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First timers St. John
First timers St. John
My wife and I are going to St. John for 10 days in April and have tons of questions. First two...
We're thinking of renting a jeep on St. Thomas so we can do some shopping there, take the ferry over to St. John, come back to visit St. Thomas for a day and do more shopping, and then return to St. John. There has been much written on this subject but we still have not decided. Who can we rent from on St. Thomas and bring the jeep to St. John and is it really that difficult to get to the Red Hook Ferry?
Thanks.
We're thinking of renting a jeep on St. Thomas so we can do some shopping there, take the ferry over to St. John, come back to visit St. Thomas for a day and do more shopping, and then return to St. John. There has been much written on this subject but we still have not decided. Who can we rent from on St. Thomas and bring the jeep to St. John and is it really that difficult to get to the Red Hook Ferry?
Thanks.
Joe
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California Girl
Hey jgf, you'll get better answers here than TripAdvisor. Here's my note from TripAdvisor:
and BlueWater's questions and my response:RickG:
The Red Hook car barge is pretty straight forward. We did it for the first time in November on our 13th trip. This is how I'm doing it from now on. It just allows you to take control of your vacation faster.
We rented from Dependable Car Rental, and have reserved with them again for March and November. They have the cool 4 door Jeep Wranglers.
bluewater43:
Rick G
We are going to St John in May for 11 days. How difficult was it to get from the airport to Red Hook? We have always taken a cab and rented our car on St. John. The cab drivers always seems to go different ways (dropping others at hotels on St Thomas). But after reading on this forum, everyone who has rented on St Thomas and taken the car over seems it's the way to go and I'm beginning to think so myself.
Did Dependable give you a map to Red Hook & approx how long did it take to get the car and get to the ferry? And how much was the rental for the 4 door wrangler?
Thank you.
Cheers, RickGRickG:
Hey Blue, now I see you on three STJ forums!
I was hesitant as well. Pia gave us great directions. It was raining freakin' cats the day we got there, but they worked fine. Everywhere she said to turn there was a little starfish sign labeled "Red Hook" with an arrow. You know STT MUCH better than I do, so it should be a breeze.
I think it took about 20 minutes for the drive. You go right past the big grocery store in Red Hook (impossible to miss) on the way.
Dependable gives a 12% discount for Internet bookins and a 20% discount for a week. 8 days in-season is going to be $699. Low-season rate was $471.
Dependable picks you up at the airport in the vehicle you are renting. You get to leave your luggage in the jeep while you are checking in. Their lot is off-airport, but easy to find.
The downside of renting on STT is if you have car problems then you have a challenge. I checked the tires on the new 4 door wrangler and they were good. I also checked the spare.
See ya on the island.
Cheers, RickG
S/V Echoes - Coral Bay - St. John, VI
We always rent from Dependable on STT ( http://www.dependablecar.com/ ) nice friendly folks and they pick you up at the airport and take you back. You can take the jeep to STJ – the only problem is if you have trouble on STJ, you have to get the jeep to STT. Maybe they have changed their policy. Their web site states 24/7 road assistance. But their jeeps are in great shape – so I would not worry about this.
The plus is:
You load up the Jeep on STT and go. We always first stop at Cost-U-Less (Sam’s Club kind of place) and load up on the booze & bottle water – then we stop at the Food Center just outside Red Hook and load up on groceries. Next stop is the car barge.
The car barge is a snap – just remember to back on.
There is a lot to see on STT then just the shopping. Having a Jeep on both islands is great – come and go as you please.
The best part is – when your ready to leave, you load up the Jeep on STJ, take the barge, check in at Dependable and they take you to the airport. No moving baggage to the Jeep – then to the ferry – then to a taxi – and finally to the airport.
The plus is:
You load up the Jeep on STT and go. We always first stop at Cost-U-Less (Sam’s Club kind of place) and load up on the booze & bottle water – then we stop at the Food Center just outside Red Hook and load up on groceries. Next stop is the car barge.
The car barge is a snap – just remember to back on.
There is a lot to see on STT then just the shopping. Having a Jeep on both islands is great – come and go as you please.
The best part is – when your ready to leave, you load up the Jeep on STJ, take the barge, check in at Dependable and they take you to the airport. No moving baggage to the Jeep – then to the ferry – then to a taxi – and finally to the airport.
FlaGeorge
"Swim Against The Current - Even a Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow"
"Swim Against The Current - Even a Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow"
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sailorgirl
- Posts: 1644
- Joined: Mon Oct 30, 2006 3:03 pm
Welcome, you will have a wonderful trip.
All three trips we rented on STT from Budget at the airport.I would rate the service as OK, but nothing occurred which would prevent me from renting from the again. On the last trip we reserved a Durango and they didn't have any full size SUV's when we arrived so we had to take a van instead. The vehicles were all a little beat up, but for me that's not a problem considering the use they get. Driving to the Ferry is not a problem at all. The routes are well marked and well travelled. On the last trip we arrived the day TS Dean passed by, even that drive and ferry trip was not too bad. Funny story, the couple in front of us on line had reserved an open sided Jeep, the woman at the counter tried mightliy to talk them out of it, saying it can get wet, but they wouldn't listen. We passed them on the road to Red Hook, they were soaked!!!!
I like not having to make all the transfers from plane to cab to ferry, but others have different opinions.
What kind of shopping are you thinking about, provisioning or fun stuff. If its the later you may just want to consider hoppinbg the CA ferry on your shopping day and hoofing it around. Traffic in CA can be challenging for some and parking is limited. The ferry is about $40 round trip so even if you grabbed a few cabs in CA it would be a wash, and less hassle.
All three trips we rented on STT from Budget at the airport.I would rate the service as OK, but nothing occurred which would prevent me from renting from the again. On the last trip we reserved a Durango and they didn't have any full size SUV's when we arrived so we had to take a van instead. The vehicles were all a little beat up, but for me that's not a problem considering the use they get. Driving to the Ferry is not a problem at all. The routes are well marked and well travelled. On the last trip we arrived the day TS Dean passed by, even that drive and ferry trip was not too bad. Funny story, the couple in front of us on line had reserved an open sided Jeep, the woman at the counter tried mightliy to talk them out of it, saying it can get wet, but they wouldn't listen. We passed them on the road to Red Hook, they were soaked!!!!
I like not having to make all the transfers from plane to cab to ferry, but others have different opinions.
What kind of shopping are you thinking about, provisioning or fun stuff. If its the later you may just want to consider hoppinbg the CA ferry on your shopping day and hoofing it around. Traffic in CA can be challenging for some and parking is limited. The ferry is about $40 round trip so even if you grabbed a few cabs in CA it would be a wash, and less hassle.
