Rent car on St. Thomas/car ferry to St. John?

Timo · Post by **Timo** » Thu Mar 15, 2012 10:05 pm

Wow,I was just thinking today about possibly renting a vehicle on STT for our Nov trip to STJ and this post shows up. Last 2 trips we have rented from Conrad Sutton with no problems but, have always wondered how much of a hassel it would be to rent a car on STT. With all of the posts raving about Amaile Car Rentals, I think my mind is made up. Traveling with a group of four but, not sure which vehicle to get; looking at a 4 door Jeep. The thought of being in your rental within 15-20 minutes of landing and not having to deal with the over full and sweltering shuttle vans to Red Hook is wonderful. Bigcheeze had mentioned not seeing Cruz Bay upon arriving to STJ, were does the car ferry dock? Thanks again for all the info.

akersten · Post by **akersten** » Thu Mar 15, 2012 10:59 pm

We always rented on STJ until our last trip (#6), we rented from Amalie and they were wonderful. It was so easy, Magadalena and her husband (the owners) met us at the airport with the brand new 4 door Wrangler and paperwork (the Jeep only had a couple hundred miles on it). We loaded our bags and kids into the Jeep and were on our way to STJ. We stopped at Cost U Less, but I don't think it was worth the hassle. We called Amalie when we were back on STT and enroute to the airport, they were waiting for us in the departure area. It made our trip so easy, it was unbelievable, DH and I agreed that we'd always rent from them from then on. Our next trip is in 3 weeks and we have reserved a 4 door Jeep Wrangler with Amalie again, our kids are 4 and 8, but I think it would be comfortable for 4 adults too.

The car ferry arrives at Turner Bay which is next to the water treatment plant and not far from the Starfish Market. You can see it at google maps from the satellite view.

The rental agency we're renting our villa from in April had a clause in the contract about "No rental cars from St Thomas are allowed." I told her we had a great experience with Amalie Car Rental and how it made the trip so much easier renting on STT with our young children, they agreed to let us rent on STT but charged an extra $50 for the greeter to meet us at the car ferry. Whatever, it's worth the convenience.

newby123 · Post by **newby123** » Thu Mar 15, 2012 11:44 pm

Based on of all of the posiitve responses about Amaile we decided to go with them. We call today and they were so helpful and nice. Hopefully everything will go as well as everyone else's experiences. Looking forward to our trip in May!!!

On another note concerning car rental insurance, I called our company and we are covered anywhere in the U.S. including territories.

sailorgirl · Post by **sailorgirl** » Fri Mar 16, 2012 7:53 am

[quote="akersten"

The rental agency we're renting our villa from in April had a clause in the contract about "No rental cars from St Thomas are allowed." I told her we had a great experience with Amalie Car Rental and how it made the trip so much easier renting on STT with our young children, they agreed to let us rent on STT but charged an extra $50 for the greeter to meet us at the car ferry. Whatever, it's worth the convenience.[/quote]

Really?????? That would be a rental company I would not do business with again. How is it the business of the rental company where I rent my car!!!!

KAY · Post by **KAY** » Fri Mar 16, 2012 10:53 pm

After renting on STJ for 3 trips, we rented from Discount on STT last month and will do the same for future trips. Getting around STT was easy and no problems finding the car ferry. It was convenient and cheaper (rental & taxi/ferries) with added savings by stopping at Plaza Extra which was a full grocery store with a Kmart next to it.

Well said Sailorgirl!

Clercc · Post by **Clercc** » Fri Mar 16, 2012 11:17 pm

Thanks to Forumites for the info on car rentals. I have decided to rent a car this year so I can easily get to all my favorite snorkel spots. Can't wait! When I looked at the Amalie rentals, they were much more expensive than Budget. Someone mentioned that Budget had been a PITA. I am curious about how much of a PITA and in what way. There is a huge cost advantage to Budget for our stay, so I am hoping that will work out. Any thoughts?

Midas · Post by **Midas** » Fri Mar 16, 2012 11:20 pm

It seems like it's overkill with all the positive posts about Amalie, but we always rent from Amalie for our trips to St John. The Owners are wonderful people and as stated in previous posts their vehicles are always brand new. We recommend Amalie to all of our Guests and so far (and not surprising) the experiences have always been positive! We just warn that late flight arrivals could be an issue with making the last car barge to St John...

FinsUp · Post by **FinsUp** » Sat Mar 17, 2012 1:44 pm

Clercc wrote:Thanks to Forumites for the info on car rentals. I have decided to rent a car this year so I can easily get to all my favorite snorkel spots. Can't wait! When I looked at the Amalie rentals, they were much more expensive than Budget. Someone mentioned that Budget had been a PITA. I am curious about how much of a PITA and in what way. There is a huge cost advantage to Budget for our stay, so I am hoping that will work out. Any thoughts?

IMHO it comes down to "time or money" After waiting almost 2 hours with 3 young children, it was a no brainer that we would never use them again!! Your reservation means nothing to them! Not to mention the "jalopy" we got for a vehicle!! It would be very risky taking one of their vehicles to STJ. I would worry about the lack of support if anything happened while you were on STJ. Their customer service is horrible!! Knowing now what we didn't know then, we wouldn't risk it!!

As we pass by and see the line at Budget, we are soo very grateful that we are not one of those folks!! It's a nice feeling supporting the local business and receiving top notch servie as well. So, IMO, Amalie deserves all of the "overkill" they are receiving.

stjohnnewbie · Post by **stjohnnewbie** » Sun Mar 18, 2012 1:19 am

We rented from Discount last year. We somehow got lost (don't ask me how!! we had no problems on the way back) on our way to the car ferry, ended up on a crazy dead-end road in the middle of nowhere. Very frustrating. It did NOT feel like our vacation had started early at all, like I was hoping. It seemed like getting to the car ferry should be easy, and I was expecting a better map from the rental agency from the comments here.

In short, I would recommend doing a bit of research on the route to the ferry before you get there. I think Pia has posted directions here which you should be able to find if you do a search.

And that is awesome about Amalie meeting you at the airport! I would definitely pay extra for that over having to go to the Discount office to do the paperwork and deal with that death defying alleyway.

bobob1916 · Post by **bobob1916** » Wed May 16, 2012 8:18 pm

stjohnnewbie wrote:

In short, I would recommend doing a bit of research on the route to the ferry before you get there. I think Pia has posted directions here which you should be able to find if you do a search.

And that is awesome about Amalie meeting you at the airport! I would definitely pay extra for that over having to go to the Discount office to do the paperwork and deal with that death defying alleyway.

We are going the last week of September and after emailing Amalie it looks like they are going to be on "vacation" when we are there. I am leaning toward Discount over Dependable because of price and reviews.

Any advice for a newbie heading to St. John would be appreciated.

loverotties · Post by **loverotties** » Wed May 16, 2012 9:35 pm

I also contacted Amalie about a Jeep the last week of Sept. they said they weren't sure when they were going to close & they would let me know by June . When is the date they are closing for vacation ? Thanks.

Myheart'sinSTJ · Post by **Myheart'sinSTJ** » Thu May 17, 2012 8:23 am

We always rent on STT and car barge over to STJ. We will be going in a month

and have rented from Dependable which gave us a 25% discount, we have used them before with no issues, we do our provisioning on STT because there is more of a selection to choose from and that way you can go straight to your villa instead of stopping at the market when you arrive on STJ. Can't wait to get there, my turn soon come!

Cheers!

bobob1916 · Post by **bobob1916** » Thu May 17, 2012 10:58 am

loverotties wrote:I also contacted Amalie about a Jeep the last week of Sept. they said they weren't sure when they were going to close & they would let me know by June . When is the date they are closing for vacation ? Thanks.

She wrote the same to me but didn't sound too confident when I talked to her on the phone about being open when we arrive. But I am not sure.

At this time we cannot reserve anything for Sept. It is the time of year when we close (we work throughout the year 7-days a week....no holidays...) but we have not decided on the dates as yet.
I would let you know as soon as we make a decision - probably early June.
Best regards,
Magdalena

Pia · Post by **Pia** » Thu May 17, 2012 11:43 am

"Does anyone know if there are any companies that do NOT let you take your car to St. John? "

Hertz does not let you bring their vehicles to St John (never have)

Pia

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