First time to St John

[bill s]

First of all I would like to thank every one for all the great information that is on this forum! I feel like I have lived there for years. Would I be better off renting on STT or STJ. Our return flight is at 12:30 on a Wednesday. What time should we leave STJ to have plenty of time to catch the flight home and return the rental car? Thanks!

[ihochman]

I've never rented on STT and taken the car ferry. I think if you rent on St John and return the car early Wed AM and take the 9:15 ferry to Charlotte Amalie you're
good as gold. Have a great time.

[sailorgirl]

This is a FAQ and there are pros and cons to both. A 12:30 flight is very doable with taking the car ferry, just figure in enough time to get to the airport 2 hours in advance. I would say you should be on a ferry leaving no later than 8:30AM. This leaves time to get gas on the way to the airport on St. Thomas. Be sure to check the schedules as they are subject to change. Don't buy a round trip ticket.

Pros of renting on St. Thomas: Ease of transfer, you load up at the airport and are good to go until you get to the Villa; cost savings, if can be a bit cheaper then renting on St. John; shopping, you can make a stop to pick up supplies at Kmart, Cost U less or some of the bigger markets.

Cons: mechaincal problems, St Thomas rental companies usally require that you get the car to them if there is a problem, they will not come to pick it up;
some car companies don't let the cars leave ST. thomas so double check. Dependable, Thrifty, Avis & Budget have no such restriction; parking, ST John companies often provide parking if you are in town. Persoanlly I never had a real problem finding parking, if you're patient and have reasonably good parrellel parking skills you will be fine.

Another tip, when deciding on the size of vehicle, if renting on St. Thomas remember to factor in where to put the luggage. The airport lot is often full of folks who are standing around the vehicle trying to figure out how to get four people and all the luggage into a four door Jeep!

[hoosierdaddy]

If you hit the first car ferry you should be fine. We just left yesterday. We hit the 9:30 ferry and was able to eat on St. Thomas, get gas, take a few pictures, and return the car all within two hours. If I was you I would stay on St. John.