Renting a jeep on STT is tempting... should I??

smilesfromMN · Post by **smilesfromMN** » Mon May 13, 2013 5:37 pm

We've rented twice on STJ, both times from C&C and had a fine experience. But after reading several trip reports (and several very seasoned forumites) mention how they always rent on STT, I'm tempted.
The "no support if the car breaks down" really makes me nervous however. I wouldn't want to waste an entire day of vacation dealing with trying to get help for a rental car and then have to pay for that help as well.
So, is it really that much better to rent on STT? How is the driving to the car barge on STT? Do the savings at Cost U Less really make that huge of a difference?
What about rental rates - much less when renting from STT?
Which company?
Has anyone here had a bad experience and wish they hadn't rented on STT?

Thanks.

skeeze · Post by **skeeze** » Mon May 13, 2013 6:24 pm

Hi smiles,

My wife and are eagerly awaiting our very first trip to STJ in September to celebrate our tenth anniversary, and while we currently have a jeep reserved through Conrad Sutton, a good friend of mine who has been on-island many times over the past years swears by renting on STT.

He typically uses Amalie Rental Car, and while they may be a bit more expensive, he swears by the service and the fact that their fleet of jeeps is typically new and in great shape. They are picking him up when they deplane in STT this week, and will go get the jeep and sign the paperwork while the others in his group collect the luggage. Then they just hop in and get to the barge.

Personally for our first time to STJ I'm not sure if I want to deal with a car barge, but we will see when he gives me his report when they get back.

Good luck with whatever you decide though!

Skeeze

Adp1110 · Post by **Adp1110** » Mon May 13, 2013 6:34 pm

We Just Got Back. We Rented From Discount On St Thomas And It Went Really Well. They Do Come Over To Service But You Have To Change Your Own TiRe If Needed. I Would Do It Again. The Car Barge Went Fine To.

mindehankins · Post by **mindehankins** » Mon May 13, 2013 6:53 pm

We rented on STJ the first two trips, and on my trip with my daughter in January, because I didn't want to drive alone on STT. All of our other trips, we've rented from Amalie and we consider them our "go to" agency.
The only con is that they are a little more expensive than other rental agencies.
The pros are many:
Met immediately on landing by two friendly faces. They really are SUCH nice people!
Constantine takes Blaine across the street to pick up the rental, and Magdalena helps me collect luggage. Blaine is back in 5" with the vehicle, and we load. It's so efficient.
Diet Coke in the 2L bottle is about 1/2 the price at Cost U Less compared with any market on STJ. We drink alot of Diet Coke. Other groceries are cheaper, but we bring most of our food with us.
We head to STJ in a leisurely fashion, and feel more like seasoned visitors.
The car ferry is no big deal. I would not feel comfortable yet, driving across St. Thomas without a co-pilot, and I knew that my daughter would be too starry-eyed to be a good co-pilot. I would drive if Blaine co-piloted.
We do not have any worries about a vehicle break down on St. John. First, these are brand new vehicles, lovingly maintained. Second, I trust these folks implicitly and I KNOW if there was a vehicle problem, they would take care of us. Third, they have a tag on their keys for an auto club. But most important of those is that I trust them.
On departure day, you can go to a last beach or where ever you want to go. The vehicle doesn't have to be turned in at 10am. You can lolly-gag on STJ or STT.
Leaving STJ on the car ferry feels more like you're "going somewhere" as opposed to "leaving somewhere." It's much less sad.
Renting on STT makes STT feel like just another island, not some big scary place where you need to be chauffered by a taxi driver or private driver.
I just can't say enough good things about Amalie. I hope they always have a vehicle for us!

chloe_jade416 · Post by **chloe_jade416** » Mon May 13, 2013 8:54 pm

We just reserved a jeep with Amalie in STT for our first trip to STJ....for many of the reasons mindehankins spelled out above. Did a lot of reading through previous threads on here and TripAdvisor before deciding to do so. Also talked to Magdalena with questions and concerns before booking. Based on the feedback we've read and after speaking with Magdalena, I think we made the right decision (especially with us traveling with 2 young kids).

Our biggest concern was also what we'd do in the event of a flat tire (or break-down). Was good to know that Amalie provides newer vehicles. And Magdalena alleviated our worries after mentioning we would have contacts in STJ to assist us should something (like a flat) happen. (I believe she mentioned another party we could contact in addition to the auto club).

Fingers crossed that all works out well. The pros for us definitely outweighed the risks.

Myheart'sinSTJ · Post by **Myheart'sinSTJ** » Mon May 13, 2013 9:43 pm

Hi Smiles! We always rent on STT but this time coming up I think we're going to rent on STJ because we are staying in town and won't need a vehicle the entire week. My advice is NOT to rent from BUDGET at the airport, they over book their jeeps, this happened to me in January, no apologies as to why they over booked, got stuck with a car which I felt limited where I wanted to travel on island. DISCOUNT jeep rent on STT is very good, I have used them several times and I also heard that AMALIE is excellent though I have never used them. I have also used DEPENDABLE but their vehicles seem older and are well used. I don't think you can go wrong renting on STT, good luck with your planning!

philbetm · Post by **philbetm** » Mon May 13, 2013 10:22 pm

Please don't say that about Budget ! We have 2 jeeps rented for our group starting mid-June.....Don't know where else I could get one this late in the game .

Oh...here comes the worries again....noooooo.

Sherry in S.C.

"Sherry's Living in Paradise" ( I wish)

sherban · Post by **sherban** » Mon May 13, 2013 11:42 pm

We rent with dependable on STT...there are pros and cons but that's our choice.

EagleRayLover · Post by **EagleRayLover** » Mon May 13, 2013 11:53 pm

We ate big fans of renting on St Thomas. We have rented on STJ before but we live the convenience of being able to stop at the various places in St Thomas Tom male the trip that much more comfortable. We actually got my long term
Rental from st Thomas ( a locals type of company since the St. John companies would not consider any discount for a
Month.

smilesfromMN · Post by **smilesfromMN** » Tue May 14, 2013 7:47 am

Thanks, everyone! I am going to contact the STT rental companies and see what they tell me for rates for 9 days. I'll let you know what I decide to do.

Dome526 · Post by **Dome526** » Tue May 14, 2013 11:55 am

I had a rental all set from STT, but changed my mind, and rented on STJ. Here is why I changed my mind: we were going to be on STJ for 15 days. THe first day, we stayed at the CB Boutique Hotel. It didn;t make sense to rent a car in STT and have it sit. Then, we went to Cinnamon Bay Camground, and stayed in a cottage on the beach. I figured it didn;t make sense to rent a car right away. I thought why would I wnat to leave one of the most beautiful places? I thought we would want to stay put for a few days. Hindsight is 20/20. It turned out to be a great decision! We did the Reef Bay Hike on Thursday. After the hike, I picked up our rental car, and we re-provisioned supplies. Smart move. Then, we had the jeep for our second week at Castlestjohn.com. The rental company worked with me on the price, and I ended up savings several hundred dollars by waiting to rent a jeep until Thursday. We retured the jeep on our departure day in town, and dropped off our luggage near the ferry. If you are going to be in STJ for 6 or 7 days, it might make sense to rent for the full time. Car ferry is a different location, not complicated, but if you want to make a shopping trip to St. John Spice, you have to plan ahead. On our next trip to STJ, if we just stay at Cinnamon Bay, I am temted to try to see what it would be like to not rent a car at all, and just use the taxi from CBC.
Tom in CT

Teresa_Rae · Post by **Teresa_Rae** » Tue May 14, 2013 1:33 pm

EagleRayLover wrote:We ate big fans of renting on St Thomas.

This got my funny bone. I can't believe you ate people who are big fans of renting on STT!

poidog · Post by **poidog** » Tue May 14, 2013 3:43 pm

We always rent from Budget at the airport and have never had a problem except for once, our most recent in Feb 2013 this is exactly what happened:

Myheart'sinSTJ wrote:BUDGET at the airport, they over book their jeeps, this happened to me in January, no apologies as to why they over booked, got stuck with a car which I felt limited where I wanted to travel on island.

Myself and about a dozen other people were SOL.. they had no cars. NONE. I sat at the airport for an hour calling around and everyone was booked, no available cars. The ladies at budget saw my panic and called me back up to the counter. A car had just come back, and I could have it if I wanted, but it was a car - not a jeep. I took it as I didn't have a choice and had to rush to make the last barge. I was limited as to where I could go on STJ with the little Mitsubishi I had, but I had no other choice. I'll continue to rent with Budget, but I'll have a back up reservation made with someone else as well just in case.

mindehankins · Post by **mindehankins** » Tue May 14, 2013 6:34 pm

poidog wrote: I'll continue to rent with Budget, but I'll have a back up reservation made with someone else as well just in case.

But then aren't you stiffing another company?

Myheart'sinSTJ · Post by **Myheart'sinSTJ** » Wed May 15, 2013 12:05 pm

poidog wrote:We always rent from Budget at the airport and have never had a problem except for once, our most recent in Feb 2013 this is exactly what happened:

Myheart'sinSTJ wrote:BUDGET at the airport, they over book their jeeps, this happened to me in January, no apologies as to why they over booked, got stuck with a car which I felt limited where I wanted to travel on island.
Myself and about a dozen other people were SOL.. they had no cars. NONE. I sat at the airport for an hour calling around and everyone was booked, no available cars. The ladies at budget saw my panic and called me back up to the counter. A car had just come back, and I could have it if I wanted, but it was a car - not a jeep. I took it as I didn't have a choice and had to rush to make the last barge. I was limited as to where I could go on STJ with the little Mitsubishi I had, but I had no other choice. I'll continue to rent with Budget, but I'll have a back up reservation made with someone else as well just in case.

I know with Dependable and Discount you have to give them 3 weeks notice if you are canceling and when you book your vehicle they ask for your CC # so if you are booked and don't cancel 3 weeks out they do charge your credit card (but I don't know how much

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