should i rent a jeep for everyday in st. john

jbpadgett09 · Post by **jbpadgett09** » Wed Apr 02, 2014 10:33 pm

My wife and I are traveling to st. John for the first time in June. We are staying for four days at grande bay resort. I'm wondering if we should rent a jeep for everyday we are there? Our plans are to hop from beach to beach snorkeling and to do some hiking while there. Thanks

RickG · Post by **RickG** » Wed Apr 02, 2014 10:39 pm

Yep.

Cheers, RickG

Kevino · Post by **Kevino** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 7:31 am

Definitely.

Ed S · Post by **Ed S** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 8:52 am

Agree with other's comments about renting the entire time. But, if you had planned to rent on St John (vs. St Thomas), and if you aren't arriving on St John until late afternoon, then you can always pick up your rental early the next morning (since your first evening you will likely be roaming around Cruz Bay for happy hour, dinner, etc.). And, you can return the jeep at the end of your last afternoon (vs. the morning you leave). Grande Bay is an easy walk from the passenger ferry. (BTW, I always just rent at the STT airport and take the car barge over, so I always have my rental for the entire visit). Have a blast - you will love St John!

stjchica · Post by **stjchica** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 10:20 am

I agree with the others..you could wait until the first full day to actually pick up your jeep...unless you want to go get groceries etc and have some flexibility. We stayed at Grande Bay and had a great time..Enjoy!!

snorkeler525 · Post by **snorkeler525** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 10:39 am

Agree with others on renting the car. Couple of notes, we prefer to have ours the first day so we can do a grocery/drinks run. We like to return it at the end of the day (if staying walking distance to the ferry or someplace with a shuttle) the day before we leave so we don't have mess with it the morning we leave. We have to pay as if we are returning it in the morning of our departure day, but it is just easier for us to do it that way.

Also, I don't think any of the rental companies allow you to reserve in advance for fewer than 5 days. If anyone knows of a company that does allow this, please correct me.

jclampet · Post by **jclampet** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 11:12 am

Yes

BTW, Only 4 days??? You will find that to be an error in scheduling.. We Started at 7 and are now up to 14 per trip. and even 14 isn't getting it done..lol

cliffnchristi · Post by **cliffnchristi** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 12:34 pm

I agree with Snorkeler525. We stay right up the street from Grande Bay at Lavender Hill and we do the exact same thing. Returning on the evening before departure morning makes things so much easier even if you are paying as if you are returning on departure day.

IA Joe · Post by **IA Joe** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 2:21 pm

I have this same debate and I go back and forth. The only other time we went to St. John we stayed in a villa in the hills just past the Westin, so a Jeep was an absolute requirement just for getting around. This May, however, we are staying at Grande Bay, and I have been thinking about our itinerary.

We are doing the Reef Bay hike and 1 or 2 day trips. Since all of those leave from the Visitor's center or near there, we will not need a vehicle on those days.

One day we will go to Trunk Bay for the day; it is probably easier and less expensive to just take a taxi to and from Trunk, so we will not need a Jeep that day.

We will probably spend a day just hanging around Cruz Bay, so we would not necessarily need a Jeep that day.

That leaves a few days for random beach hopping and Coral Bay visits that we would really need a Jeep. I know I cannot reserve a Jeep in advance for only a day or two, but since we are going in the off-season (late-May to early-June), it is my understanding that someone will have Jeeps available for daily rentals. The condo we are renting does come with a parking stall at Grande Bay, but the condo owner does not recommend renting a Jeep.

It simply boils down to cost vs. convenience. I would love to have the flexibility to jump in a Jeep an go whenever we want, but I am not sure I want to pay an extra $300 - $400 for those extra days when we might not need it. I would rather spend that money on some nice dinners or maybe another day trip. If money was not an issue for me, I would sure rent a Jeep for the whole week just to have the flexibility, but I'd rather save the dollars.

Joe

jayseadee · Post by **jayseadee** » Thu Apr 03, 2014 10:19 pm

Not necessarily. With only 2 of you, it will be easy to take taxi's/hike to the nearby beaches. With only 4 days, don't go crazy trying to get everywhere. Our first trip was 4 days and we didn't rent a vehicle at all.

Enjoy - you'll be back!

jbpadgett09 · Post by **jbpadgett09** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 10:20 am

Thanks for all the replies everyone. My wife and I would love to do seven days, but we couldn't get all that time off work together in June. We could have in August, but didn't want to risk the tropical storms ruining our trip. This trip will be our intro to St. John, and I hope to make it a repeat vacation along with Maui.

We were lucky and were able to reserve our jeep in advance for four days through the Grande Bay Resort, which is great as we are renting a studio and wouldn't have a reserved parking spot.

IA Joe · Post by **IA Joe** » Fri Apr 04, 2014 2:25 pm

Thanks jbpadgett09. I was not aware that I could rent a Jeep directly from Grande Bay. I was able to call them and reserve one for 2-days of my upcoming 8-day trip. The rest of the days will be spent in Cruz Bay or on day trips. Those two days with a Jeep will allow me to spend some time visiting Coral Bay or other beaches.

Joe

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