One day car rental on St. John?

Hello everyone,

Planning on visiting the USVI in late Feb / early March and thinking about spending a day on St. John before we head out for a week on the boat. Is a car absolutely necessary? If so, any recommendations for a one-day rental?

Thanks,

Bill

IMO - for one day - NO. You can take a cab out to the North Shore beaches; Eat/drink in Cruz Bay. Without a car you won't make it to Coral Bay - but with only 1 day, you wouldn't likely do that anyway.

St John is a small but beautiful island and rental car is a must and more economical then taking taxis.
You’ll have plenty of time to explore the island and find one of a dozen beautiful beaches and restaurants.

Thanks everyone! Since we just have the day I can see it either way depending on how ambitious we're feeling! We've also since learned there is a trail over to Honeymoon Beach which offers another possibility if we want to skip the car - but I'm still on the fence! Any reports of a particularly good experience with a St. John car rental company?

25+ year STJ visitor chiming in -

Is a car an absolute necessity? Depends on what you want to do/see.

It may be hard to find a single day rental during high season. We have rented single days during the summer, winter may be harder. Your best bet would be to call a day or two ahead of time. Any business on island is fine and price differences are minor, go with the first one that has availability. STJ rental companies are best reached via phone, don't frustrate yourself trying to rent on-line or via email. Personally, I like STJ Car Rental.

With Maho Crossroads opening, Maho has become an easy taxi destination. Working east, you can reach any of the North Shore beaches by taxi. Its best to arrange a pick up time but its likely you can flag one down if your group size isn't huge. Maho Crossroads has drinks, food and music and is quite popular by all reports.

If you want to see the island, a rental is your best bet but a taxi ride out the North Shore road is very scenic.

A rental is absolutely necessary for Coral Bay area.

Are you staying overnight? Or just stopping by for a day visit?

Cruz Bay is a nice town for strolling, shopping local stores, eating and drinking. The North Shore beaches are a 5-15 drive out of town depending how far you want to go. Parking can be at a premium during high season as some have just 4-6 spots. Others like Maho, Trunk and Cinnamon have larger lots. Cruz Bay to Coral Bay is 30-40 minute drive. Add another 20+ minute out to the East End.

Thanks for the additional information and your insights! We're staying over in St. Thomas so St. John is just a day trip. With the limited time we'll have its kind of a question of whether we want to go and hang out for a while, or cruise around and take it all in. Either approach sounds like it will be a winner!

A one-day car rental is going depend on what is available. You will need to call a couple of agencies. Most are an easy walk from the ferry dock.

We live on St. John now. We love the walk to Honeymoon Bay from the National Park Visitors Center. Maho Bay is our favorite beach, but the far East side away from Maho Crossing. But, if it were me, I would grab sandwiches at the North Shore deli and walk to Honeymoon Bay. When you head back you have 20+ walkable bars and restaurants in Cruz Bay. Cruz Bay is really the best Caribbean village in the USVIs/BVIs/SVIs!

Cheers, RickG

What Rick said. If you don't want to do the short hike to Honeymoon there's also a boat, I believe (never taken it - but someone mentioned it somewhere . .). I'm doing 2 nights in January with a family of 5 (we've all been to the Island over a dozen times) and we're passing on the rental car. Will miss seeing Skinny and the floating bar off of Coral - but for a short stop Cruz Bay has plenty to do and Honeymoon is a great beach (liked it better sans amenities - but then again, Maho Bay Camps were my 100% favorite place on earth!)

The dinghy shuttle to Honeymoon is no more. You can contact viecotours.com for information on their land shuttle.

Cheers, RickG

Thanks again for the pro-tips everyone, much appreciated!

Thanks Rick - That may make a difference to OP depending on the # of people. Cabs on STJ charge by the person - I don;t remember how much from Cruz to Caneel (Honeymoon entrance) - but I do recall that they are not cheap. A R/T for a family of 4-6 may be close to the cost of a 1 day jeep rental (assuming you could find one). Just a thought.

Hi Bill. Just got back and did a 2 night stop on STJ. Stayed at the St John Inn (fabulous) and rented a 4 door jeep for 1 day from Mr. Piper's ($120 all in). I would recommend it in hindsight. My party of 5 would have been over the top expensive for cab fares - and the kids all wanted to make it up to Skinny Legs for lunch then over to Maho.

Thanks for the follow up DD! We are planning a one-day trip over and just might splurge on a set of wheels so we can see a bit more of St. John while we're there.

Take care,

Bill