Transportation

Planning Transportation for your stay on island

Renting a Car on St John

It is important to consider your on-island transportation needs at the same time you are booking your villa and purchasing your plane tickets. Especially in peak season, but very often all year, it can be difficult to arrange for a rental vehicle last minute. Reserve your vehicle as soon as you commit to your stay.

Though it is possible to rent a vehicle on St Thomas, we highly recommend reserving your car on St. John. For an explanation of that recommendation and much more information on rental vehicles, please look below at the Rental Vehicle section of our FAQ’s.

Most villas require a 4-wheel drive.

All vehicles are similar to US cars - driver is operating on the left. However, prepare to drive on the LEFT SIDE OF THE ROAD.

Renting a Car on St Thomas

If you are renting your car on St. Thomas, your experience from the airport will be worked out with the car rental company, and you will be taking the Red Hook car barge dock instead of the passenger ferry. Please be aware that the car barges typically run less frequent and do not run past 6:30 or 7pm. Please confirm times for the day of your arrival.

Ferry Tip: If you have read anything about the Charlotte Amalie passenger ferry to St. John, please note it has not been operating since the 2017 hurricanes.

The Vitran Bus

The bus is not intended for arriving guests with any amount of luggage, but once on island the VIRTAN Bus ($1) may be a fun adventure to explore other ends of the island (when the family takes the car), get a break from driving, and explore some one-way hiking by getting dropped as a National Park Trail Head!

We will be outlining some our favorite one-way hikes soon! In the meantime, just ask.

Frequently Asked Questions

Throughout our Travel Planning Section, is a collection of our answers to questions we are frequently asked about travel to and vacation time spent in St John (STJ). Our “answers” are basically our opinions, informed by our experience living here and colored by personal preferences and quiet prejudices. They are never meant to represent the ultimate fact of the matter. We share them in the hope that they will assist our guests, especially the first time traveler to STJ, in making choices that will make their trip and their vacation as smooth and hassle free as possible. If you are a frequent visitor and have figured out your own preferred methods, good on you, you go.

Do we need to rent a car? Can’t we just rely on the bus and taxis to get around?

Many guests who are staying at a larger resort like the Westin or Caneel Bay do not rent vehicles. Most of their needs are met at the resort, so they can just stay put and the taxis are readily and frequently available to them for island touring and trips to the north shore should they want one. If you are renting a villa, especially one with a killer view, you will want to be independent vehicle wise. The bus routes are limited and the schedule undependable. Many of the roads up the mountains to the villas are inaccessible by taxi.

Why do you recommend renting a vehicle on St John when I can get one right at the airport and save the taxi and ferry costs, even stop to buy discounted groceries at Cost-U-Less?

Many people, especially return guests, do rent their vehicle on St Thomas and have no problems doing so. However, to get your vehicle to St John you will need to use the barge system. The last barge of the day to STJ leaves Red Hook at 6:30 p.m. (sometimes 7pm) If you have a late flight or your flight is delayed you may not make that last boat and will have to find accommodations on STT for your first night. Also, though some few STT rental companies will come to STJ to help you in the event of a vehicle breakdown, most expect you, at your expense, to get the vehicle back to STT.

Is it true that there is only one gas station on St John?

The barge is a first come, first served affair. There are no reservations available. Quite frequently, when one or more barge is down (spring 2016 for example!), wait times at the dock can exceed three hours.

If you do rent a vehicle on STT, we recommend purchasing a one-way ticket on the barge, though round trip is less expensive. There is more than one company operating and some companies do not accept return trip tickets purchased from the other companies, forcing you to buy a second ticket or wait on STJ until “your” barge is running. Also note, the barge is used heavily to conduct day-to-day business between STJ and STT -- the system, as is, is not designed to handle the the amount of visitors traveling to STJ and all of their vehicles.

Please help support STJ car rental agencies maintain cars dedicated to STJ.

If my flight arrives in St Thomas at 1:18, what time / ferry should I take and what time should I book the car rental in St John? And on the return, if my flight departs St Thomas at 3:00pm, what ferry should I take and what time should I return the car in St. John?

Disclaimer: Things change here often. We will try to keep this document current but items like schedules and rates and hours of operation should always be checked for current status.

Island Host Concierge

We offer full concierge services at no extra cost to assist with travel planning, car rentals, boat charters, provisioning, massages, and more! Feel free to contact us directly with any questions or requests. We are here on island to help!

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