Here is the link I have for a scooter rental place. I checked with my auto insurance carrier and I am not insured to drive one of these and they only rent to people with experience. By the time you would pay for the full day scooter rental and the insurance you are spending more money than a full day jeep rental.

http://www.beachscooters.us/pages/6/index.htm

I think the hills are very steep and the roads have blinding curves so riding bikes has not been recommended. Scooters aren't really recommended either for the same reason.

If you look at the taxi rate info found on the main board and add up what you will be spending to go from place to place you may find that it would be worth your while to rent a jeep for a few days. In March most rental places will only take a reservation for the week and that is if you find a place with cars that are still available. I did find this place that will let you reserve by the day.
http://www.varlack-ventures.com/vvfiles/5_car-rental-rates.htm

Their rate page is a little old the Vitara is now $72 for the day.
They have a lot of useful info on their web page including a link to the St. John Blues Festival.

I have just completed my SSI classroom and pool scuba diving certification in Colorado and will be traveling to St. Thomas this Friday (2-24-06) to take a Yacht vacation departing on Sunday (2-26-06). Therefore, I am looking to obtain my open water scuba diving certification in the St. Thomas vicinity prior to departing on the Yacht vacation. Apparently the Yacht has a dive master, but not a licensed instructor.

Any help on dive shops, locations, times, cost, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

JC

JC - what yacht will you be on? What is your itenerary?

If you plan on going to the BVIs you can hail Sail Caribbean Divers and set up your dives. I would actually suggest you contact them prior to arriving and let them know you need your 4 open water dives. Make sure you bring a Universal Referral form for the instructor to complete after you're done with your dives. SSI shops here are almost non existent, but many PADI instructors are able to complete your open water dives - you just need the paperwork from the shop that conducted your pool & class sessions. Normally you will take the completed referral form back to your shop to get your certification card.

If you need more info - post here or contact me off board

Please search this message board for "scooters" or something like that.

Scooters and bikes will be very dangerous means of transportation on St John. The roads are very steep with switchbacks and are very narrow. Most times when you come to a switch back, you have to beep your horn because you have no idea what is coming the other way. And if it rains, the roads are slick.

Please, rent a Vitara for a few days. It's the cheapest 4WD on the island. Or pay for taxis. Depending on how many are in your party, renting might be cheaper and you'll have the freeedom to explore the entire island.

Chris Sawyer Dive Center (www.sawyerdive.vi) is very highly recommended by this Virgin Islander. Highly experienced staff, great safety record.

thanks for the advice!!!

I sent you a private message. I read about a free shuttle service that Maho Bay Campground has for its guests from the property to Cruz Bay. Maho Bay is centrally located on the Northside of the island so your taxi fees from there to other north side beaches would not be as much as coming from Cruz Bay.

I just found out that the "shuttle" from Maho Bay Campground is actually a taxi driver with a discounted rate going to Cruz Bay of $7 per person. A "free shuttle" was too good to be true.

Re scooter: last year we made the mistake of visiting St John without a prior car rental reservation. We were stuck without a car, and one of the places had scooters for rent. SO..we decided to go for it.

Yes, the roads are windy and treacherous and yes, it's extremely dangerous...but in the end it was an amazing way to see the island and we had a great time. I think you need to be someone familiar with bikes/scooters/motorcycles and with an excellent ability to constantly be in focus. There are no guarantees and we're going back in a few days and will rent a car (instead of a scooter) but we actually ended up having a memorable, terrific time.