Is it worth it to rent a car for the day??

[seguetocaribe]

We were originally thinking of going to one of the resorts that offer day-passes with our kids when we are on St. Thomas for the day but now we are wondering if we should just rent a car for the day and explore on our own - find a cool place for lunch (anyone have a recommendation?) and check out the beaches on our own.

Has anyone rented a car for the day? Which rental agency did you use? Did you feel like it was worth it?

Thanks for input!

[slabeaume]

We have one rented for our cruise in NOv. Budget has a place right at the dock at Havensight. We'll be coming into Crown BAy and Budget told us to book the one near there and call when we're ready for them to pick us up. I had read there are a lot of hills and driving there is crazy---also they drive on the left side of the road, but my daughter just spent a week there and said if you drive carefully and have patience, it's doable. Hope she's right.

[seguetocaribe]

We have one rented for our cruise in NOv. Budget has a place right at the dock at Havensight. We'll be coming into Crown BAy and Budget told us to book the one near there and call when we're ready for them to pick us up. I had read there are a lot of hills and driving there is crazy---also they drive on the left side of the road, but my daughter just spent a week there and said if you drive carefully and have patience, it's doable. Hope she's right.

 

Thanks for the reply! Can I ask how much they are charging you to rent for the day? I knew about the driving on the left side of the road and that is the main thing that is holding us back but...I think we will give it a go anyway ;) If your daughter has any recs (things we NEED to see or restaurants for lunch that are worth the drive, please share!) Thanks :D

[laser110]

I don't see any reason not to rent a car, but as previously mentioned we drive on the left. Some some this is a non issue, for others it's the world and they can't do it. Also the roads are hilly and curvy. As long as you don't mind it, remember to downshift when you need to, and Keep Left! you should be ok. Did you have any place special in mind to go to?

 

Scott

[slabeaume]

Thanks for the reply! Can I ask how much they are charging you to rent for the day? I knew about the driving on the left side of the road and that is the main thing that is holding us back but...I think we will give it a go anyway ;) If your daughter has any recs (things we NEED to see or restaurants for lunch that are worth the drive, please share!) Thanks :D

 

They stayed on Cowpet Bay and she said the snorkeling there was great---better then Sapphire. They ate at a few places in REd Hook and at the Ritz, other then that, they didn't venture too far until the day they were leaving. That's when some fellow vacationers drove them around the island and back to the airport. We spent a week on Grand Cayman a few years ago and experienced driving on the left side. It wasn't too bad. Our rental for a standard sized car is $52.74 all fees and taxes inclusive. Now to find a good map of the island!

[seguetocaribe]

I don't see any reason not to rent a car, but as previously mentioned we drive on the left. Some some this is a non issue, for others it's the world and they can't do it. Also the roads are hilly and curvy. As long as you don't mind it, remember to downshift when you need to, and Keep Left! you should be ok. Did you have any place special in mind to go to?

 

Scott

 

It is somewhat of an issue to us (simply bc we are not used to it and don't want to cause an accident!!) but we don't want to let it stop us from doing something new. We look at it as a new adventure :). Don't have any place special in mind. Of course, we want to stop at a few of the beautiful beaches but we also like to try to get a taste of the history of each new place that we visit. We are not really so interested in the touristy t-shirt kind of stores. We will have our 8 year-old children with us so anything we do needs to be kid-friendly to hold their interest :)

[seguetocaribe]

They stayed on Cowpet Bay and she said the snorkeling there was great---better then Sapphire. They ate at a few places in REd Hook and at the Ritz, other then that, they didn't venture too far until the day they were leaving. That's when some fellow vacationers drove them around the island and back to the airport. We spent a week on Grand Cayman a few years ago and experienced driving on the left side. It wasn't too bad. Our rental for a standard sized car is $52.74 all fees and taxes inclusive. Now to find a good map of the island!

 

Thanks for the car quote...that sounds like a pretty good deal for the day. We would spend more taking a taxi to and from a hotel for the day!! Re: a map, I just googled it and found a few good ones. Check out www.virgin-islands-on-line.com they had a good one. Also, have you looked at www.**********? They have lots of good info.

[seguetocaribe]

Thanks for the car quote...that sounds like a pretty good deal for the day. We would spend more taking a taxi to and from a hotel for the day!! Re: a map, I just googled it and found a few good ones. Check out www.virgin-islands-on-line.com they had a good one. Also, have you looked at www dot vinow dot com? They have lots of good info.

[blue_water]

I would not get a rental, you can get a good guide or just a taxi and hit Sapphire Beach and then Paradise Point where you have a great view of the harbor and a fun spot for lunch. Then walk from the PP tram back to the ship if you're docked in Havensight.

 

We drive STT and it is very easy as compared to Tortola and other islands. But if you haven't stayed there and gotten accustomed to driving to the places you wamt to visit you'll be wasting alot of your time. Looks very easy on the maps, and overall it is not bad. But it is not that easy when you can't find missing signs or you miss turns.

 

Just take a taxi and enjoy. You'll learn the island and can drive next visit with more confidence and know wjere you're going!

 

Enjoy your time in the islands!

[Betsy's Mom]

For relatively little you can contact a guide and take a relaxed tour of the Island. The roads are narrow, pot holed, poorly marked and the drivers are not like on the mainland. You will enjoy your visit much more if you are not driving. It is very easy to eat up time getting gas, which is very expensive, getting lost and not knowing where you are going. When you get to a beach there well may not be parking for you . You are on vacation why add stress?

Just saying and having lived on Island for 15 years.

B.

[khm1]

With kids, you would save $$ by renting a car. We have 3 kids and taxi fares can really add up! I have been to St. Thomas many times and have rented a car there 2 times while cruising. We also had a land vacation there for one week and rented a car for the duration.

 

The first few times we were there, I did not rent a car. We used taxis. I am a very adventurous traveler. I am not intimidated easily. However, I would have been very intimidated if I tried to drive there the first time I visited.

 

It is VERY hilly with a lot of switch backs in the road and poor visibility around curves. If the roads are wet, it can be very tricky. People drive a little crazy there too. If I were you, I would do a taxi for the first time you are there. You may also consider a tour guide. We have used Henry of EEE tours. He is great! We had him all to ourselves on a cruise we took in '09. We only paid $60 (just DH and I) for the day, including tip. He may give you a break for the kids....

[HappyHappy1]

We have been to St. Thomas three time. Twice on a cruise and once on a land vacation. I would not rent a car for the day. The roads here are not well marked and the traffic/construction is crazy and I'm used to city traffic and bad roads (Philly). The drivers here drive all over the road, which have poor visibility, and ride your bumper. The cost to take a taxi isn't that much more than the cost to rent a car, plus you will definately want to take out the insurance on the car...more so for the other drivers and poor road conditions.

 

Take a tour. Papa Bear with Airforce one has a great reputation. He does a variety of tours which can include the beach. shopping, and island tour or any combination of these.

[blue_water]

And you will most certainly be better able to enjoy a beach or two while still having time to see some of the history. You can't cover it all in one day, but you will enjoy more with a local guide or taxi driver than on your own.

 

The only decisions you should have to make are what beach do we want, where's lunch, and where is a good spot to see some of the historical stuff? My recommendations are (as a return visitor only, mind you):

 

Beach -

Sapphire Beach, beautiful water and beach, great views of St John and Tortola, great dive center with a variety of rentals, and food and drink options. Coki and Magens are the other obvious choices but we love Sapphire because it isn't as crowded on cruise ship days. We stayed there when almost 20,000 cruisers hit the island and Sapphire was not bad at all. Coki and Magens were very crowded.

 

History -

99 (103) Steps and Blackbeard's Tower on Government Hill along with the 1829 Hotel and more, close to shopping too when you walk back down.

 

Lunch/views -

End your day taking the taxi to Paradise Point for lunch and perhaps a Bailey's Bushwacker, and enjoy the magnificient view and the surroundings. Great staff and a fun spot for everyone to relax after shopping or exploring, Take the tram back down and see the Havensight shops on the short walk back to the ship. If you prefer to stay in CA try the burger at the Green House at the other end of Main St, or the best burger and a Backstreet Bushwacker at Coconuts at 10th and Backstreet. But do try to make Paradise Point. We would have recommended Mountaintop but since it was rebuilt it's a souvenir store with a great view of Magens bay. You can get the same souvenirs in CA and beautiful views at Sapphire Beach and PP.

 

Enjoy!;)

[AshleyDillo]

I rented a jeep the first time I visited St Thomas and had a lot of fun exploring. Having the jeep was helpful because all of the hills. I like to see a lot of the less touristy things--like where the locals shop, schools, etc and having the jeep enabled us to go wherever we wanted.

 

There is signage for the major things--I remember seeing them for Magens Bay, Red Hook and Charlotte Amalie all over the place. With the jeeps we pretty much covered the whole island--I saw all the things that people talk about on here.

 

We didn't really stop and get out and look at much and we did spend a lot of time in traffic, especially near the Red Hook ferry area and heading back into Havensight.

 

I believe it would be difficult to get up some of those steep roads if they were slick without a 4WD, so if you can manage a jeep (they have automatics!) then go for it! I think I went through Budget and the site was located right across from the Havensight shops/dock. It was an easy, quick walk.

 

I think after taxes and insurance it ended up being just at $100 for the day, but this was in 2006. Our biggest fear was not making it back to the rental agency before they closed.

 

If you do rent a car, watch out for the iguanas--they like to dart across the roads!

[blue_water]

There is signage but it is missing at turns and we missed several our first time exploring. Saw many areas we didn't plan to! So soeone with limited time can easily get to Red Hook or a beach, but many areas of interest can be a little difficult for a first-timer.

 

I don't know of any roads oone would travel on STT that a 4x4 is needed on. I would recommend that for Tortola and aybe STJ, but STT is not bad. There are some steep switchbacks (we saw one and chuckled as we remembered Tortola) but nothing to worry about.

[Mary Ellen1]

We've rented a car 3 or 4 times on St. Thomas. My $.02:

 

• DH is sick of the traffic on St. Thomas, and since he tends to do the driving, we've stayed away from renting a car, the last few times we've visited.
   
  
• Before you decide to rent, check out the cruise ship & passenger load for the day you'll be there. I forget what the site is to check this, but I've seen the link mentioned here on this site. If there are 7-8-9 cruise ships that day, and 20,000+ passengers, the traffic will probably be horrendous!
   
  
• If you decide to rent, get to the rental office early. One one trip there, they ran out of cars, even for people with confirmed reservations. We got the last car, and the man in line behind me was turned away (even though he had the *same* email print-out of his confirmed reservation in his hand that we had in our hand).
   
  
• If you decide to rent, frommers or fodors dot-com has a really nice driving tour of the island. Beautiful views!
  

 

Good luck and have fun, whatever you decide to do!

[slabeaume]

Just got back from our cruise. We rented a car for the day while in St. Thomas. Fortunately my daughter was with us and she had a little experience with the roads there so she was the navigator. She tried to take us around the town of Charlotte Amelia by taking some local unmarked roads. Those roads were very narrow and steep and somewhat tricky, but we made it and managed to find a highway heading east. I don't think we saved much, if any, time with our detour, but we survived. Once we got to the major roads, she navigated us to Megans, Coki, Sapphire and cowpet very easily. Unfortunately we had lots of rain and lightening and didn't get to enjoy the views and snorkeling as much as I had hoped, but we did get a couple hours in at Cowpet and LOVED it. Going back, we went through Charlotte Amelia to get back to the rental place near Crown BAy. It took about 45 minutes, but being use to city traffic, I don't think it was too bad. Just give yourself plenty of time to get back.

 

Would we do it again?---Probably, but we would probably go right through the middle of Charlotte Amelia both ways next time.