We have a short time frame...6 days/5 nights including travel time from Atlanta. We are considering St. Thomas. Questions:

(1) How important to rent a car? Have never driven left side of road and would like to avoid an accident. How walkable or availability of public transportation?
(2) Prices or website for ferries to St. John or BVI? Do they run certain hours?
(3) Red Hook area a better choice to get away from the cruise ship crowds?
(4) Nicest beaches?
(5) Hiking possibilities...mostly on St. John?

You need either a rental car or taxis to navigate around and fully explore what St. Thomas has to offer. Public transportation is more like a series of small shuttles that travel between different villages. To get from one side of the island to the other will involve taking several different shuttles. they don't run on any particular schedule so you'll spend have your time waiting for one to show up. You'll spend hours getting from point A to point B. Walking is not a good choice, things are pretty spread out around the island, there are virtually no sidewalks, the roads are hilly - here again you'll spend half your vacation walking from point a to point B. taxis are expensive. Do yourself a favor, budget for a rental car. Driving on the left is fairly easy, most tourists adapt to it withing about 15 to 30 minutes. Just take it easy and you'll be OK.

You can get Ferry schedules and fares here:
www.vinow.com/general_usvi/interisland_ferry/

Also, if you do a google search for "St. Thomas Ferry Schedules" you find several more links but all have the same information.

Go here for detailed descriptions of the best beaches on St. Thomas:
http://beachrankings.com/st-thomas-b...or-information

St. Thomas is large enough that it is easy to avoid the cruise ship crowds. The easiest way is to avoid going to Charlotte Amalie on the day cruise ships are in port.

Two-thirds of St. John is a National Park. It's filled with hhiking trails - well worth a day trip to do that. stop at the Visitors Center for trail maps.

St. Thomas in March is awesome. The winter swells (rougher water) have died down and the weather is great. If you rent a car, which I agree with Roamsaround, is a good idea, I recommend going with Budget. You can get the car right there at the airport and return it before your flight home. Avis, Hertz and National (I think) are also at the airport. However, Hertz in particular has a policy against taking their cars to St. John. Tourists do get into plenty of accidents (we usually see one or two everytime we go down there), but IMO it is usually someone who has gotten overconfident, or isn't watching the road enough, or is impaired with too many yummy drinks. Most traffic is only about 20-25 miles per hour. If you are conscientious and concentrate, you should be fine. If you find you are not comfortable after a day, you can always return the car. The taxis are also fairly convenient but can be more costly. Also, they aren't as flexible as having your own car. The car barges to St. John leave every half hour from about 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and you usually will not have any problems getting on one. ($30 one-way, $50 round trip) The drawback to driving is that parking may be more difficult to find at times and in certain places. Don't try to fudge it either, they are very vigilant about parking indiscretions. Red Hook is a pretty lively area and convenient to the St. John ferries. The only place which gets really inundated with cruise ship types is Havensight and much of downtown Charlotte Amalie. The cruise ships will also send groups to the big famous beaches on St. Thomas and St. John but their time frame is usually from 10 a.m. to about 2 or 3 p.m. which is why we don't go to the big beaches like Magen, Trunk Bay or Cinnamon during that time. There are plenty of other beaches though. I've never hiked on St. Thomas (but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of places there). I'd just check with the tourism websites. Have fun!

Thanks for all the info! It looks like the car ferries only run until 6:30 but "people only" ferries run longer?

One of our decisions is whether to stay on St. Thomas (and do a few day trips...St. John, BVI) or to stay on St. John, rent a car there and spend our 5 days there. I'm not sure one is cheaper than the other, but we are more interested in hiking and beach/snorkeling, with no interest in shopping, golf, or fancy meals.

You answered you own question. Without a doubt St. John is the island for you. Hiking & snorkeling are awesome on St. John. If you would like some recommendations when are you going, how many in your party and what's your budget for housing?

Pulley...we are going for 5 days the 1st week of March. There are two of us. Our budget is flexible, but ideally <$275-300 per night for lodging. It's been a little difficult since we aren't doing a 7-day stay. Priorities are safe area, cleanliness of lodging, view/location, and relatively quiet (i.e., not next door to construction or late night bar)in that order. I have read good things about Lavender Hill Suites; it's slightly over budget but we are doing this last minute, so I don't know how choosy we can be. But then again, if the economy has hit down there as it has up here, maybe there would be some last minute deals available. Anyway, Caneel Bay and Westin Resort e.g., are not our cup of tea, but we're not too much for camping on the beach, either, or at least not for a 5 day stay.

Anyone with experience with Coconut Coast Villas as compared to Lavender Hill Suites? Quieter location or better views with either?

re previous question, one of my concerns has been re noise from construction in Cruz Bay, specifically the ?Grand Bay development. Even though we may not be spending much time in rooms, it would be preferable to be away from distractions in such a beautiful area.

We've stayed at Coconut Coast. It was fine for us, there were 4 and we had a 2 bedroom. The pool is a little small but there is some snorkeling at and around Turner Point. You can also walk to town. It should also be quieter than Lavendar Hill since it's further away from Grande Bay but it's right across from the commercial dock. I would take the dock "noise" over the construction "noise".

http://www.caribbeanvilla.com/cviews/cruz_views.html

Have a look at this place. I have not stayed there, but have been looking into it as a cheaper option than Gallow's Point. It looks clean and comfortable and gets consistent reviews as a nice but no frills kind of place. Reportedly there is no problem walking into Cruz Bay, but the hill back up is a killer. A lot of people just take a taxi back up the hill for a minimal cost from town.

Caribbean Villa did look nice, but all units are booked. We knew it would be tough...last minute arrangements always seem to be.

What's this about construction noise in Cruz BAy? We are going to be staying at Gallows Point bldg 2 in two weeks....

You should have no problem with noise in building 2. It is far enough away from Grand Bay. I think hopefully they are done with the jack hammering anyway. None when we were there in November.

Brenandg, we've stayed at Cruz Views, unit #1, and were very happy we had A/C in the bedroom. If you stay there in the summer the sun beats down on it all day and it gets really hot. They have a very nice pool. We walked to town and paid $2 for taxi home.