Lot of questions for first time St. Thomas vacationer! :)

[islandgal]

First of all, what time zone is St. Thomas in? I thought it would be Eastern, but read something about Atlantic something? Is that one hour later than Eastern?

We are staying on the Eastern part of the island, and need to know if a rental car is a good idea? And if anybody has a good experience for a reasonable company for that, that would be great!

Also I was reading on this website about things to do, and one of them was the Adventurer sunset sail. It appears that it is only available on a Friday. Is that something that should be booked before arriving? We kind of wanted to see what events and activities were available before committing, and then wishing we had chosen something different, but don't want everything to be filled up before we get there either!

Any suggestions on what to do and what NOT to do would be helpful as well!
Thanks!

[Xislandgirl]

Welcome to the forum. We have some great STT experts here that will give you better info than I but I will try.
The VI is in the Atlantic Standard Zone, they don't observe daylight savings time.

I think that you need to rent a car. Can you not do it? Yes, but you will have great flexibility with your own car. I know that folks really like Dependable, but I rent on STJ so I don't have a great recommendation.

I will leave the entertainment part to the STT experts. They know best.

[islandgal]

Thanks Xislandgirl! I'll check out the time, as we switch to DST in a couple of weeks.

I did read about Dependable and wondered if they were good, since they are not a national chain that I have heard of.

Maybe some others will chime in here later.
Thanks!

[R&S from MI]

I've stayed on St. Thomas twice. Frenchmans Reef and what was the old Wyndam property. I rented a car once and found it tough to park in town and found it tough to park at Red hook for St. John Ferry visits.
With that said I do still rent cars for St. John visits, but would do the cab thing for any St. Thomas future visits. Overall much less stress. Cabs are plentifull. Where are you staying ? Any special trips planned or things to see ? Might help with additional thoughts.
Enjoy your trip looking forward to a trip report

Rob

[islandgal]

Hi Rob and Sherri,
We are staying at the Elysian. Looks like Red Hook might be close enough to walk? Thought maybe a ferry to St. John's would be interesting for a day. I see that you can take your rental car on the ferry. Do we need it (the car)over there? So hard to know all this stuff if you haven't been there before.

Was trying to read the Fodoro's book last night. Thought the Adventurer sailboat/lunch half day deal looked like something similar that we did on Kauai 2 years ago and really enjoyed. I have a feeling STT is going to be way more commercial than Kauai lol.

Any suggestions that you have, or any advice on things we might need to plan or reserve before get get there would be appreciated. In Kauai the condo had a little continental breakfast meeting with all the trips and attractions presented so you could decide then what you wanted to do. Not sure if this will be the same or not.
Thanks for your response and help.
Linda

[R&S from MI]

A few thoughts for staying on the east end of St. Thomas. This is close to places I've stayed before.
Here is a typical one week trip agenda for us.

1-2 days at the resort hanging out by the pool. just leave for dinner.
1 day exploring CA (Town)
1 day at Meagans Bay or Coki Beach
1-2 days on St. John , going to Trunk Bay or Hawksnest for beach days. Take the ferry from Red Hook and a taxi from the dock.
1 night going to Paradise Point for a sun set and watch the cruise ships leave
A few dinners in Redhook, a few in town, many great places to eat. Hope this gets you started with some thoughts. How long is your trip ?

[islandgal]

Thanks so much. Some of those things sound familiar from things I was reading last night in the book.
We will be there for a week. A Sat.-Sat.
Linda

[Patty]

I have a friend who owns a timeshare at Elysian and we have stayed there with her several times. We always thought it was a very lovely place so I hope you have a good experience there. Red Hook is too far to walk to catch the ferry to St. John. Be sure you go up to Mountaintop as it has a beautiful view of Magan's Bay. We love Coki beach but it does get rather crowded and hot as the day wears on and Magan's Bay has a beautiful beach. I always enjoyed snorkeling both sides of Coki. If you want to explore St. John the day you spend there I would recommend that you rent a car for the day. I guess if you just want to park yourself on one beach it would be cheaper to catch a taxi. I think it would be hard to pick just one beach as there as so many to choose from...each one different. St. John will creep into your soul!

[RickG]

islandgal, try sending a note to BeautifulBill@aol.com and asking for Bill's List. He has a great MS Word file that lays out STT nicely.

My comments on STT are:
- Dependable is great, but Discount is open later
- Hook Line & Sinker is a great place for casual meals and drinks
- Cuzzins has great West Indian Food
- Crystal Palace is our favorite B&B
- St. John for a day trip will make you plan your next trip for St. John

Cheers, RickG

[Connie]

Guess I'll pipe in here on a few things.

Paradise Point is a must at sunset. Try to go when there are no ships in, or no more then 2. The roads gets really crowded.

Mountaintop. Beautiful view over Magens Bay. I also prefer to do some shopping there. There's not alot, but then again, I'm not really a shopper. Get a banana daiquiri, but caution....they're potent.

Stop at Magens. There won't be good snorkeling there, but you could grab lunch and on your way out stop at Utter Delight for a great milkshake.

Some Beaches to stop at:

Sapphire...good snorkeling, clean safe beach. One of my favorites.

Coki...great snorkeling. Lots of locals. Just say no!

Luinqvist or Smith. Gorgeous Beach. Just sit back with a cooler and enjoy.

Secret Harbor. Good snorkeling and views. Eat lunch there, great menu and food.

Red Hook has some cute places to shop at, but it is a small town. Stop at Duffy's or Molly's for lunch.

Take a day trip over to STJ for some snorkeling and shopping. You can take the car barge over so that you can get around. Parking in Cruz Bay can be horrible, but if you want to do some shopping, we always find parking spaces behind Mongoose.

There's so much to do, especially with the BVI's being so close.

Good luck, have a great time!

[Exit Zero]

The Elysian Resort is too far from Red Hook to walk - plus the roads are narrow and curvy and have no sidewalks.
Having a rental car is really the best plan - it gives you great access to the island and is much cheaper than taxi fares if you want to leave the resort and explore each day.
You can take your car to STJ for the daytrip on the barge - easily done - but you must come back by about 630 PM or earlier so having dinner in STJ that day isn't possible.
It is so easy to take a ferry over for dinner though and a walk about Cruz Bay.There are quite a few parking lots now in Red Hook.
There are many daysail trips - and 1/2 days - don't worry about availability - sail or power boat options are plentiful.
I also suggest visiting Lindqvist Bay for a beautiful beach day.
Be sure to check out the cruise ship schedule if you are going downtown to Charlotte Amalie or Havensite - it can be very crowded if there are more than 2 cruise ships in and there may be days when there are none - which is a great day to shop !!
Dependable is a reliable company and does allow the car to go to STJ.
St Thomas is a small 13mi long and 3 mi wide island - a long thin island that has a ridge top down the length - so you are usually going up one side and over to the other on any car trips - we drive on the left side - the cars do not have RH drive though - traffic can be congested going into town or the Tutu shopping area in mid island.
They do have a mgr. party at Elysian - not sure when -but they have some of the activity groups from around the island give a presentation.
You will have a great 1st visit - ask away!

[gobucs]

Hi Islandgal,
I would rent a car for the week as the other side of St.Thomas is very pretty and not as crowded
Alot of people think of st.thomas as crowded and congested because they dont venture past the downtown area.
driving on the left is have the fun so go explore the other side of the island.
Their is so much to do all over that you will feel like a week just isnt enough!
Our week went something like this:
Coki Beach
Mountintop
Paradise Point
1 day to drive over to the west end and explore
day trip to the BVI's
day sailing snorkeling trip
Snorkeling Waterlemon over in St.John
Their is way more but we did not want to leave as their was way more to do
Thats why we go back every year cuz its in our Blood Now
Have Fun

[Schnell]

Depending upon when you go you will either be on the same time as EST or one hour ahead. The VI's do not observe daylight savings.

As for the daysail or half day I would wait and check with your hotel. We always do and had a great time on anything we decided to do. The hotels have had enough experience and know who is good and who is not. I would really think about a full daysail to STJ to really see a bit more beaches than you would from land. Then spend a day over on STJ on land. Perferably in your rental car. And a rental on STT is a must...no doubt. Cab fares will drain you and become annoying. Driving is no problem. The first day you will feel a bit overwhelmed, but then it will become second nature. Hard part I find is coming back the the states and driving once home. Especially in an empty parking lot and deciding which lane/side to drive on! Also, 4wd should not be considered an option, but a must. Especially if you take the car ferry over to STJ.

Dependable is a very good family owned company with good vehicles. They are located off airport property so they will come pick you up at the airport and take you to their place. Our first time we were a bit uneasy about the whole deal, but once you start to see some other island rentals around you will understand why people rent year after year from Dependable (or discount too). This will be our 4th time renting from Dependable.

If you do rent I would suggest heading out to the point of Magens bay. If you have a map and a bit of sense of adventure its well worth the trip. Its a really pretty spot that is isolated and nothing like the rest of the island.

Go to Linquist. Simple as that.

We avoid Coki. Too touristy and have heard bad things about people going there.

Magens as mentioned is a must.

Morningstar beach by the marriott is nice too. Secret Harbor as well.

If anyone is a golfer you can play Mahogany Run. Pricey, but beautiful.

Keep an eye on the cruise ship schedule. We try to dictate resort days and our schedule around the ships in port. More than a couple ships in port=traffic downtown.

Frenchtown has some really good restaurants. Hook, line and sinker as mentioned. Craig and Sally's is a good one too. Lots others though. Havana Blue at the Marriott is a good one as well.

If you buy liquor, American will fly it back in checked luggage without a checked bag fee.

Last, but not least (and not unique to STT or STJ) spend time at your resort/villa. Those are probably the most relaxing days and the ones most missed once you get home. Trying to see too much is overwhelming and will make you feel rushed. If you don't see "everything" then thats all the more reason to come back....and you will want to come back

[islandgal]

Thank you, Thank you. You guys have some really great ideas and tips of what to do and what not to do. So hard for us to know since we have not been there before.

When we went to Kauai 2 years ago, a close high school friend of my husband's let us use his condo, so of course he told us of all the great places to visit, eat, etc.So this forum is very helpful since I don't personally know anyone who has been there recently enough to comment.

Keep any ideas and thoughts coming. We don't leave until next month! :)Thanks!
Linda

[mrscaptainjay]

Paradise Point is a must. They are only open late on Tuesday and Wednesday which is the two busiest cruise ship days. Wednesday is the best night because a local calypso band plays and just sets the right atmosphere for the sunset and watching the lights of St. Thomas. You can either ride the tram up ($20 pp) or drive up which can be a little tricky.

Shopping down town - stores close at 5:00pm and some don't open if there aren't any ships in. So you want to go when there is at least one ship in but avoid when there are more than two. Parking is a pain. I usually park at the Holiday Inn and walk back to the stores. Or park in Frenchtown, walk to down town (about 10 min walk), shop until 5:00 then walk back to Frenchtown for an awesome meal. Hook Line Sinker has great food but doesn't serve dinner until 6pm but the bar is open and the staff is friendly. There are several other restaurants, Bella Blu, Craig and Sallys, Oceana. All wonderful.

Must do a day on the water. There are several day trips to choose from. The resort will give you info on some. We've done a couple....Limnos (goes to BVI, snorkel, includes lunch, open bar all day), Nightwind (light breakfast, sail to St. John, snorkel, lunch, open bar, very relaxing), Forever Young (day sail or overnight, great crew, open bar, snacks, lunch), or take ferry to Jost Van Dyke. Whatever you choose, you will have a great day.

Explore the island. There are several overlooks. The view is awesome. Drive to Mountain Top and have a banana daiquiri. Just keep a map handy and a sharp eye for crazy drivers! And keep left.

All the beaches mentioned are great. Magens, Sapphire, Secret Harbor, Linquist. I would probably not go to Coki for your first trip. There are other much nicer beaches. You can save that for another trip once you get more comfortable with the area.

Definitely enjoy a resort day or two. Don't plan too much so you can relax and take in the view. There's nothing else like it.

Enjoy!