lovinlife wrote:

1. What is the typical rate for a taxi from St. Thomas airport to Red hook?
2. How much time do we need to allow from traveling to airport to Red hook (in order to make it on time for ferry)
3. Is it difficult to get a taxi from airport?
4. Is it difficult to get a taxi from Cruz bay to Westin? !

1. $15.00 per person
2. 45 minutes max The passenger ferries run on the hour every hour. See schedule top right this page.
3. No, extremely easy.
4. No, extremely easy.

I've never heard of anyone having the sorts of problems you mention. Hundreds of thousands of people go back and forth on the ferries every year. From getting a taxi at the airport to arriving at the Westin it's a very simple operation. Enjoy your visit!

Personally I would take the Westin Ferry for a variety of reasons.

You will save yourself about $60 taking the passenger ferry, however you are going to have to lug your bags onto 2 taxis and 1 ferry. With the Westin ferry you don't have to touch your bags at all.

You will probably save yourself an hour in time as well because the taxis from the airport are shared taxis so they will make multiple stops along the way, so you will most likely have to catch a ferry an hour later than you expected. The airport taxi system is chaotic and the drivers are more often than not very rude.

You also get a longer boat ride with the Westin ferry since it leaves from Crown Bay which is very close to the airport so you get to see more of the islands by boat which is always fun.

Budget is obviously not a huge concern since you are staying at the Westin so I would splurge the extra dough and take the Westin ferry, it will make life so much simpler and less stressful.

We've done both. The Westin ferry is expensive (esp with kids who are charged at full price), but admittedly very convenient. You just need to drag your luggage 30 feet to the Westin kiosk in the airport baggage claim area for check-in, and they'll take care of the rest, including complimentary taxi service to and from all docks. They don't charge for luggage at all, which is great, but they'll make you haul your own groceries and alcohol, if you've giddily stopped by the duty-free store at the airport and procured 50 liters of Caribbean Rum. (Note: liquor is cheap everywhere on the islands, so really no great need to buy at duty free.)

At the dock, you'll board the ferry. Try to snag seats up top, if you can, to enjoy the beautiful view. (Bring sunscreen and sunglasses!) The ferry will dock right at the Westin, and the staff will meet you with a watery but free Rum Punch, and hand you your keys. (Note that the Westin dock is due for renovations "late 2014/early 2015" so if you're there when this is going on, expect another taxi ride from Cruz Bay to the Westin in lieu of dockside check-in.) Your luggage will be taken directly to your room by a porter.

Honestly, this is the ideal way to start your vacation, if money isn't an issue.

However, "ideal" comes at a cost. You can certainly accomplish your goal much cheaper using public transportation. (By the way, you don't have to guess at what a typical tax fare is, as all taxi and ferry fares are published on the VINOW.com website. Click on St. Thomas or St. John, then Transportation.) Currently, the taxi rate from Amalie airport to Red Hook is $10pp; from Cruz Bay to the Westin is $5pp. All taxis charge $2 per luggage or $4 for oversized luggage. The ferry is $6 pp + $4 per luggage. And, of course, you'll have to add in gratuities for all 3 legs.

So, assuming 2 people with 2 pieces of luggage each, it'll cost you $240 RT + gratuities to take the Westin ferry, or ($20+$8) + ($12 + $16) + ($10 + $8) = $74 one-way x 2 or $128 RT + gratuities to take public transportation.

The big question is, "How much is convenience worth to you?" Remember that if you sign up for the Westin ferry, they will take care of getting you to St. John, even if that would require hiring a private water taxi at 3am. If your flight is scheduled to land in the evening, and you experience a 2-3 hour delay, this alone may be worth extra $100 for the Westin ferry. Not so much a consideration if you have a morning or early afternoon flight, because the public ferry runs til midnight.

(By the way, we've taken the public ferry back to St. John after dinner on St. Thomas, and I'll say that the Red Hook area around 8 or 9pm gets a bit sketchy. During the day, I wouldn't have any issues at all, but I probably wouldn't want to be there at 11pm at night waiting for the midnight ferry.)

Hope this helps!

Oh, and another option is to rent a car on St. Thomas from a company who will allow you to take your car to St. John, and use the car barge. I wouldn't recommend this for first time visitors as you'll have to navigate a strange place, all while driving on the left side of the road, but it IS an option.

We'll be doing this for the first time in January 2015. We're using Amalie Rental car. They meet you at the airport, negating the need for taxis. It will also allow you to stop by the food market and stock up for the week on St. Thomas, where food prices are significantly cheaper than on St. John, IME.

"Currently, the taxi rate from Amalie airport to Red Hook is $10pp; from Cruz Bay to the Westin is $5pp. All taxis charge $2 per luggage or $4 for oversized luggage. The ferry is $6 pp + $4 per luggage. And, of course, you'll have to add in gratuities for all 3 legs."

The posted rate from airport (Cyril E. King airport) to Red Hook is $11 pp but most of the taxi drivers now charge a flat $15 pp which includes tip. Ferry for non-residents is $7 pp each way and no gratuities.

I should also add that if you're planning on more than one carry-on bag per person you're overpacking! Dress here is very casual so leave the wardrobe at home!

"The airport taxi system is chaotic and the drivers are more often than not very rude."
Not true at all. It's a very courteous and well-oiled operation. The taxi dispatcher where possible (and it more often than not is) puts people going directly to the Red Hook ferry terminal into the same vehicle so there are no or minimal stops en route. The taxi vans are clean and air conditioned and the only rudeness encountered here generally is when you bark a question or a request to someone without first saying the customary, "Good Morning/Day/Evening/Night" salutation which is the accepted norm here.

Happy planning!

Thank you to everyone for providing feedback. I appreciate the insight and tips! We definitely take budget into consideration when planning, but also want to maximize our time on the island. Looking forward to seeing the beautiful blue water soon!

Many thanks!
🙂

STT Resident wrote: The posted rate from airport (Cyril E. King airport) to Red Hook is $11 pp but most of the taxi drivers now charge a flat $15 pp which includes tip. Ferry for non-residents is $7 pp each way and no gratuities.

Thanks! I'm afraid VINOW.com needs to update their information.

STT Resident wrote: I should also add that if you're planning on more than one carry-on bag per person you're overpacking! Dress here is very casual so leave the wardrobe at home!

True, though snorkeling or SCUBA equipment can take up a good deal of space. If you don't do one of the other, you're missing out on a lot of what makes STJ special.

LisaRex wrote:
[quote=STT Resident]The posted rate from airport (Cyril E. King airport) to Red Hook is $11 pp but most of the taxi drivers now charge a flat $15 pp which includes tip. Ferry for non-residents is $7 pp each way and no gratuities.

Thanks! I'm afraid VINOW.com needs to update their information.

STT Resident wrote: I should also add that if you're planning on more than one carry-on bag per person you're overpacking! Dress here is very casual so leave the wardrobe at home!

True, though snorkeling or SCUBA equipment can take up a good deal of space. If you don't do one of the other, you're missing out on a lot of what makes STJ special.

There's nothing to update. The posted rates haven't been changed in many years.

As far as gear is concerned, very few visitors bring scuba equipment with them, and those who do choose to bring their own snorkel equipment usually bring only their masks and rent the fins.

STT Resident wrote:
There's nothing to update. The posted rates haven't been changed in many years.

The rates on VINOW.com indicate that the rate from CA airport to Red Hook is $13pp for 1 pax or $10pp for 2+ pax, plus $2-4 for each piece of luggage. That's different than the $11pp rate you quoted, as well as the (unofficial) $15 all-in rate.

https://www.vinow.com/stthomas/getting_around_stt/taxi_stt/

I see that I quoted the non-resident rate of $6 instead of the non-resident rate of $7. Do you know if the ferry is strict with the $4 per luggage/box fee? We went shopping last year and hauled back a cooler and some shopping bags and weren't charged anything additional. But we were able to carry everything (vs wheeling it), so maybe that made a difference.

Check again. You're reading the fare from Charlotte Amalie to Red Hook, not airport to Red Hook:

As far as luggage fee on the ferries, this is the max they can charge but sometimes they let things slide.

Well, I'm such a dork. All this time, I thought that the airport was named Charlotte Amalie.
Thanks for clearing that up.

Clearly I need a vacation! 74 days away, not that I'm counting.