We'll be needing a rental car for at least 7 days next June and our villa rental agent is offering to reserve us a Suzuki Sidekick for $360 a week through St. John Car Rental. Are they okay? Is the Sidekick for two? Can you use their lot to park in? The price seems okay. I had thought of using Conrad Sutton, but it might be easier to let her (the agent) take care of it. Any thoughts? Thanks

-Bill

I've never used St. John Car Rental, but if the rental agent made the reservation, I'm sure it'll be fine. The island is so small, bad rep travels fast. $360. is definitely not padded. It's the going rate. I'm not sure if they have a convenient lot in town, so you should find out. A Suzuki Sidekick is great for two, and it may be soft-top/convertible type, so if you don't like that, then you should let them know. In June, AC in the car is nice.

ttt

We rented a Jeep Liberty from Courtesy while on St. John. The $360 rate is below the published high season rate so there’s some discount there. You may want to post your question on a St. John specific forum such as USVI On-line or just call St. John Car Rental about the lot issue. I’ve never read a bad review on the company.

Personally I would opt for something larger like a Suzuki Grand Vitara, Jeep Liberty, or Ford Escape.

Out of curiosity, does anyone know if the rental places in the Caribbean (St. John specifically) charge extra fees for drivers under 25?

It is very difficult , if not impossible, for drivers under 25 to rent a car on St. John. One option is to rent on St. Thomas and take the car ferry over.

Nice problem to have.

Check with Budget rental operating at the airport in St. Thomas. We use them often because it is so convenient to rent right at the airport and drive to the car ferry to St. John.

RobertoB,
Do you think a Jeep Liberty is big enough for 5 adults? That is what we are renting in St John & I'm not real sure it will be big enough.

From what I recall there's room, depending on the size of the adults. Remember you also need room for the luggage of five adults but you usually only need that while you're arriving and departing.

One thought would be to go to a Jeep dealer and take a look.

I heard back from Terry Witham (our rental agent) and she answered all my questions. St John Car Rental does allow you to park in their lot, but not on Saturdays. She prefers using them becasue of her customer service experiences with them. We are going to let her go ahead and make the arrangements for us. Thanks for your responses.

-Bill

St John car rental is a great company to deal with. They have the best parking in Cruz Bay which will make things much easier for you!

dwoznia,
That's great to hear!
Thanks,
-Bill