Driving St. Croix

[chrismakris]

Hello all,

 

I'm really looking forward to my upcoming cruise in January of 2014 to the southern Caribbean.

 

While waiting I'm doing as much research as possible.

 

My questions are:

 

1) Can you drive around St. Croix in a day and still get in some sightseeing and beach time? We are in port from 8:00am to 5:00 pm.

 

2) I understand that a couple of local rental agencies will drop off your car for you at port. Is this true?

 

Thank you for your help

 

Chris

[youbid]

Its been several years since we stopped in St Croix. We rented a car from a very small rental agency located about 1 block from the pier. Drove around the island, shopped, had lunch and had plenty of time. As I remember there is very little to see or do were the ship docks. Have fun we do.

[hallasm]

Just remember that they are driving in the left side at St. Croix.

[bailey57]

yes, you can drive the entire island in that time. you can leave fredericksted (port) along the south shore headed east, drive around the east end, stop in christiansted for lunch & shopping, continue west along the north shore and stop at cane bay beach for an hour or two. toward the west end of the island there is a road that goes south/southwest from the north shore road (can't remember the name, but check a map) into the mountains, i believe that hooks up with mahogany road - a very pretty drive. take that all way to the west coast, turn left, and it'll put you back into f'sted.

 

or, you can revese that by leaving f'sted along the west shore first, taking mahogany to the north shore, stop at cane bay for beach and snorkeling (there's a diving wall very close to shore there), then continue east on the north shore road to c'sted for lunch, etc., then drive the rest of the way to the east end, and back around the island and west along the south shore to f'sted. depends on your priorities, but both work. :)

 

suggest googling 'st croix' for maps, etc. and yes, remember, they drive on the left - however, my experience is that drivers are polite for the most part. better than in the u.s. anyway. :cool: st croix is lovely, and for the most part, unknown - enjoy!

[Nole0202]

The car agencies are right in front of the port. Avis and Budget. We were there in December and used Avis, but when we go back will use Budget. They had more vehicles and provided much faster service.

 

St. Croix is really beautiful and you should rent a car to see it. None of the St. Thomas over-build stuff. We can't wait to go back.

[lovevacadays]

A car for the day is a great idea. You won't have any problems seeing most of St. Croix in that amount of time. You could always do a little research of what you want to see the most and plan your day accordingly. I lived in St. Croix for about a month back in 1990. I haven't been back since but would really like to go back and see how it has changed. Back then there were several unspoiled and beaches that were not crowded. I had the pleasure of seeing turtles hatch twice on one of the secluded beaches.

 

Enjoy your day there.

[lacruiser]

Sorry to be the negative voice here, but just be aware that the biggest driving problem on St. Croix is not driving on the left, but inaccurately-labeled maps and roads. We are pretty intrepid drivers and have had good luck driving pretty much all over the Caribbean, but we got horrendously lost in the rainforest (which isn't as picturesque as it might sound!) and ended up wasting a ton of time just trying to figure out where we were. Driving from F'sted to C'sted is very straightforward; it was venturing off the main drag that we had trouble with. On the other hand, your GPS will probably work there (we didn't have ours that year). Good luck and have fun!

[HarpHarp]

Sure, you will have plenty of time to drive around & check out the beach.

 

Remember to drive on the left in your left hand drive car- passing is a real trick:eek: As a former St Croix resident I'd suggest Whim great house, the botanical gardens and the rum factory as possible stops

 

Here are a couple links for more ideas.

http://www.gotostcroix.com/

 

http://heritagetrails.stcroixlandmarks.org/