I think it depends on how intense you want your trip to be. If you plan on seeing as much of the islands as you possibly can, I would rent a car. If you are going to take it easy, you dont really need a car because the taxis will take good care of you in most places. I dont know if you can rent a car on STT and bring it over to STJ. You probably can but you can also take a ferry boat from redhook to cruz bay and rent a car on STJ. If you are only going to be on STJ one day and want to get to Coral Bay and some of the beaches, I would rent a car. If you just want to do some shopping in Cruz Bay, dont bother renting a car. It also depends on how willing you are willing to drive on the left side of the road. Some people get anxious about it but it is not too bad, just take it slow and think "left." If I were visiting, I would rent a car for the week and cruise around at will.
I have seen various baby foods(gerbert) in the stores but if you have some "hard to find" food, you might want to bring some(maybe not a week supply?). It's not a bad I dea to bring a little with but we have baby foods. Hope I helped.

I would probably suggest renting a car for the duration of your stay. It will allow you greater freedom to access the beaches, stores etc. Also, taxi service here is by the person, don't know how they charge for babies, but you AND your wife would have to pay. So in the long run, a rental is better in my opinion. If you want to take the car to St. John, Check with your rental co. before you rent. Can't recall off-hand, but there are some cos. that do not cover vehicles taken to St. John.
We have two Kmarts and two major stores that are equivalent to Costco or Sam's Club. I believe that I have seen baby food in both. I know that I have seen Gerber (as Chris mentioned). We also have health food stores if its a popular healthy brand.
Can't comment on Sapphire, but if it is on water you and your wife will probably be very pleased.
Have a great time on your holiday!

Unless you feed you child exotic baby food you should be able to get anything you need on St. Thomas. As for the car rental issue, we always rent a car. We like the freedom that it gives us. We bring it to St. John and explore a new beach each time we are down. Driving on the left isn't as bad as people think. However, turning right works best if you have a good copilot like I do. We always use Dependable Car Rental and have been very happy with them.

Hello - There is a post below about Bluebeards Beach Club - thought you could share your opinion.

Thanks 🙂
--Islander

thanks to everyone for your comments..it really helped..i think we will rent a car and bring alittle baby food...if anyone knows about sapphire beach resort,please let me know...also,were are the best snorkel spots on st.thomas,how is sapphire beach..is there any snorkeling there..cant wait to come to your island,we are just average working people..im a simple stone mason,so if anyone knows where to save money on groceries,rental cars,good trip for snorkeling,please let me know

you seem very knowledgeable about the islands..please,if you will,give me your opnion of sapphire beach..i am one of those people who wonder all day about this stuff..i come to the islands for snorkling,how do you rate it here..i love that ice blue water and sapphire seems to be just that..i went to punta cana last year and was alittle disapointed with the water there..not as clear as pictures make it out to be..i hear sapphire is one of the better beaches..please lend me your viewpoint..thank you..paul coleman

Paul: I believe you are in the right mind set to have a great vacation. Sapphire is a great beach and has great snorkeling. Since you are going to rent a car, you will be able to drive around and check out all the beaches yourself. While there are restaurants at Sapphire, Red Hook is not far away . It is a village, but has all the services you might need: grocery, pharmacy, restaurants, etc. Quite honestly, I have never looked at baby food, but will keep an eye out when shopping! Happy planning!

Sapphire is a great place to stay. Stayed there myself while househunting on the island. Units have kitchens which is great and they are right on the beach and it is a beautiful beach. Great for snorkeling. When my family stayed there we didn't rent a car till the third day because we could rent at Sapphire and we spent the first few days on the beach. Saved us a little bit of money. Have fun. I would snorkel at Sapphire, Coki and Secret Harbor.

Hello Paul,

I am one of those people also. LOL. I bet you are at work thinking about whether Sapphire will meet up to your expectations - right now.

It will !! Sapphire Beach resort is lovely. If you get a beach front room, some of them you can walk off your porch right onto the beach - splendid. The shoreline has many seagrape trees so your son can be hidden from the sun a bit. Snorkeling at Sapphire is good. Particularly along the rocks on the ends of the beach. In the middle its sandy good for swimming and wading. I would also recommend you go to Coki for snorkeling. And also make a day trip to St. John, try Trunk Bay or Cinnamon Bay. Sapphire is one of the nice beaches on St. Thomas. There are others as well - and you might want to beach hop - Magens is great - not for snorkeling though - but a great beach for kids the water is very calm so no concern of waves splashing a baby or toddler in the face or creating to much rocking. Sapphire is also calm but some days can get a wavy - as it is open to the sea more so then Magens Bay is. Secret Harbor is also a nice choice - it has fair snorkeling along the right hand side. And a great restaurant. If you would like to go to a playground close to a beach, then you might try Lyndberg Bay and the playground there. There are often iguanas along the rocks, and there is a swing for babies, toddlers and older children - not sure if your son would be interested in the igauanas or swings :-)... then you can walk along the beach there, swim if youd like - the snorkeling is not good there. If you have a rental car you can check it out. If you are taking a cab don't bother - its a distance from the hotel - so will be pricey and not necessarily worth it with that as a consideration. I would recommend renting a car if you want to see more of the island and beach hop to the beaches I have mentioned, and to maybe see some of the island. I am not sure about car seats - you need to ask the rental agents about this, whether they have them.

As for water being clear - very clear. You can stand at say Magens Bay up to your chest in water and look down and see your feet clearly. 🙂 same is the case at most beaches (exceptions would be at "rougher" beaches - ones with lots of waves) If you go to the beach guide on this web site, under St. Thomas... the beach shots are quite like what the beaches actually look like... the blues are, the greens, the white sand --- all very good examples to get you excited about your vacation. You can even download a wallpaper of a beach in the USVI - LOL. Will help you think about the islands even more.

For your son, bring a little hat, you might want him to wear a t-shirt when at the beach sometimes to protect him from the son, lots of sunscreen. And keep him hydrated, juices, water... for baby food - yes we have baby products. Similac formulas, gerber baby food, huggies diapers... 🙂

How expensive are taxis... well for you and your wife to go from Sapphire to Charlotte Amalie it would be about $36 round trip. To Magens Bay another $36. Coki perhaps $18, to the grocery store about $22... what I might suggest is if you plan on hanging out at Sapphire a couple days - dont rent a car then. Rent it perhaps for part of your trip, do your sightseeing, beach hopping and St. John when you have the car. If the rental is going to sit in the Sapphire parking area then its not worth it to have it. But a rental car does allow so much more freedom to go and come as you like and to see much more.

--Islander

i just wanted to take a minute to say thank you to all of you who took the time to write and reply,it has been a great help to me and my family..hopefully i will be able to return the kindness to someone else when i come back..thanks again ...PAUL COLEMAN