Rental Car on St. John - suggestions
 

I know that it is best to rent a jeep while we are in St John but is there advantages to renting from locals or the big box corps such as Hertz? I am looking for suggestions or feedback regarding problems or issues others have had. Or glowing reports of great service as well.

We were very pleased with O'Connors which has locations in Cruz bay and at the Westin. well kept vehicles, good customer service, reasonable prices.

Dilbert's in Cruz Bay. Very reasonably priced and quality jeeps.

There are none of the big car rental companies actually on St. John. At least Hertz, Budget and Thrifty have locations at/near the St. Thomas airport. Hertz, however, does not allow their cars to be taken on the car barge to St. John. We had a good experience renting through Thrifty when we went to St. John last month. I have heard mixed reviews about Budget. Not bad experiences with the cars themselves, but some customer service issues and some people who have had to wait (sometimes hours) because even though they had reservations, there were no cars available.

The biggest advantages to using the bigger companies is that reservations can generally be done over the internet, you have the ability to take confirmation information with you, and rates on St. Thomas tend to be a little cheaper. The disadvantages are that you have to drive across St. Thomas yourself, the car barge can be more expensive than the passenger ferry (depending on the number of people in your party), and the passenger ferry runs more times each day than the car barge.

I hope that helps.

Former resident of Virgin Islands here..I've used a local for years with great results..Conrad Sutton.(just google his name St John).He has been renting in Cruz Bay for 25 years..great location(you can park in his lot when in town..he will meet you at the ferry dock) and he has an excellent choice of reliable vehicles..Remember though he is a true local and you must follow certain local social gracies..For local tips on the Virgin Islands,including social gracies ck out this site: http://www.travelaskthelocals.yolasite.com

Also,tell Conrad thatlawyer burlison,memphis said hi..

BTW, you shouldn't rent from Hertz on St. Thomas and bring the car to STJ because Hertz does not allow it and will fine you. We have rented from Budget (most often) and Dependable on St. Thomas and driven the car over on the ferry. Not all companies allow you to do that. FYI, Dependable is located away from the airport but they arrange to pick you up. Avis is also at the airport. We like to rent at the airport because we like to just get into the car and go, but this may be a bit daunting for newbies. If you rent on STJ, you do have the added advantage of being able to park in the company lot when in Cruz Bay. Parking can be hard to come by in the little town center so this is handy. Just about all of the companies are comparable with their own fans and critics. The pricing is also pretty much the same across the board so there isn't much to shop around.

We have rented from Cool Breeze the past couple of trips
http://coolbreezecarrental.com/stjoh...cles_rates.htm
And yes, parking is a problem during peak hours - like dinner time.