Rethinking Car Rental on st. Thomas

[loria]

We rented from Dependable for our trip in dec 08-jan09-- they were very nice and with two kids lots of groceries, etc we thought the savings might justify it-- that being said, kids and husband were on separate flights than i was (i stayed an extra day in STT) and i was going to take them with all their stuff (and it was a lot!) to the airport--turns out they were down to i think 1 car barge--and so we were in line waiting (not knowing there was only one barge) and when we found out the situation realized my husband would miss the flight--so back into town to get them onto the ferry which they just made--i was able to get on the car barge at about 2pm.--about 4 hours later. not a great experience--the small savings just wasn;t worth the headache--so we rent on island.

[Lo in VA]

We have rented on STT twice (our only 2 visits) b/c the car rental prices are lower, and shopping for groceries is lower in our opinion. For our next trip, I think we will rent on STJ. While our first trip went fine, our second trip we lost a day of vacation b/c our flight got extremely delayed and we got into STT too late to pick up the car & get to the car barge. We had all the extra expenses of ferry to STJ, taxi to villa, taxi back to ferry, ferry back to STT, tips, etc. Any savings we would have made, were eaten up. Plus, we still had to pay for the rental car the day we weren't even in STT to pick it up on time. And losing a day going back to STT was murder! MAYBE...if we went with a group and the grocery savings would be multiplied, we'd try a STT rental again. But if just the two of us travel this trip, we are going to rent in STJ. The convenience of parking in Cruz Bay is an extra added bonus.

[JJShaw]

After reading all these stories...Im glad I reconsidered and have decided just to keep on getting our rental on STJ....

[toes in the sand]

My thoughts are that if I am traveling with a group of less than 4 I will continue to rent on StJ. Perhaps next time we take another couple with us we might rent a car on STT and a Jeep on StJ. For me, time is the most valuble comoditie on a StJ visit. I like the convenience and flexibility that StJ rentals allow.

[mrscherry2000]

Where exactly is the ferry terminal in downtown Charlotte Amalie? I'm guessing that is a better option than Red Hook for the cab fare?