brenandg

I was just reading another post and it was stated that it "takes hours sometimes to get through the main town on St Thomas (cruise ship traffic). This statement was in regard to which ferry to take to St John and they weren't specific as to whether they were talking about Red Hook or Charlotte Amalie. Can anyone share their experience with driving times on STT to the ferries? I know that Red Hook is a farther drive and Charlotte Amalie is closer but with more limited departures. Any suggestions for which is best? Think the last ferry from CA leaves at 5:30 so I would have to take into consideration what time my flight would arrive. Haven't actually booked yet, just doing my homework. Any suggestions/information appreciated.

juliecub75

in march of last year, we sat in traffic for TWO HOURS to get from charlotte amelie to red hook, the majority of which was in the town and just outside of it. it was AWFUL!!!! for such a tiny place you don't expect it, and we ended up ruining a whole day just because we thought it would be nice to see the town. the only upside was an ice cream cone that i got when i ran out of the car while my husband sat in traffic. he moved about 5 feet while i was gone.

HTH!

julie

zachsarbean1

The taxi drivers will always know which ferry you should take and we have never had a problem getting to the ferry before it leaves. If I remember correctly, the Red Hook ferry is much shorter of a ride than the CA ferry (I could have that backwards). I would have the list of the ferry departure times, but to be honest, the taxi drivers do have a really good idea of the best one to catch! When you get to the airport, just get your stuff and there will be many taxi drivers willing to take you where you need to go...just say that you need to catch a ferry to St.John, which ever will get you there earlier. We are heading back to St.John this summer for our fourth trip and have never experienced an issue with conjestion in the past! Good Luck...and bear with St.Thomas because St.John is so relaxed and wonderful!

brenandg

zachsarbean1

Thanks for the advice. Your information is correct about the ferries. CA is a longer boat ride, less drive time and vice versa from what I understand. Never thought of just leaving it up to the taxi drivers. I'm sure they know what they are doing. I will try to look at it as a sightseeing adventure either way. We just hate being stuck in traffic no matter where. STT sounds like a cruise ship passenger nightmare. (sorry cruisers, no personal offense). We like something a little less congested which is why we chose STJ.

virginia

the cruise docks are on the east end of CA. the ferry docks are more central. however, there are, i believe 2 alternate routes to red hook. one through the middle of the island and one that goes by magens beach. both of these would normally be a longer drive but the magens beach road (basically you are driving the perimeter of st.t) is a beautiful drive. either should be approx. 45 mins as you do not need to go through CA to go that way from the airport