you pass you. Long hard toots (usually from big trucks) usually mean, caution, look out for me, I need to take a wide turn. There are a few places here where big trucks need to take both lanes to navigate (Supreme Corner, the first major switch back about 1.25 miles up Centerline Road).

Hand waving out the driver's window. If you see someone slow, while sticking their hand out the window and kind of waving in a "push down" motion, this means they are going to stop in the middle of the road. So just stay back a little bit so you can go around them when traffic is clear.

We have a semi completed roundabout in the middle of town now. Just keep left when you enter it....everything here is "to the left". A lot of people still go through it the wrong way, so just be alert. Not sure when you will be here, but this is still under construction and it changes all the time. Sometimes one of the roads is closed off...then a different one...but you can always get where you need to go.

And by no means! let the driving situation scare you away from St. John! It's not hard to figure out or get used to...

Thanks for all the information! The island does look beautiful and the driving was the big obstacle for us. Thanks for the reassurance! Kim

we stayed in red hook, and took a ferry ride over to st john for 6 dollars! St. thomas in red hook has the best night life. St john gets a littel scary at night!

Wow! I think that is the first time I've heard that...St. John is more scary than Red Hook at night. I guess it's all in the perspective. I will add that St. John at night is, for the most part, not scary. It's a pretty small town, and as long as you aren't stumbling drunk, looking for drugs, or being rude and disrespectful, you should be very safe.

Jennajoy wrote:
we stayed in red hook, and took a ferry ride over to st john for 6 dollars! St. thomas in red hook has the best night life. St john gets a littel scary at night!

I will say that driving on StJ can be a bit "scary" at night if you have not been introduced to it during the day, but Jenna, if you find St. John scary in an unsafe way, I would like to know where you are from. It must be a very safe, comfortable place. I've been out and about in Cruz Bay and Coral Bay until shop closing time and have never even felt uncomfortable.

Jennajoy wrote:
we stayed in red hook, and took a ferry ride over to st john for 6 dollars! St. thomas in red hook has the best night life. St john gets a littel scary at night!

Really? After 5 years of on island living and at least one trip back each year, I don't think I would ever say scarey about STJ at night. As Julie said, being stumbling drunk, looking for drugs or disrespectful will get you scary anywhere you go , but enjoying yourself responsibly will get you a great time in a safe situation.