USVI-On-Line

Our flight in June is arriving in St. Thomas at 3:25. We are torn between staying the first night near the airport in St. Thomas and heading to St. John the next day. I know this would make things less stressful that first day. On the other hand, we then miss out on an entire morning of snorkeling and exploring on St. John.

If we do only carry on, do you think there would be enough time to land, take the ferry over to St. John, pick up a rental car and still get to our villa off of Centerline Road near Coral Bay before dark. I know we do not want to be driving in St. John for the first time in the dark!

Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.

You have plenty of time to catch the ferry and get to Coral Bay before dark - if - and here's the catch, you can still pick up your rental car on St. John. Most rental agencies close at 5. You'll probably be on the 5PM Red Hook Ferry and won't get to St. John until 5:20 or so. The only agency that I'm aware of that will meet you later in the evening is Penns. Perhaps someone else has experience with another. I know that there are also a few villa management companies that can assist you in picking up your vehicle after hours, so check with them and your vehicle rental company to find out their policy on after 5 arrivals.

Thanks Randy. I hadn't thought of the rental places closing. Now I'm wondering about our decision to rent on St. John rather than St. Thomas.

If we rented the car in St. Thomas, we could definitely get it before they close, but then we'd have to worry about getting the car ferry to St. John in time.

Has anyone done this?

I don't know who you're renting from, but they should be helping you with this! This seems to me like something you should not be worrying about so much. It doesn't get dark in June until after 7-ish...
-Ruth

I agree with Ruth. But I might also suggest that you spend the first night in St. John at Gallows Point or Estate Lindholm, or Hillcrest Guest House---some place close to the ferry where you don't need a rental car. Have dinner in Cruz Bay that first night, then pick up your rental car the next day and check into villa. Just another option to consider---we do this when we get in late flying from the midwest (we're usually on the 8 or 9 or 10 PM ferry from Red Hook).

I agree with Ruth. The villa management company should be able to put your mind at ease. We told them our arrival time on STT which led to our arrival on STJ. They met us at the dock, took us to the jeep rental place and we were on our way to the villa within 15 mins. We used the jeep rental agency that the Villa people suggested. This was great for us as newbies. This time we are taking care of it ourselves, but we arrive much earlier and are more familiar with how tings work. Dont stress, you will be just fine...just let your villa rep know of your concerns.

Sunset on St. John in June is around 7 PM. Civil twilight (when it gets dark enough to need artificial lighting) is about 25 minutes later. You should be able to make it to your villa before dark with no problem assuming your flight is on time. Have fun!

On our last trip we stayed in St. Thomas for one night for the first time. We also requested a early
check in to our villa and it worked out great. We arrived in St.Thomas and took a taxi to the hotel,went to dinner in town that night and the next morning we took the 12:00 pm ferry to St. John, picked up the jeep at 12:30 and met our villa rep. at 1:00pm and then had a great first day. This option leave you rested from your first day of travel and you have a longer first day on St. John with time to do things. You can also rent on St. John the first night as already mentioned. If you pick that option also think about the Inn at Tamarind Court, its right in town. Good luck !

Thanks for all of the advice. I didn't even think about requesting an earlier check in. We did that last year in Hawaii and ending up with an early check in AND and late check out. I know that's not always possible, but it never hurts to ask.

Thanks so much. 4 months and 1 day to go!

We always arrive on St. Thomas on that flight & make the ferry to St. John. We usually take the 5:30 or 6:00 car ferry. We rent from Discount on St. Thomas. We have even stopped to get some groceries & made the ferry. We like renting on St. Thomas because we can put our luggage in the back of the SUV & not have to worry about it (we don't pack lightly). It is also nice to be able to carry some groceries over to St. John with us. We will be there in July this year.

We live in N. Richland Hills, TX so we are close to you.

We landed last May in STT at 730 pm. Waited for checked luggage, and took taxi to red hook. It was quite an experience in a taxi with 15 other strangers through dark Charlotte Amalie at night. Red Hook ferry dock was also a little scary after dark and on a first trip not knowing what to expect. But, there were never any problems. Rented a car on st john. Courtesy Car Rental met us at the ferry dock in Cruz Bay, probably about 1000pm by then. They had agreed ahead of time to have someone meet us there at the ferry. They were a pleasure to work with. After returning to their office to do paper work, they sent us on our way with a map and directions to maho bay camps. We arrived at Maho Bay about 1100 pm. The night attendant gave us our keys to the harmony studio we were staying in. The drive across the island on the left side of the road in the dark in an unfamiliar place was quite exciting. I remember as the road passed close to what we now know is maho bay it was so exciting, and saying "stop, look, its the ocean."( you have to realize, we're from Kansas). This year we are arriving at STT at 330, but if the only flight arrived late in the evening, I would have no qualms about heading on into ST John after dark.

We also arrived late (after 6pm) and Courtesy waited for us. They were great to work with.

Our trip was this past November and we drove across to Concordia in the dark. This was our 4th trip .... so driving over after dark was no problem.

I always want to get to St. John as soon as possible.
Just love to get up and head to the beach that first day. Have a great trip !!!

Just wanted to say that with the new Red Hook fairy dock, it probably wouldn't be too scary at night. It's pretty nice!

Thanks for all of the input. It's nice to know there are so many good options.

Rhonda, it's always great to see a fellow north Texan on the forums. Is Discount car rental at the airport at STT? I think we are now leaning towards renting the car on St. Thomas so that we can do our first grocery shopping there. I've heard good things about Dependable, but I'd love to hear more about Discount.

Discount is located just outside the airport. We call them after we get our luggage & they are there in 10 - 15 minutes. We have rented from them the last three years and have been pleased. Just be sure that whoever you rent from allows their vehicles to be taken to St. John.