USVI-On-Line

We are going the St. Thomas in June and staying at Sapphire. We are planning to head to St. John, probably for two of the days. We are planning to stick to most of the main beaches on the north shore without too much in the way of off-the-beaten path adventure.

My question is do you think a car is good enough or should we go with the Jeep? Definitely the open air soft top would be nice, but if we don't definitely need the four wheel drive we could save $150 or so.

Also, would you recommend Amalie or Dependable? Amalie sounds like they are great to work with and a Jeep with them is only around $430 at that time.

Most will tell you to rent a jeep. We went with a front wheel drive car last visit and had no problems. BUT, we did not encounter any heavy rain and did not go on any unpaved roads. So, I guess it depends on how much you want to explore. I think some of the switchbacks may have been difficult in the rain without 4WD. We saved almost $200 which I promptly spent at the Beach Bar

I'll let you know what our experience is when we get back. We're staying at Sapphire as well and plan on a couple of day trips over to STJ with and without the car.

We've done it both ways. As was already stated, moisture is the only real deterrent to sticking with a car. On STT, a car is all that's needed. On STJ, a car is really all that's needed unless/until you go PAST Trunk and on to Cinammon. There's one major hill with near-90 degree switchbacks that are perfectly fine when dry, but can get really scary when wet.

Our general rule when renting a car is that if the roads are wet, we stay on the Cruz Bay side of Trunk. If the roads are dry, we venture on to Cinammon and Maho.

Good Luck! Have Fun!

We try to get the little Suzuki SX4 car when it is just my wife and I. It is all wheel drive and we have never had a problem with it. We have taken it down some trails with no problems. It has a good size trunk as well.

Be careful in renting a jeep soft top as many of the rental companies will NOT let you take them off. Make sure they allow it if that is what you want.

GO WITH THE JEEP . I AM USING AMALIE IN MAY AND JUNE 2010 AND STAYING ON ST. JOHN.THEY HAVE BEEN WONDERFUL TO WORK WITH.

We've always rented a 4WD on St. John. As the previous posters have said it is really a must on some of the roads when it rains.

Thanks for all your help.

Those of you who have used Amalie do they let you take the soft top off?

When would you recommend reserving the vehicle?

Now

waterguy wrote:Now

I second that vote.

As far as car vs 4WD, we have always rented a 4WD but we stay on StJ and travel roads other than just the North shore. One thing to consider is what will you do if you require pulled out of a ditch on StJ? As mentioned above the paved roads are fine for a car when dry but when wet you will find some of the North shore roads very slippery on the inclined switchbacks.

AAhawk wrote:Those of you who have used Amalie do they let you take the soft top off?

I can't answer that, but can tell you that Dependable will allow you to take down the soft top on the Jeep Wrangler.

Lovermont

We are staying on St.Thomas and I hate to admit it..
but we get a car so we can lock the trunk and keep stuff out of sight..
when we go to St.John we take a taxi-
We have stayed at Maho and had a blast with a much needed Jeep !!