Badger....Check the ferry schedules on this forum. Also, your cab driver would know which ferry would be the best for you depending on what time you get out of the airport. Red Hook ferry by cab will be more expensive to get to, of course, because it's further.

Charlotte Amalie is closer to the airport, but it seems like some people take the Red Hook ferry depending on the schedules.

You'll still arrive at Cruz Bay in St. John.

Depends on whether you want to sit in a cab for roughly 45 minutes and see the hills and sites of St. Thomas and then take a 20 minute ferry to St. John, or take a 5 minute cab ride and a 45 minute ferry ride. We've done both.

If your arrival time at the airport coincides with the downtown CA- Redhook ferrry then go with that. The CA-Red Hook ferry as usual curtalled its service to RH during the summer (slow season) to perform basic maintenance. Season is coming up so check the schedule. Once you get to Redf Hook on STT, either by ferry or taxi, gettng to STJ via the ferry only takes max 20 minut4es. Cheers!

I like the downtown to cruz bay ferry if the times work out. Grab a couple of beers and get into island time while enjoying the ride on the ferry

Honestly, as a St. John resident it is easiest when traveling from the airport back to St. John to take a taxi to Red Hook and then the 20 minutes ferry across.

The biggest reason why is because "EVERYBODY" else that is vacationing or staying on St. John will be doing the same thing and so as the taxi's fill up it won't matter which one you get on to ensure you are going to the right place. It is confusing enough (even though 90% of the taxis are all going to Red Hook one way or another from the airport) getting your baggage off the conveyor belt and going outside to grab a taxi with the other three hundred people. Make it easy on yourself, go to Red Hook and you can get in any taxi.

-Josh

The ride to Red Hook is unforgettable and I would avoid it if at all possible. The ferry schedule is more limited at Charlotte but a better option by far!

lionindasun: But doesn't just about every taxi headed for Red Hook go right by the CA ferry dock which is a relative hop, skip and jump from the airport? If I were a tourist arriving typically in the late afternoon, I'd rather get on the downtown ferry than be stuck in waterfront traffic jams. Each to his own, of course!

It no longer takes 40 minutes to go from Charlotte Amalie to St. John. They have a new ferry called CARIBBEAN PERFORMANCE that actually can BEAT the Red Hook ferries sometimes. Now, depending on the amount of luggage you have, you can ALWAYS walk out of the airport and catch a dollar safari to the Charlotte Ferry, it's 2 bucks to Red Hook. This as opposed to 14 and 20 respectfully in a cab. Ferry from Charlotte is 10 bucks plus an extra 2 bucks per bag AFTER 2. Red Hook is 5 and same baggage rules apply. Both fares are ONE WAY. The Charlotte Ferries stop at 5:30 and the last ferry back to St. Thomas from St. John is 11PM

Ronnie, wherefore art thou on this thread? "Caribbean Performance?"

Dylan Michaels poster, $2 to Red Hook? And the rest of your post, as in duh!

Yikes,

Why is there always a cynic in the house? I was answering for the benefit of the original poster. And YES, the safari is 2 bucks to Red Hook, IF you want to brave the traffic. And Caribbean Performance is the Orange Ferry and YES, it does Cruz Bay from Charlotte in about 20-25 minutes.

Dylan, with all due respect, the safaris are NOT at the airport! And airport to Cruz Bay via ferry is what this poster is asking about., I know from where you come in entering this forum. PM me if that's your druthers!

STT Resident,

Funny, I know lots of folks who take safaris from right outside the airport to either town OR Red Hook.

And..............if you "KNOW" from when I come in entering this forum, you must ALSO know I have no interest in sending you a pm.

Famous last words: "CHEERS"

Getting back tothe subject:
For a first timer, you have a few options. You can take a quick ride to the Charlotte Amalie ferry if your flight lands close to the time the ferry leaves or you can take a roughly 40 minute cab ride to Red Hook and take the 15 minute ferry that leaves every hour on the hour.

You will find a taxi dispatcher at the airport that will put you on a taxi with others going in your direction but if you are heading to Red Hook, they may stop at hotels on the way. You will get to experience the crazy hills of STT.

You can also reserve a private taxi from the airport to Red Hook, while it will cost more, you will drive directly to the ferry.

Enjoy your trip, you will love STJ!

Well, so much for communication!

Dylan, you surely cannot be ignorant of the contractual agreement between WIC0/VIPA and the VI Taxi Association? If sending me a PM or otherwise introducing yourself to me is repulsive for whatever reason then I think you have the problem and not I. Cheers!

Dylan, I have to agree there are no $ ride safaris at the airport... the closest is to pick them up on the road across from the entrance to the airport and unless the luggage is very small, it will be difficult and unwelcome on the safari. Taxis are another story and addressed here. I have been curious about Caribbean Performance's schedule, I see it from time to time but don't know if it's competing with the CA-Cruz Bay ferry or charter only.

Cathy,

Good Morning!

Yes I understand the luggage thing. This is why I said, "DEPENDING ON THE AMOUNT OF LUGGAGE YOU HAVE" when I originally replied to the poster.

Caribbean Performance keeps the same schedule basically as Carib Time used to, and still does I believe from time to time. Caribbean Performance is a much smaller ferry but can really fly. The first time I took this Ferry was last spring before I moved to STT from STJ and I was amazed!

And I love to communicate by the way!

STT Resident, maybe we got off on the wrong foot you and I; HOWEVER, please re-read the first reply you placed to my original post concerning this subject, noting the sarcasm you used when addressing my post.

HAve a great day today and be blessed!!

good luck. it takes about 40 min to 25 min

We took the CA ferry on our way back to the airport, and it seemed to be quicker than the 40-50 minutes that they told us it would be. The cab driver even said that the new ferries were quicker than the old ones.

It was not, however, a 20-minute ride.

Never saw a safari cab at the airport, but it wasn't too much from CA to the airport.

Really it depends on which ferry schedule works with your schedule. Either you see all of STT on the cab drive to RH, or you see it from the water on the ferry ride from CA.

Don't rely on your cab driver to make the best decision, as ours snookered us to get the higher fare to RH and we ended up waiting almost an hour for a boat. Best is to know both of the schedules and simply ask him if they are both running on time that day rather than let him choose which one's better for you.

just wondering myself...

we will be on SJ in 2 weeks, our plane is landing in ST at 4:20 (if on time) by the time we get our luggage and sorts it will be around 5:00 or so and that could put us at the ca ferry to SJ for the departure of 5:30 ferry, my question is: does the 5:30 ferry ever fill up with to many people and then you have to go to red hook? has this happened to anyone? the last time we were there we went up to red hook and i was so car sick from the ride that I'm dreading doing it again this year....i would much rather be on the ferry then in a cab with a bunch of people being dropped off on all locations.

Samantha