prizren

We shall be in the VI from April 4 - 14, 6 days in St. John and 4 days in St. Thomas. We are considering renting from Discount Rental Cars in St. Thomas and taking the car ferry to St. John. Can anyone give me information about this company's reliabilty, etc.? Also, do you know if they would service one of their cars if there was a problem while it was in St. John?

DebitNM

They [nor any other ST Thomas car rental place] will not come to St John to service the car if it has problems. Make sure they allow you to take car to St. John, not all places do. And don't try and sneak it over on car ferry, you will most likely get caught [rumor has it the guys that work on ferry get a finders fee for reporting cars taken over illegally].

Lots of good info on car rental companies, plus other info on USVI on

http://www.vinow.com/wwwtalk/list.php?4

Deb

bluepalm

I would suggest you talk to Discount Car Rental. I have rented from them several times and they always ask me where I will be staying and I tell them in St. John. They have never had a problem with that. They are pretty easy to deal with and will pick you up at the airport in the car you are renting, so your luggage is loaded and ready to go. On the return you stop there and they check the vehicle and then drive you to the airport. Easy process and a great way to save money. A round trip car ferry ticket will cost between $42 and $50.

DebitNM

It is best NOT to buy a round trip on car ferry, as there are several different independent operators and they will NOT honor tickets bought for other ferries. IF you go from STT to STJ on Ferry A and buy a round trip ticket, but on the way back from STJ to STT you end up on Ferry B, you will have to buy another ticket.

Deb

Carrybean

Hertz is the only rental agency on St. Thomas that does not allow their cars to go to St. John.

jlbowers7100

We just got back two days ago. Rented from Dependable on STT. They picked us up from the airport in the car we were renting so there was no need to transfer luggage, etc. They also dropped us off at the airport in our car so it was very convenient. They were also very nice because, in our haste to turn the car in, we forgot to fill up with gas. As they drove us to the airport, they let us stop to get gas instead of charging us $5/gallon which they very easily could've done.

We were able to take the car to St John w/ no problems. We bought one-way ferry tickets each time. Very easy...

Have fun!

mrscherry2000

We rented from them and were able to take the jeep to St. John. They were very accommodating as we had flight trouble and got in VERY late (1:30 AM) and they were still able to send someone to the airport to pick us up. I'll definitely use them again. Price are very competitive.

virginislandtraveler

Former Virgin Islands resident here...Consider just renting from one lot on St Thomas and renting from another lot when you arrive at St John..There are a number of reliable car rental cos in St John with reliable vehicles..It would take less time and less hassle than paying the cost and having to wait to ride the St Thomas/St John Car ferries..On St John I recommend.. ..Conrad Sutton ..I have used him many times and he has excellent service and vehicles..His lot is right in the middle of Cruz bay and you can park in his lot when in Cruz Bay.He will meet you at the ferry dock and is only a 200 yds away.(tell him burlison,lawyer form memphis said hi) You will like St John the most..have a great trip and for more local tips on the Virgin islands check out my website:
http://www.travelaskthelocals.yolasite.com

LizLaz

I just booked a Jeep with Discount Car. I asked about travel to St. John & was told they have a mechanic in St. John for any problems. They also had the most helpful customer service when I called this morning. (The others were Dependable & Budget - where I was told I could go to St. John at my 'own risk'.)

prizren

Many thanks for all of the helpful replies to my question about Discount Car Rental in St. Thomas. We have returned, and I can report that we were exceedingly pleased with Discount. The car was nearly new, and the service was 1000% better than we experienced in our previous trips, when we rented from St. John companies, including Conrad Sutton. The whole attitude at Discount was positive and professional. We had no problem connecting with a car ferry at either end, and the cost was much cheaper than paying for a taxi from the airport to the passenger ferry and then paying for individual tickets for each passenger. Bravo to Discount!!

Scott_AA

Going in March with party of 4 and would like to rent a car after I get off of the Carnival Dream - 10am to 8pm. I want to rent near the ship and head to the ferry to go to St John for a few hours of snorkeling and sightseeing. Head back to St Thomas to see Magens Bay then downtown for shopping, return the car and back to the ship. Do I have enough time in my 10 hours to do this all? Any advice anyone?

DebitNM

Scott, I suggest starting your own, new thread with a title more apt to you question. St Thomas for 10 hours, is this possible?" maybe.

carolosgarlan

There aren’t many car rental companies that will allow you to take car from St. Thomas. Moreover taking car or sneaking out on ferry would be a risky option as there are locals on ferry that will get money for reporting if they find any illegal rental car coming on ferry. My friend who visited some islands in Caribbean also opted for car rental. But they were not allowed them to visit St. Thomas.

Kristen1206

I realize your trip is finished and I am glad to hear another positive experience with Discount. Just wanted to clear up one piece of mis-information that someone gave back in October. Discount has a mechanic on St. John in the event of a mechanical issue. Dependable provides no assistance n STJ. Both companies allow you to take their cars on the ferry to St. John.

buzzbait88

I have rented from Discount three times and all three times have been good experiences. Just booked the fourth trip with them for July. They have no problem with you taking the jeep to STJ. I agree with the above post do not buy round trip ferry tickets. Enjoy the most almost place in the world IMO...