USVI-On-Line

Ok, all you Car Barge Vets, 14th trip but my first to use the Car barge! Give me all the info you can. We arrive at 1 pm and Amalie is meeting us at the airport with our Jeep Unlimited, now what? Give me all the info, suggestions you can.

You are going to be so impressed with Amalie..they are the best!! Lots of folks pick up provisionings in STT since they have their jeep, we do not so I cannot give recommendations on that. From what Minde says," it's easy peasy." I'm sure she can chime in on that note as well. We have never had an issue with long waits, usually when we arrive there is a barge just getting ready to leave. There is a little store at the entrance to the barge to pick up a few cold ones if needed.... Just remember to purchase a 1 way ticket..you don't want to be committed to a certain company for the return trip. I'm pretty sure you're going to love it. Amalie's cars are brand new, the conveinence is out of this world and drop off to the airport doesn't get any better. Good Choice. Happy Travels!!!

Car barge is easy. I agree that you should only pay one way.

You just back on, there will be somebody to guide you and that's it!

Just hope that you don't have a garbage truck on the barge with you.

Go to the entrance past the regular ferry, across from a driveway to an office complex. Drive in and pay your 3 o 4 $ fee, the go to ferry, turn around and wait for them to signal you on. Easy.

The first time we used the car barge we knew about the backing on but we didn't know to pay the $3 entrance fee; we just sailed right past the little guard house..they came to get us and we had to drive back and pay and we lost our place in line..oh well.

I agree that you're going to be impressed with Amalie rentals!
Our flight arrived 1/2 hour early, and they still were waiting to greet us. Very, very nice people! Our Jeep was brand new. They were very efficient at orienting us to the Jeep and gave us a book with a map in it. They had marked where Food Center was, on the map.
We got a little turned around in town, but found our way again without problem. Food Center was on the left and easy to see from the road. It had everything we needed at perfectly reasonable prices.
When you get to the barge, you pay a small fee to enter the area (I don't know the reason for this), and then we parked and chatted with folks for a little bit. It wasn't a long wait at all. When we boarded, we followed the others and then backed onto the barge. We didn't see anyone driving in reverse, if that's what Pia is saying. Maybe everyone on our trips was a visitor LOL! The ferry fee was collected during the trip to St. John.
Amalie rentals asks that you call them 1/2 hour from the time you want to meet at the airport, for your departure. We did stop at a car wash enroute, and vacuumed the sand out of the car. The car wash was right before McDonald's, on the road that the big KMart is on. If you leave on Saturday, there's a place across the road that has killer barbecue, according to a post on the STT forum. We smelled it and wish we'd tried it.

I thought that renting on St. Thomas and taking the car barge put us on island time and in vacation mode immediately, and we'll do this every trip now.
There's a perception, when you allow someone else to do something for you (taxi you to the ferry) that the activity is too difficult to do yourself. Well, for me anyway. St. Thomas seemed a bit big and overwhelming, on previous trips. After renting there and driving ourselves around, I realize that it's a beautiful place and we felt completely comfortable.

One more thought...LOL....we stayed in the car, on the trip back to STT. The sides of the barge were too high so see over, so I didn't have to see our beloved St. John disappearing. We still had adventure ahead of us, so I didn't get teary, like I do on the people ferry

We've done the car barge 8 times and never had any issues.

We always stop at the Food Center for groceries, which is on the left just before you get to the dock.

The fee at the little booth is new, it's only been there for a couple years, and one time we were told we didn't have to pay and one time we did pay...who knows the reasoning there.

The first few years we did the car barge I didn't realize you can get out and go up stairs to the deck to sit. Depending on which one you take, the seating area is just ok to decent with at least one table.

If you want to go sit up on the deck, just wait in your car for a lady to come collect your money and then you cad head upstairs. Sometimes you might have to wait awhile to pay.

If you need to go to the bathroom I recommend doing it before getting on the barge because those bathrooms are NASTY.

When leaving the airport we always stay on route 30 all the way past Havensight and the cruise ship docks. We think this is the most scenic route. We follow route 30 past Frenchman Bay and past Bolongo Bay. Take a right onto route 32 and around a sharp corner you will come across the Food Center. Very good prices! You can even buy frosty brews there for the ride over on the ferry if you want. From there it is a very short ride to the dock. Pay the small fee and position yourself to back up onto the ferry and enjoy the ride across the sound to PARADISE! I second the idea about staying out of the bathrooms...small, cramped and smelly.

From our experiences, I have always purchased round trip tickets. I have used different car ferry companies going and coming back from St John. Never had a problem! Just ask them to confirm that you cannot use a different car ferry.