IMHO
If your decision is based on monetary limits...STT
If you want less hassle...STJ

Remember you will be driving on the left, trying to find your way from the airport to Red Hook. Certainly not impossible but if it is your first time, why deal with that additional hassle on vacation?

We've always rented vehicles on STJ for pretty much the reasons that you & Chris mention. I think primary for me is that if I should have a problem with the vehicle, i definitely want to be dealing with a company that's on the same island. It's one thing to be stuck in the East End waiting for help to come from Cruz Bay----something else to be waiting for help from CA. We've never had a problem with any vehicle there, but just like with insurance, we don't take the chance.

Also, I do like to be able to use the company's lot when we're in Cruz Bay. And I like to give my business to the folks on STJ. We've always rented from either Penn's or St John Car Rental and been quite satisfied with the vehicles.

Additionally, driving on STT freaks me out a bit. I enjoy getting in a van, have somebody drive me to the ferry as I begin to slip into Island Time. I wouldn't want to stop to do some grocery shopping on STT. Not the way I like to begin the vacation.

As Chris points out, we could save some money renting on STT, but not enough to make it worth it to me. Anytime we get serious about reducing the cost, we look for less expensive accomodations. That's where we can really shave significant costs.

We've always had relatively new vehicles (usually with under 2,000 miles) when we've rented on St John. We always rent from O'Connor's. I don't know who gave you the info on poor condition of STJ vehicles, but I've never really seen it in the 7 years we've rented. We find the convenience of STJ vehicles far surpasses the hassles of STT driving and the car ferry. JMO, of course.

Lori

We stayed in STT this Dec for financial reasons (cheap condo) and headed over to STJ by ferry( car or people) most days. Another advantage to renting a jeep in STT would be doing your shopping before you go over. K-Mart for Cruzan rum. The ride to red hook is pretty simple. The price of our jeep at Thrifty was much cheaper than STJ prices and that would make up for the ferry cost. We are going to stay in STJ next year & will probably rent from Daniel at Thrifty on STT and avoid taxi rides & get supplies. Got to figure what hassles you want to avoid.

Joe, my first comment would be "You are on vacation", with that said. I would avoid the hassle of renting a jeep in STT and head straight to St. John and rent from a local. We rented from Courtesy the past two trips and never once a problem and the jeeps are in great condition. We were able to park in their lot while in Cruz Bay therefore avoiding a hassle of looking for a parking space as there aren't many in Cruz Bay. As for groceries. Shop at Starfish Market in Cruz Bay, they have everything you could possibly want, beer, wine, liquor, meats (beautiful rib-eyes purchased 2/14/07 even cheaper than in my home town), cheeses, produce, dry goods, baked goods etc. Sure you'll pay a bit more but again you are on vacation and you need the least amount of stress possible.

Once you get off the plane in STT grab a cab to Red Hook I believe we paid 10 or 12 each plus 2 for the bags, you get a nice ride over to Red Hook stress free, get on the ferry and relax. Once you arrive in Cruz Bay most rental agencies will meet you at the ferry, we prefer to walk to Courtesy as it takes about 3 minutes from the ferry and we pass by Woody's grab a painkiller to go then get our jeep, hit the market and off to our Villa, and the stress free vacation begins.

That's my opinion on what to do! Jill

You’re definitely going to get some differing opinions 🙂

We always rent on STT, and I think it would be a hassle to rent on STJ.

When we load up our luggage into our rental at the airport, we’re done with it until we get to our villa on STJ. If you were to rent on STJ, you’d be loading a cab at the airport, unloading it at the ferry, lugging it to the rental place in STJ, loading it at the rental place, and then unloading it at the villa. To me, that’s a hassle, especially if you’ve got kids in tow…but other people prefer it.

Last summer friends of ours rented a vehicle on STJ that was in really poor condition. The thing barely ran. They asked for a better vehicle but were told “too bad, that’s our last one.” So they paid $70 a day for a piece of junk that was barely drivable…we ended up taking them everywhere.

I’ve used all of the car ferries, and they all allow rental cars…not sure what that was about in the book.

Good luck in your decision…you’ll have a great vacation no matter what you decide 🙂

If you look at Hertz site and read the fineprint they have a $1000 fine for taking cars to STJ! Beware. We used Thrifty and were very satisfied even though they are not at the airport ( just outside of airport & were quick to pick us up)

Hi. We are taking a trip to St. John in Dec. and there are 16 in our group. We have been debating on whether to rent vehicles in STT and then take the ferry over to the STJ or just rent them over there. I called Avis to check on their policy and they said you can take the vehicles over to STJ, but if they break down there or you have an accident, it is your responsibility to get the vehicle back over to STT. That can be very expensive. So, we decided to just rent vehicles over on STJ. The downside of that is we are planning to go to the grocery and liquor stores in STT before heading to STJ. Since we have 14 adults and two children, we will be cooking a lot of meals at the rental villa. It's too bad there are not any agencies that rent at the airport and also have an office over on STJ in case you have a problem.

Mary
I think your best bet is to rent one car at the airport and have them pick up the supplies, then the others can people ferry over and get the other cars. I do not think you can take a car from STJ to STT on the car ferry as most of the STJ agencies do not permit it.