Janelle -

There were places we went on St John that could not have been driven in a car without tearing the car up. Also, some roads are VERY steep although they are paved. If I read correctly, the roads were constructed NOT under your typical US guidelines. The slightest wetness can make them slippery. There was one hill driving Cruz Bay towards the Westin resort that seemed difficult to get up in our jeep after a slight rain. Also, there is "Honky Hill" either just before or just after Trunk Bay when driving the north shore road from Cruz Bay towards Annaberg. Not only steep, but very blind switchbacks. (Hence the name... cars/taxis honk when coming around a blind switchback)

If you have time before your trip, I would highly recommend purchasing a book by Pam Gaffin titled "St John Feet, Fins, & Four Wheel Drive". It is very descriptive of the roads between various locations.

One other thing I had read once on a message board mentioned a reason for the car ferry being costly: St John car rental companies want visitors to rent from them as opposed to on St Thomas. I don't know if there is any validity to that, but I also have never had experience with car ferries elsewhere. Also, I had read that some car rental companies do not allow their vehicles to be taken off of the island.

I hope this helps some! If in doubt, you could always park your car at Red Hook, take the $3 ferry over, and do a one-day car rental on St John.

~ Mandy

A four wheel drive is a must, unless you want to limit yourself. The car ferry does stop around 6-7pm so make sure and check that out. In otherwords, renting on STT and bringing over the rental will limit you to making sure you are back for the last ferry to STT for the night.....unless you plan on leaving the vehicle there. I dont think the rental places on stj rent anything other than four wheel drives because that is the only reasonable transportation. 35$ also dictates that you go with the same boat company....i think it is 21 for a one way.....so ok..say you are trying to catch the last ferry off the island by 6 pm and the company that you bought your round trip from has already filled it's boat, then you will either have to buy a one way from another company(there are two: one owns the roanoke and captain vic the other owns the general 1 and 11, i think).
So basically, by renting on STT, you will cut your trip short and have a few more things to worry about it. Not to mention the car ferries take twice as long(or more) to cross between the islands as a person ferry. Trust my opinion as a local and just rent the car on STJ, it will save you heartache and time. The car ferry is a necessary evil for us but I wouldnt do it if i had a choice.

I just returned from a two week trip to St. John, and rented a compact vehicle from Budget at the St. Thomas Airport - cheapest rate after a lot of shopping around. I stayed in a place on the south shore which required a fair amount of driving on rock-strewn, dirt roads, and had no problems (rain and no rain) as long as I took it slowly and watched for ruts in the road - something I'd do anywhere! We travelled the perimeter of the island and again, did not have a need for 4 wheel drive, even on the sharp switchbacks throughout. In terms of transportation, Captain Vic does a round trip from Red Hook to Cruz Bay and back for a total fare of $27.00. There are a number of sites which provide one with the ferry schedules and with a bit of advance planning...My total cost for two weeks with an economy car was less than one week in a 4 wheel drive vehicle.

Janelle, are you going to STJ for the day or longer? If just for the day, I'd say you could do it in a regular car. You mention snorkeling and Coral Bay in the same sentence. Are you planning to snorkel in or around the Coral Bay area? I ask because most folks on day trips usually hit the North Shore beaches Hawksnest, Trunk Bay, Maho Bay, etc.
Good snorkeling to be had at most of these beaches. Coral Bay is on the "other side of the island" and requires a drive up and down some rather steep hills with switchbacks and corkscrew turns. However, it is well worth the trip (not for the snorkeling).
As Mandy relates, some roads can be difficult when wet. The road she mentions beyond the Westin is one that has caused me a problem also and is well known by the locals to be a tough go after/during a rain.
Should your plan be to spend more than a day I'd would opt to rent a 4 WD in STJ (IMO).
If you give us more info on your planned iteninary perhaps a more definative answer could be provided.

HAHAHAHA!
If she is going to SALT POND BAY, which I think that is where she is headed, SHE BETTER get a four WHEEL DRIVE! THink the roads are bad normally? Well, they are doing construction, which might last for a year or two and there isnt much road to speak of. Rent a car on STT, come over for a day and rent a 4 wheeler to get to salt pond bay where the snorkling is phenominal.
God.
Let's see:
Jeep rental:50$
FERRY FOR A COMPACT: 27$
COMPACT RENTAL FOR THAT DAY: ?$
Ok, so you might save like two dollars or something.....but what happens if it rains?
You aint gettin over the mountains in a swift!!!
AHAHAHAHA!
If you do it, tell me so I can videotape it and win some hilarious home video of donkeys passing you on the left as your tires are spinning are you are headed back dwn the mountain!!!
HAHHAHAH!
Man, I cannot stop laughing, this is freaking hilarious.
Maybe you can rent a donkey for cheaper?
Oh my god, i think i wet my pants laughing so hard!
I gotta go.

Hey Chris... just say whats on your mind now.... don't hold back for our sake.

Janelle.... Take a trip on one of the day boats visiitng St John.

: )

JET

Sorry, I am in one of those wierd moods, where it seems like people are like just being difficult. Its like they ask questions and despite popular opinion by people who deal with it everyday, they wanna go against that. Why even ask, then.

SO, Suuuuuure St. John is great for cars.
Yup.
You'll save gas money, too.
And you'll save five bucks on the car ferry because its smaller.

Just tell me when and wear AND IM BRINGING THE VIDEO RECORDING EQUIPMENT.

Thanks everyone. Got some good information from all of you. We will probably go to St. J for only one day, unless it's so wonderful that we feel it's worth another day trip. We are concerned about getting stuck, stranded, or damaging a rented car, so, we are leaning toward renting a 4wd when we get there. We didn't know that the car ferry stopped transporting around 6 or 7 p.m. so that will be a huge factor in our decision. We would like to stay until sunset and maybe grab dinner on St. J before we head back to St. T. We live in the piney woods of Texas and I'm sure both islands will be a dream. We appreciate you all taking the time to respond. You are good people.

janelle

p.s. Jetpilot , What are the day boat trips like and how much do they cost? There are four of us....We have two boys ages 12 and 15.

The one time I brought my car over on the barge I was not wise to the whole two operator thing. We bought a round trip ticket for $35, then got on the wrong boat coming back. We were the first on the boat, so got stuck in the back and could not get off once we realized we were on the wrong one. They do not ask you or check your ticket until it's time to depart, they just assume you know what you're doing, so watch out for that, or else you'll be paying $50 for your round trip like we did.

At first I thought the car ferry was over priced, and it is compared to other car ferries I've been on (in Puget Sound, Washington, and between Long island and CT), but it's good because the price does discourage people from bringing cars to STJ. I know there is also a limit on the number of rental cars available on STJ, and I think that's smart. The traffic situation is bad enough on STT; we need STJ to remain a refuge.

Furthermore if the car barge were cheaper, I probably would have taken it all the time, and gotten into trouble climbing hills my non-4WD sedan had no business trying to climb!

Hi Janelle,

Thanks for inquiring. As of yet our projected start up date for our operation is likely to be sometime the begining of September. I'm sorry. We would have loved to have you as our guests.

The best places to check for a day trip to St John would be in the 2 tourism publications available at the airport, and everywhere for that matter, are "What To Do St Thomas St.John", and "St Thomas this week". Both publications have watersport sections with advertisments. Hotel concierge services are also an excellent source of info.

A trip on one of the catamarans circumnavigating St. John sounds like a nice trip.

JET

I didnt think they knew about the whole ferry schedule.
I was in such a wierd mood that day, though.
I just get discouraged when people ask honest questions and then they dont hear what they wanna and go against better advice by people who have been there and done that.
Nobody says you have to rent a jeep but it will save money because if there is a group of four, it will cost you at least that to go back and forth to one beach on a safari(unless it is hawknest).
I am glad that you are going to rent a jeep and explore STJ. I dont think you'll regret it, ever.