Hello Sharon,

Coco Joes at Marriott is somewhere your teens might like. Downtown you have Greenhouse & Hard Rock. Sibs in Mafolie is a casual place that has good food, good prices. Tickles in Crown Bay. Hook, Line & Sinker in Frenchtown. Northdrop Restaurant & Hull Bay Hideaway are other options. Iggies at Bolongo Bay.

I think you are refering to the 'dollar rides'. Yes they exist. They came to be as a way to alleviate some of the public transportation needs among residents that the public buses weren't filling. It's not a regulated system; some 'dollar ride' drivers will charge the regular taxi rates to people they assume aren't residents. Safari buses are typically the type of vechicle used to operate the 'dollar rides'. They are converted trucks; truck bed is customized with bench seating in an open-air covered area. Not all safaris are dollar rides though. The 'dollar rides' generally run the same route as the public bus and pull into bus stops, so this is an easy way to identify them.

--Islander

Sharon,
My niece, quite a picky eater, enjoyed Iggies and Hard Rock Cafe while she was here.
Ask the safari bus driver if the ride is $1 before you get on. You don't have as much say in where you get off as Islander said they follow the public bus route. But they are fun. My sister asked the guy if she could just ride the whole route with him for $2 and she had a blast!
Enjoy.
Pamela

You have to figure out how tight your budget is. I admire you for skrimping enough to take your kids to St. Thomas as a single parent. I'll also say, whatever sacrifice you have to make, it will be worth it - St. Thomas is wonderful.

My biggest recommendation for kids - COKI BEACH!!!!

MY FRUGAL VACATION SUGGESTIONS

I'll tell you what I've done on Vacations before. We usually go to a grocery store and buy non-perishible food, milk, and fruit. IF you're going to buy fruit on St. Thomas, I recommend the fruitstands on the road to Coki Beach (just be ready for sticker shock). I recommend them because they're locals, and I'm happy to share some money with the locals. To store our food, we rent a small refrigerator from the hotel (when they're available).

In the morning we have cereal, "The Breakfast of Champions!"

At lunch we eat sandwiches.

Then at night we go to a fastfood restaurant. Let's see, St. Thomas has a great KFC, a McDonalds, and I think they still have a Wendy's.

Of course to make that plan work, you'll probably need to rent a car. The way I justify the expense of the car is that I balance the daily rental of the car vs. the price of eating 3 meals per day in a restaurant.

Your budget may be too tight for even this plan, but I thought I'd give you my ideas on frugal traveling with kids.

John

I would add to the restaurant list Cuzzin's downtown so they can try some local cuisine (or a burger if they chicken out!). While I understand John's concept about frugal traveling, why go to new places if you aren't going try some new experiences? Local food may seem expensive ($8-10 for a plate of food), but it is enough to feed an army! Some interesting things to try include conch (fritters, curried or in butter sauce), mutton (goat!) and many of the side dishes- fried plantain, macaroni and cheese, boiled green banana. If they are really adventurous- souse, bullfoot soup and the local whole fish...