Hi,
Its not impossible. Figure on about 30-45 min to get car and luggage. Another 30-40 min to drive to Red Hook Ferry dock. There are a couple of grocery stops along the way, there's the Food Center just before you hit Red Hook, Marina's Market which is virtually across the street from the ferry and then Cost U Less which is not far either. To save time and ensure you make the ferry you could shop on St John, little more expensive but not crazy. Hope that helps and have a great trip.

How many people are you shopping for? One of the main problems you'll encounter at that time of the afternoon is the exodus of commuter traffic leaving town to go to country and that may be a deciding factor in how much shopping you're able to do, particularly if your flight is delayed for any reason. My usual recommendations for selection and prices are CostULess and Plaza Extra which are both on Route 38. If you're shopping for just a couple Food Center would probably be the better option but they're pretty expensive compared to the other two while Marina Market is much higher still and is a much smaller store with less selection.

STT Resident

At first I had to laugh when I read your post with "...exodus of commuter traffic leaving town to go to country..." and a voice in my head said

"Come on, it's a small island for heavens sake what kind of exodus could it be?" to which another voice in my head responded

"You arrogant bastard"

Thanks so much for the humility check 🙂

Chris: I got a kick out of your "humility check". Besides the 10's of "commuter" traffic inching up Rampune Hill, depending on the number of ships docked at the Havensight Pier, there can be a endless line of safari taxies moving cruisers "back-to-the-ship" from various parts of the island. It can be a nightmare - only in island terms of course.

Rocky Dock
Water Island

Having been stuck several times in that mammoth crawl from the bottom of Raphune Hill all the way to Tutu during "rush hour" I'm just very glad that it isn't part of my daily schedule! 😀

Just returned last week. Our flight arrived in St. Thomas at 3:40 p.m. I used Amalie Car Rental and they were waiting at the airport with the vehicle. We were very surprised how quickly our luggage came out since we had waited about 30 minutes our last trip. We did stop at the Food Center on the way and still made the 5:30 p.m. car barge. I cannot say enough good things about working with Mr. and Mrs. Constantin at Amalie Car Rental. The Jeep Commander was in excellent condition and provided ample room for five adults and the necessary power to navigate St. John. They were very helpful prior to the trip and so great to work with once we arrived. Also, they made returning the Jeep to the airport extremely easy and even had a porter waiting for us to whisk us through the check-in process and through security. In my opinion, that is the only way to return from the trip and not get stressed at the airport. Just a note, we did arrive on a Thursday and there was only one cruise ship in port that day.