MrsCaRolph- Renting a car

Xislandgirl · Post by **Xislandgirl** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 11:28 am

MrsCARolph- You should not worry about renting a car. You will miss out on so much without one. Taxis will not take you everywhere that you may want to go. Depending on where you are staying, it also may be hard to get a taxi to come and get you.

It is not as stressful as you are reading it to be and you will so thankful that you did not rely on taxis.

If you are staying at a resort and just want to see the North Shore, then you will be fine, but to truly experience all that STJ has to offer, you have to have a car.

Just my opinion.

flip-flop · Post by **flip-flop** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 11:31 am

Xislandgirl is absolutely right. You will not have the same trip without your own wheels. I thought (prior to my first trip, esp. after so many other islands relying on just taxis) that we could do w/o. I am very thankful we didn't try it! A lot of the charm of the island is just driving around exploring all the beaches and Coral Bay.

MrsCARolph · Post by **MrsCARolph** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 11:49 am

Thanks for the reassurance! I tend to worry (about anything and everything!) but I would hate to think that I missed out on something special because of my own petty fears.

My fiance agrees with you two. He says we won't be able to really experience the island without the independence of our own car--and I know you all are right. I just need to relax, perhaps with the help of a cool rum punch.

flip-flop · Post by **flip-flop** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 11:55 am

I actually LOVE LOVE LOVE to drive on STJ. I am not a fan of driving on STT or in any major unfamiliar city. But for some reason on STJ my hubby has to wrestle me for the keys. Not really, he's happy to just go along for the ride.

PA Girl · Post by **PA Girl** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 12:00 pm

I will throw in additional support for renting a vehicle. It is hard to accurately decide island driving but once you experience it, you will know what we mean.

It really isn't at all stressful. Cars move slow in town so you have plenty of time to "process" the traffic. After a day, you will feel like an old pro.

Teresa_Rae · Post by **Teresa_Rae** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 12:21 pm

I'm lining up here to agree with everyone...you can't really appreciate the island unless you have your own wheels. If driving makes you nervous, just have your fiance/husband do the driving and you can enjoy the scenery

bj · Post by bj » Tue Mar 13, 2007 12:44 pm

Mrs CARolp,

I agree there is nothing like the freedom of having your own transportation while on St. John. It is ALSO nice for new comers to the island to experience an island tour. The tour will give you some island facts/information and a general idea of various points of interest. Then your ready to go an have your own "Adventure in Paradise" by exploring the beautiful island of St. John.

obsessedmuch · Post by **obsessedmuch** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 12:49 pm

MrsCARolph wrote:I just need to relax, perhaps with the help of a cool rum punch.

We all have our worry "things" don't we? Funny, same remedy though.

I'll be there with no luggage and you'll be white knuckling but still, we'll be there!

My mom and I rented a car within our first 20 minutes on the island the first time- it's not as bad as you think. Just take your time, everyone else does anyway!

theshopper3 · Post by **theshopper3** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 1:35 pm

MrsCArolp,
Just wanted to provide you with my little bit of information on renting a vehicle on the island.

Hubby & I were in St John in Nov & were concerned on renting a vechicle.
I picked everyone's brain on this forum for there oppinion & the concencus was to rent a vehicle, you will not be able to truely appreciate & see the island without one.

Well we chose not to rent a vehicle & managed to visit 7 different beaches in the 8 days we were there, for a total transportation cost of under $100.00.This sure beat the $400.00 to rent for the week.

We were fortunate to be staying very close to town so we could walk to Franis, get a cab to Trunk, Caneel, & The Westin, hike to Honeymoon & Soloman & took the bus to Salt Pond ( this was a fun adventure. we even stopped off at Skinny Legs for lunch & the total transportation cost was $6.00)

So it can be done.

My view is if you are staying close to town or perhaps close to The Westin,Caneel,or Maho Camp grounds you should have no problem getting to a varity of beaches & town if this is what you want.

Some one the reasons we chose to not rent a car was the parking in town. If your intentions are to come to town each day it may be hard to find parking, unless you rent from a place in town that allows you to park in there lot. The other reason we chose not to rent was so that both Hubby & I could enjoy a few drinks & not have to worry about driving back to the villa, in an unfamiliar place at dark.

We are coming back to the Island in 44 days with another couple this time & again are not renting a vehicle.

Just my oppinion

The Shopper

Xislandgirl · Post by **Xislandgirl** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 1:56 pm

theshopper3 wrote:MrsCArolp,

We were fortunate to be staying very close to town so we could walk to Franis, get a cab to Trunk, Caneel, & The Westin, hike to Honeymoon & Soloman & took the bus to Salt Pond

You walked to Francis from town? I think you may mean Frank Bay. I can't imagine that walk

Many people do survive without a car, but if you are in a villa it is almost not possible. When I was living in Chocolate Hole, my car died and I was without one for about 2 months. It was a pain to get a taxi driver to come and get me. There are no street addresses so it is hard for them to figure out exactly where you are. If you are in an area with dirt roads, many don't like to drive on dirt.

It is not hard to drive on the left, and parking in town is not that bad. You can either park in the rental lot or make a few laps around town to find a spot.

I don't think any of us are saying that it can't be done, but it really is so much more convenient.

MrsCARolph · Post by **MrsCARolph** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 2:09 pm

Thanks for all the good advice. The tips from you guys are so much more helpful than any travel book!

Here's the real problem with our situation... My fiance and I will both be 22 at the time of our trip, and we don't have credit cards, only debit. The rental agencies I've contacted on STJ will not rent to anyone under 25. There are some bigger companies on STT who will rent to drivers our age, but not without a credit card.

We would really like to have the freedom of our own car while on the island, but it seems almost impossible at this point.

We will be staying at Estate Lindholm, which is conveniently located as I understand, so for now we'll probably have to survive with the taxis. At least until we come back for our 3 year anniversary!

Teresa_Rae · Post by **Teresa_Rae** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 2:41 pm

My husband and I were 23 and 22 when we first went to STJ on our honeymoon. We rented a vehicle on STT and brought it over to STJ…my husband used his work account to rent from Avis, so it didn’t even matter that we were under 25…that rule is moot if it’s a company account. If either of you have jobs where you rent vehicles, you could get by it that way (of course you'd want to make sure that it is ok with your employer).

If that isn’t an option, you could just get a credit card…if you don’t want a credit card, just get one for the trip and then cancel it when you get home.

JT · Post by JT » Wed Mar 14, 2007 12:21 am

something isn't adding up here. highly unlikely that one walks to Francis from town. that's a helluva walk.

That said, IMHO if you can rent a car, it's a better trip. If not, if you got the bucks, a taxi would be another way. Personally if I didn't have a car I'd either use the Vitran, for a dollar each way, or I'd hitchhike, but I'm left over from a different place and time. On island, it's usually all good.

theshopper3 · Post by **theshopper3** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 8:34 am

I stand corrected, it was FRANK'S BAY that we walked to.

My intention was to perhaps put there mind at ease that if you are close (walking distance to town)it is possible to get around without a car & still have the ability to visit a number of beaches & have a fabulous time.

the Shopper

lpowmacback · Post by **lpowmacback** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 9:55 am

Now that we go to St. John, we rent a car... but when we'd gone to stay on St. Thomas years ago, we opted not to rent a car. We ended up utilizing the $1 taxis a lot - what a hoot they were - the first few days I did not open my eyes on the turns & hills (yes, I'm a big WOOOOOS!!!).. Eventually I overcame my fear (a bit) and dared to open my eyes: OYE!!!!!

Anyway, back to the point of this: we still went where we wanted - got to talk with lots of people - both local & tourists - which we would not have done had we had our own transportation. Utilizing the taxis, etc. did not diminish our experience at all - just made it a little different, perhaps.

Don't worry - be happy - do whatever works best - and it will be GREAT!

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