Car rental on St. John
 

For my upcoming trip to St. John I would like to rent a car for a few days and am looking for the best deal. Is it better to rent at the airport in St. Thomas upon arrival and take the ferry over to St. John with the car? I get the impression that all the rental companies on St. John only rent out jeeps. Is a jeep essential or will I be OK with an ordinary car if I rent on St. Thomas? What is the most cost-effective and convenient way to do this?

I'm not sure if 100% of the rental vehicles on St. John are 4WD, but it sure looked like at least 90% were.<BR><BR>You can get to almost everything on St. John with a regular car. There are just a few out-of-the-way spots (including a couple of quiet beaches) that require 4WD. Also, some rental villas have really bad driveways. A 4WD can be helpful on the steep, winding roads when it rains.<BR><BR>Only a few of the St. Thomas rental firms allow their vehicles to go to St. John. Even if they allow it, there can be delays getting service for a breakdown, or dealing with an accident.<BR><BR>Most of the car ferries charge $27 RT (one is more) including the driver and two passengers.<BR><BR>Some people who will have cooking facilities on St. John like to rent a car on St. Thomas and load it up with groceries at the Pueblo, then head for the ferry. Food costs a lot more on St. John.<BR><BR><BR>

It's been a few years since I've been to St. John, but we rented a Chevy Blazer with 4wd and were happy we had it instead of a regular 2wd car. Like cdt said, if you want to get to some of the out of the way beaches, you will want the 4wd. We rented it in town. Have fun!

Thanks for the advice. I think I might just go for a 4WD and rent on St. John itself. Any idea which company has the best deals?

They are all very close in price. Too close to even worry about. And you'll be hard pressed to find any true "deals". But, when on SJ the jeep is the way to go(they are automatic trans and most have a/c). Relax, enjoy SJ, it's the best.

I just got home from St John and personally I would not want to drive an ordinary sedan on those roads. The roads are steep with numerous hairpins and switchbacks. We really appreciated our Suzuki Vitara's tight turning radius and the overdrive. As far as which company to rent from, they are really all within a few dollars of each other and I've never heard a bad thing about any of them. We used L&L Jeep rental and were very happy.