Does anyone have any experience with renting a car on St. Thomas? We will need a minivan. Have checked Budget, Dependable and both are saying $500 for the week. Haven't heard back from Discount Rent a Car. Not sure if it's better to go local or national?? Or if it matters.

Thanks for the help.

I recently rented from budget at the airport ant the woman there was very nice & helpful. Have you tried to contact the local budget offices (budgetstt.com)? They may have a cheaper rate than the national Budget.com website, or you can call them directly at the # listed.

I only rented a small car but the rate they gave me was about $10 cheaper than the budget.com rate.

bonmark,
I didn't see your name when I made my reply. Good to see you again. Let me know if you have further planning questions I can help you with & I'll chime in.

I typically make the on-line rounds of all agencies, Budget, Avis, Hertz, Discount, Dependable and make a reservation with the cheapest. Hertz will not let the cars go to St. John, btw. Then I keep checking and make new reservations as I find better prices before my trip. The past two trips Avis came in very low at about $160 per week for a compact, using codes from my union's website once and American Airlines. Check all possible codes through various airlines or other resources you may have.

All the rental rates are very comparable. It's usually more of a question of who has the car that you need. I have used both Budget and Hertz from the airport before and it is really very convenient. You grab your luggage and the rental car counters are right there. You get the keys to your car and you walk across the street to the rental lot. Throw your luggage in and go. The local rental companies are not at the airport and may come and pick you up. The only real difference is if a company runs out of say: Jeep Libertys (my car of choice in the islands). Car rentals are uniformly more expensive in the Caribbean. Some of the smaller, local companies may offer lower prices but may not have as good or high quality of selection.