Need help for a Road Trip at St. Thomas

[Sunshyne4ever]

Anyone used a rental car before to drive around St. Thomas for the day? Need some help on where to go, what to eat and a good place to relax before heading back to the Princess in February.

 

Our timeline is 7am to 4pm. But the Rental place only opens til 8am. So we'll (4 of us) grab breakfast before getting to the car.

 

The highlights we want to see would be, Brewers Bay, Magen's beach, St. Thomas Synague, Blackbeard's castle.. views from up top (mountain view) and others.

 

What would be the best way to see most of the island, while stopping at local eatery along the way? And give us maybe about 2-3 hours of beach time near the end to relax before returning the car.

 

Or would going to the beach first be better and shop later depending on where everything is?

 

Please help, thanks

[yiwork]

Just spent 10 days in St Thomas, Due to the lay out of the island, traffic and your list of things to do, you don't have enough time... Save yourself the frustration and use the safaris or taxis and enjoy not having to drive... IMO Nothing special about Brewers bay, Magen's Bay is beautiful, Mtn Top, is only a shop with a view... Save money, eat breakfast on the ship...

[Sunshyne4ever]

Thanks,

We were thinking maybe doing 4 beaches

Magens, Coki and Sapphire

then the stops would be the Mountain top, Drakes seat, Bluebeard's Castle

[blue_water]

Thanks,

We were thinking maybe doing 4 beaches

Magens, Coki and Sapphire

then the stops would be the Mountain top, Drakes seat, Bluebeard's Castle

 

 

If you had a week that would be perfect - way too ambitious for one day and you wouldn't enjoy any of it.

 

Head for Sapphire or Coki and relax or snorkel, then head to nearby Red Hook (Big Bambooz or whatever you like) for lunch or drive 4 miles further to Iggy's at Bolongo Bay. Then head to Paradise Point near the Havensight dock to enjoy the view and drinks before returning the car. Do Paradise Point last.

 

Or you can tour the island, easy to drive but difficult to navigate (easy to miss turns). The East End is ok, I had more problems on the north end. You will waste valuable time trying to find places, better to spend several days and drive then to learn the island.

[dvan68]

If you want to check out as many beaches as possible, you could hit Morning Star Beach at the Marriott, then Bolongo Bay, Secret Harbor, lunch at Red Hook (lots of places there), then continue on to Sapphire, and then Coki. Here is a link to a decent map:

http://virginislandsthisweek.com/us_virgin_islands_maps/

 

Since Magens is on the north side of the island, and the snorkel beaches (Coki, Sapphire) are on the East, you kind of have to pick which one you would like to do.

 

You can see Drakes Seat on the way to Magens, and then hit Mountaintop on the way there or the way back as well. Hull Bay is another option - beautiful beach with some waves - you may see some surfers. No facilities though as far as rental chairs/umbrellas. There is a restaurant there.

 

Hope this helps!

[Sunshyne4ever]

Thanks so much for putting your input dvan68 and bluewater.

 

I think we'll go with this senario. We pick up car and head north. hit the mountain top and drake's seat on the way to Magens. Stop at Magens for like a hour or 2. Then slowly drive eastward clockwaise along the coast back to the docks stopping at coki for pictures and sapphire for another stop and then paradise point right before we drop off the car.

 

Can't wait for our cruise, we leave to floriday in 9 DAYS! So exciting

[coachnip13]

... Save yourself the frustration and use the safaris or taxis and enjoy not having to drive...

 

 

I tell people the exact opposite. Save yourself the frustration of riding in cabs and paying a new fare for every person every single time you want to go somewhere else. Just rent a Jeep and go wherever you want, when you want.

[Sunshyne4ever]

Well I figure that with four of us, renting one car would cost us less then paying each person in a taxi. It came down to $20 per person for car rental but it would be for the whole day, stopping and going to other places. By bus, for $2 is good but the schedules for buses is not reliable, you may have just missed the bus, or you got off at the wrong stop.

 

Another question: How save is it to leave stuff in the car while just stopping to take a few sceanic photos? I know we'll have our most valuables (wallets) on us, but if it's just a towels, some food, souveniers, or snorkeling gear. Would it be safe to leave it in the rental car, if you were to stop at a place for about 10minutes.

[blue_water]

same as at home - take normal precautions and you'll be fine. If you're away from the car for awhile don't leave anything in it that can't be replaced easily. Theft is as common in the islands as at home, not all "locals" are thinking about their impact on the tourism trade.

 

Do drive safely as there are always stopped vehicles and other obstacles in the roads. You will miss some turns that are not clearly marked so be patient and KEEP LEFT!

[coachnip13]

Well I figure that with four of us, renting one car would cost us less then paying each person in a taxi. It came down to $20 per person for car rental but it would be for the whole day, stopping and going to other places. By bus, for $2 is good but the schedules for buses is not reliable, you may have just missed the bus, or you got off at the wrong stop.

 

Another question: How save is it to leave stuff in the car while just stopping to take a few sceanic photos? I know we'll have our most valuables (wallets) on us, but if it's just a towels, some food, souveniers, or snorkeling gear. Would it be safe to leave it in the rental car, if you were to stop at a place for about 10minutes.

 

It is absolutely the right call to rent a car from a financial perspective. And you won't use enough gas to make the fill-up an issue.

 

I have found St. Thomas to be a safe place. Obviously every society is going to have its bad apples, but the locals at St. Thomas generally understand that their livelihood relies on tourism. If they don't monitor their own, the island gets a bad rap and tourists with money stop showing up. The stuff you're talking about leaving in the car wouldn't even entice the thieves, much less anyone else.

[spirited]

We are arriving St Thomas, Monday Feb 6 on the Carnival Victory. Does anyone know what dock/port we will be using? We tried looking at http://www.cruisett.com but only found cruise ship schedules.

[blue_water]

Carnival docks at the Havensight pier.

[mommiemudd]

There is a Budget rental place right at Havensight mall. we have used them twice with no issues. just tell them where you are driving and they will give you a map. Just be aware that the roads are not marked well, we get lost everytime! But we have never felt unsafe. Everyone is also helpful about getting us back on the right track! We have drove out to Coral World and then to Megans on one trop and out to Secret Harbor on another occasion. I prefer Megans over Secret Harbor. They are both beautiful but more shade at Megans!