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Jeep / Vehicle Rental for St. John
Jeep / Vehicle Rental for St. John
Going to St. John Oct. 20-27.
What is the least expensive and best agency to use? I have read several raves about L&L.
What vehicle do you suggest for St. John?
Is it better to get a vehicle in St. Thomas and then take the ferry over to St. John or take a taxi to the ferry and then get the vehicle in St. John?
Do St. John rental agencies mind if you take the vehicle back over to St. Thomas for the day? Are you allowed to take rental vehicles on the ferry?
Thanks!
What is the least expensive and best agency to use? I have read several raves about L&L.
What vehicle do you suggest for St. John?
Is it better to get a vehicle in St. Thomas and then take the ferry over to St. John or take a taxi to the ferry and then get the vehicle in St. John?
Do St. John rental agencies mind if you take the vehicle back over to St. Thomas for the day? Are you allowed to take rental vehicles on the ferry?
Thanks!
Hi, Moonbird:
1) Is debatable. I would search the forum for car rental stories/places on St. John because it is often discussed.
2) No doubt a 4-wheel drive.
3) Is even more debatable. Again, I'd dig around the forum as there are pros and cons to both renting in St. Thomas and St. John.
4) As far as I know, all St. John rental agencies do not want you to take their vehicles to St. Thomas.
Having said all this, we rented from Dependable on St. Thomas and took the car ferry because for us, a family of 3 with a small child, this was the easiest thing to do as opposed to grab a taxi/grab the passenger ferry/get the rental on St. John all while keeping a rambunctious 2-year old in check.
Hope this helps
-Sandy
1) Is debatable. I would search the forum for car rental stories/places on St. John because it is often discussed.
2) No doubt a 4-wheel drive.
3) Is even more debatable. Again, I'd dig around the forum as there are pros and cons to both renting in St. Thomas and St. John.
4) As far as I know, all St. John rental agencies do not want you to take their vehicles to St. Thomas.
Having said all this, we rented from Dependable on St. Thomas and took the car ferry because for us, a family of 3 with a small child, this was the easiest thing to do as opposed to grab a taxi/grab the passenger ferry/get the rental on St. John all while keeping a rambunctious 2-year old in check.
Hope this helps
-Sandy
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nothintolose
- Posts: 1960
- Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 10:36 pm
- Location: New Orleans, LA
We really liked Courtesy Car Rental on St. John. Always get a 4WD Escape for extra space even though we don't need it.
Used Conrad Sutton with no problems but just liked the parking at Courtesy better.
Cat and rest of family used Cool Breeze through Vacation Vistas first time and I think Cat used L&L this past June.
nothintolose
Used Conrad Sutton with no problems but just liked the parking at Courtesy better.
Cat and rest of family used Cool Breeze through Vacation Vistas first time and I think Cat used L&L this past June.
nothintolose
1)I would recommend Penns, STJ Car Rental, C&C, to start with and they all cost about the same 
2) Alway recommend a 4WD
3) Your choice - just remember if your rent on STT and breakdown you are responsible for getting the vehicle back to STT and sometimes parking is difficult in Cruz Bay (if you rent on STJ you can use the rental cpompanies lot but be aware that some rental companies has space for only 1 or 2 cars.
4) $1,000 fine from most agencies for taking the car to STT - no rental company on STJ allows it.
Hope this helps
Pia
2) Alway recommend a 4WD
3) Your choice - just remember if your rent on STT and breakdown you are responsible for getting the vehicle back to STT and sometimes parking is difficult in Cruz Bay (if you rent on STJ you can use the rental cpompanies lot but be aware that some rental companies has space for only 1 or 2 cars.
4) $1,000 fine from most agencies for taking the car to STT - no rental company on STJ allows it.
Hope this helps
Pia
Last edited by Pia on Fri Aug 31, 2007 3:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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sailorgirl
- Posts: 1644
- Joined: Mon Oct 30, 2006 3:03 pm
The 4WD vs Non 4WD debate is a continuing one. This has been my experience.
For a group I think renting on St. Thomas is cheaper once you calculate the taxi and ferry rides, also it gves you the opportunity to do some food shopping on St. Thomas which can save you a little money. I really like loading up the bags at the airport once and not worrying about them again until you get to the villa.
I rented twice this summer from Budget on St. Thomas.
the first time we got the full size SUV (Durango). The car was really beat up but it ran well. Budget has a deal that for $9/day extra they will come to St. John to repair or replace the vehcile if there is a problem. The other rental car companies on St. Thomas including Thrifty and Dependable and Avis say it's your responsibility to get the car on the barge and back to St. Thomas.
The second trip I again rented from Budget but the SUV we reserved was not available. We got a mini van instead. I drove it all over the island and the only part that gave me any trouble was the driveway to the villa. I went out to the east end in a blinding rain storm with no problem, the mini van took Jacobs Ladder and the switch backs approaching Trunk like a charm. I would shift into a lower gear going up and down step slopes. I think the problem with the driveway was it was coverege by a mossy growth, even though it was cement. I would check with the Villa company about the driveway and if there is an alternative , for example we parked in a lower driveway and there were stairs up to the house.
I did not attempt Route 104, as we had no reason to go that way, just always went over Centerline if we had to.
Cost of the SUV was about 600, the minivan was about 400.
Pia has a point about parking, Cariebean Villas lets you park in the Lumberyard at night, I usually found a space out by the road to the National Park headquaters along the guard rail. The lot behind Natures Nook had spots almost anytime I needed one. Im sure as you get closer to high season this will not be the case.
That's my 2 cents
For a group I think renting on St. Thomas is cheaper once you calculate the taxi and ferry rides, also it gves you the opportunity to do some food shopping on St. Thomas which can save you a little money. I really like loading up the bags at the airport once and not worrying about them again until you get to the villa.
I rented twice this summer from Budget on St. Thomas.
the first time we got the full size SUV (Durango). The car was really beat up but it ran well. Budget has a deal that for $9/day extra they will come to St. John to repair or replace the vehcile if there is a problem. The other rental car companies on St. Thomas including Thrifty and Dependable and Avis say it's your responsibility to get the car on the barge and back to St. Thomas.
The second trip I again rented from Budget but the SUV we reserved was not available. We got a mini van instead. I drove it all over the island and the only part that gave me any trouble was the driveway to the villa. I went out to the east end in a blinding rain storm with no problem, the mini van took Jacobs Ladder and the switch backs approaching Trunk like a charm. I would shift into a lower gear going up and down step slopes. I think the problem with the driveway was it was coverege by a mossy growth, even though it was cement. I would check with the Villa company about the driveway and if there is an alternative , for example we parked in a lower driveway and there were stairs up to the house.
I did not attempt Route 104, as we had no reason to go that way, just always went over Centerline if we had to.
Cost of the SUV was about 600, the minivan was about 400.
Pia has a point about parking, Cariebean Villas lets you park in the Lumberyard at night, I usually found a space out by the road to the National Park headquaters along the guard rail. The lot behind Natures Nook had spots almost anytime I needed one. Im sure as you get closer to high season this will not be the case.
That's my 2 cents
Last edited by sailorgirl on Fri Aug 31, 2007 2:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Excellent responses Pia.
For what it's worth, we always rent from STJ Car rental and have never had a problem!
While some love the idea of renting on STT and taking the car over, the aforementioned "if it breaks down" issue is a valid one. Also consider the car ferry ain't cheap and has limited schedule.
Also, there have been tons of complaints lately about how long it is taking to get out of the parking lot at STT.
Finally, I HATE driving on STT. Especially through Charlotte Amalie. Too much like driving at home!!
Of course heading to red hook, not necessarily an issue, but driving on STT and driving on STJ are two completely different challenges.
Just my HO.
Everyone has what works for them.
For what it's worth, we always rent from STJ Car rental and have never had a problem!
While some love the idea of renting on STT and taking the car over, the aforementioned "if it breaks down" issue is a valid one. Also consider the car ferry ain't cheap and has limited schedule.
Also, there have been tons of complaints lately about how long it is taking to get out of the parking lot at STT.
Finally, I HATE driving on STT. Especially through Charlotte Amalie. Too much like driving at home!!
Of course heading to red hook, not necessarily an issue, but driving on STT and driving on STJ are two completely different challenges.
Just my HO.
Everyone has what works for them.
*Another fine scatterbrained production
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sailorgirl
- Posts: 1644
- Joined: Mon Oct 30, 2006 3:03 pm
I read about the problems getting out of the St. Thomas airport while I was on St. John last week. The delays were not in evidence when I was there. We arrived about 1;00PM on Saturday and retuned about 11:00AM the following week. The article I read though described it as very bad, an hour's wait to get out. The " parking fee" does not apply to drop offs or pick ups from rental cars, but you have to pass by the same booth anyway. Seems to me they could open a separate line for rental cars. but hey, Im not in charge... Yet
We just used Paris Car Rental last week.
Not mentioned here much at all, but they had an extra 15% off low season rate noted on their website which they’ll give you if you mention it when you call. So our Grand Vitara was only $357 for the week ($51 per day), which is pretty cheap, especially when you consider that I called to use Penns again and they wanted $90 something a day for similar vehicle.
Since this trip was kinda spur of the moment and the price was right, I gave em a try. The Paris vehicles were in decent enough shape, maybe not as new or nice across the board as some other companies, they were pleasant enough to deal with, although they do hit your cc for a $100 deposit right away.
I actually turned down a newer looking Vitara from them for a more beat up one because the CD player didn’t work in the nice one. Don’t know how smart that was, but you gotta have your tunes with you, and besides, as I always tell my brother Raymond, I’m an excellent driver.
http://www.parisrentalcar.com/index.shtml
Re the old 4WD vs 2WD discussion, that may be a function of your driving skills as much as the capability of the vehicle.
Heading out of Trunk after a rainstorm last week, watched as a Ford Taurus couldn’t make it up the first switchback, sliding backwards, gave up and turned around.
Next in line just ahead of us watching this was a Wrangler rental. Those jeeps are like mountain goats, right?
Watched in amazement as this guy also failed, watching the front AND rear wheels fail to gain traction.
Couple of locals coming down right behind them in one of those old island 2 door bucket o’ bolts Vitaras were amused, waved em down to confirm that the switchback wasnt blocked up ahead possibly causing these aborted attempts “Yeah Mon no problem”.
Indeed, I gassed it BEFORE the apex of the switchback and zipped up no problem. My wife turned to me asked how did you do that and weren’t you worried?
Nah, same as going up a snow covered hill here in NJ – you need momentum before you hit the angle or slope – you cant be trying to accelerate on the steepest part, just maintaining the speed you already have.
Not mentioned here much at all, but they had an extra 15% off low season rate noted on their website which they’ll give you if you mention it when you call. So our Grand Vitara was only $357 for the week ($51 per day), which is pretty cheap, especially when you consider that I called to use Penns again and they wanted $90 something a day for similar vehicle.
Since this trip was kinda spur of the moment and the price was right, I gave em a try. The Paris vehicles were in decent enough shape, maybe not as new or nice across the board as some other companies, they were pleasant enough to deal with, although they do hit your cc for a $100 deposit right away.
I actually turned down a newer looking Vitara from them for a more beat up one because the CD player didn’t work in the nice one. Don’t know how smart that was, but you gotta have your tunes with you, and besides, as I always tell my brother Raymond, I’m an excellent driver.
http://www.parisrentalcar.com/index.shtml
Re the old 4WD vs 2WD discussion, that may be a function of your driving skills as much as the capability of the vehicle.
Heading out of Trunk after a rainstorm last week, watched as a Ford Taurus couldn’t make it up the first switchback, sliding backwards, gave up and turned around.
Next in line just ahead of us watching this was a Wrangler rental. Those jeeps are like mountain goats, right?
Watched in amazement as this guy also failed, watching the front AND rear wheels fail to gain traction.
Couple of locals coming down right behind them in one of those old island 2 door bucket o’ bolts Vitaras were amused, waved em down to confirm that the switchback wasnt blocked up ahead possibly causing these aborted attempts “Yeah Mon no problem”.
Indeed, I gassed it BEFORE the apex of the switchback and zipped up no problem. My wife turned to me asked how did you do that and weren’t you worried?
Nah, same as going up a snow covered hill here in NJ – you need momentum before you hit the angle or slope – you cant be trying to accelerate on the steepest part, just maintaining the speed you already have.
When we come to place where the sea and the sky collide
Throw me over the edge and let my spirit glide
Throw me over the edge and let my spirit glide
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sailorgirl
- Posts: 1644
- Joined: Mon Oct 30, 2006 3:03 pm
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sailorgirl
- Posts: 1644
- Joined: Mon Oct 30, 2006 3:03 pm
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SouthShoreBoy
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Sun Aug 12, 2007 3:00 pm
Car rentals
It is amazing how nothing stirs up interest like car rentals in the USVI.Budget car rental at the King airport in STT does allow you to take the car to St. John. It is one of the few if not only.
Check the cars out thoroughly before you leave which is good advice from any of these rental agencies, I have found leaking tires lit check engine lights etc.
On St.John I have used the much reviled Conrad Sutton. I think his costs are the lowest when you consider what is included for the same price. The Suttons can appear tough at times but I just laugh them off
And keep smiling and have never had any problems. In fact Conrad closed his business one rainy morning to drive me around to the ferry in the rain.
If taxis weren't such a hassle I would probably rent from Conrad every time but sitting and waiting for a van to fill and making unknown stops at STT resorts while I am trying to get to the ferry just isn't my cup of tea.
Parking in Cruz Bay
We have always used Penns because of the amount of 24 hr free parking they provide, but as mentioned earlier in the thread they now charge a flat 92.00 per day rate year round and no weekly rate and now only rent Jeep Liberty's. We usually rent the Vitara and have had no problems in the past. I can rent a Vitara through other agencies for less but am worried about parking, we usually venture into Cruz Bay at least once per day for shopping or dining/happy hour and love the no hassle parking at Penns, so never was aware of parking elsewhere, I know Sutton provides parking for customers but i recall it was limited and usually full and another agency provided parking but not at night, any advice/info on this matter?
Kevin F
Kevin F
