USVI-On-Line

Financially it would be a no brainer for me with 5 people paying taxi and associated luggage costs, ferry and luggage.
The car barge is$ 40-50 RT and includes 4 passengers. - The Red Hook ferry RT alone for 5 people would be $60. I think the Charlotte Amalie ferry would be more than twice that -- $120 + ?
The ability to stop and shop for some major beverage and snack and food options for 3 children at STT market prices would be worth it too.
No Taxi charges,No Passenger ferry charges,no luggage charges,less STJ grocery bills, convenience right from the STT airport arrival ----- Versus ---- one Barge cost RT and the oft mentioned other things--- Cruz Bay Parking, breakdown possibility, rental costs on STT, ETC.

How do the STT car rental agencies handle car problems when you are on St John?

PatrickMcc wrote:How do the STT car rental agencies handle car problems when you are on St John?

As far as I know their policy is "you're on your own."

BRY1105 wrote:

PatrickMcc wrote:How do the STT car rental agencies handle car problems when you are on St John?

As far as I know their policy is "you're on your own."

Dependable will tell you that you are on your own, however, they will give you the number and address of a mechanic who they recommend in case of a breakdown.

I'd like to get an idea of the best / most recommended rental companies so that I know who to rent from if I rent on STT, and who to rent from if I rent on STJ. So, who do you most recommend on each island? If I were to guess right now I'd say Dependable on STT and either St. John Rental or Conrad Sutton on STJ. Am I right?

Also, Id like to hear everyone's opinions on where to rent. Renting on STT is convenient for getting groceries and because youre not hauling your luggage around. STJ can be convenient for the Cruz Bay parking some renal companies provide. Whats better?

BRY1105 wrote:Also, Id like to hear everyone's opinions on where to rent. Renting on STT is convenient for getting groceries and because youre not hauling your luggage around. STJ can be convenient for the Cruz Bay parking some renal companies provide. Whats better?

That's a topic that doesn't have a right or wrong answer. I've been renting on STT for the last five trips, and plan on continuing to do so.

The most common reasons cited for not doing so are "what happens if you break down?" and "parking in Cruz Bay".

I only recently saw (on another forum) Bill's reason - that he likes to support STJ businesses.

For us, the convenience and flexibility of renting on STJ outweighs the concern over a breakdown, and we've always found parking somewhere in town.

augie wrote:For us, the convenience and flexibility of renting on STJ outweighs the concern over a breakdown, and we've always found parking somewhere in town.

I think you mean STT?
Augie, if my memory serves me right, you like Dependable, yes?

BRY1105 wrote: I think you mean STT?
Augie, if my memory serves me right, you like Dependable, yes?

You're right, on both counts!

augie wrote:You're right, on both counts!

Thanks. My last experience was unfavorable enough to make me want to find a new rental company.

I find it generally more convenient to rent on St John, but we've done both. Two issues though. If your plane is due into STT late in the afternoon, you can miss the last barge to st john. We almost had that problem last year in February-it was going to be close-Dependable left the car at the airport for us. We had already lost a day of vacation because of storms. Then, Delta didn't have enough room for our carry-on luggage on the plane (and we had a connection)-they forced us to check our luggage (not gate check either). The flight attendant got in touch with the baggage claim people. They took the carryons off at Atlanta. We picked them up in atlanta, went back thru security and made the connection. We needed several painkillers that night!

A reason to rent on STT is if you have a late flight back home. If you rent on StJ you have to return the car at 10 am. With a STT rental, you have the car all day.

I've always rented on St. John and have used the companies that have parking and have only had one bad experience out of 14 (C. Sutton). My reason for thinking of renting on STT is cost alone. When I first started going to St. John,you didn't have to pay for luggage in the taxi or ferry, you just tipped them for the service. I now travel in summer with my wife & 3 kids and it cost over $100.00 each way for 5 between the taxi & ferry with luggage. I have used Courtesy, Conrad Sutton and Varlack with good results other than one bad rental out of 4 with Conrad. I would still rent on St. John for the trips for just my wife and I but the cost of 5 transfers is putting a dent in the vacation budget, it would also be nice to handle the luggage less with 5. I haven't driven on STT yet so that seem a little more exciting than St. John too.