St. John is a rental-car-dependent island and a vehicle with 4WD is the best option. This is why you'll see Jeeps everywhere. Rental cars book up 6+ months in advance, so it is important to reserve your car as soon as possible. While it is possible to get by without a rental car in Cruz Bay, you will absolutely need one when staying in Coral Bay. Taxis do not regularly run to Coral Bay and must be booked in advance if a ride is needed. There is no Uber or Lyft — just ask us for taxi numbers.
We highly recommend renting a car on St. John over St. Thomas. This is one of the most important pieces of advice we can offer. The car barge runs on a very limited schedule, while the passenger ferry runs much more often and far later into the evening. Guests who land after 3:00pm run a very real risk of missing the last car barge and spending their first night on St. Thomas. The car barge schedule is subject to a lot of change day-to-day — barges can have mechanical issues and cause wait times of an hour or more.
Public taxi drivers and ferry workers load and unload your luggage for you on your journey from the airport to the ferry. If you prefer, we can help set up a private taxi and even a private water taxi. Email our Activities Coordinator at activities@islandhoststj.com.
Upon arrival to Cruz Bay, we recommend one person from your group picks up the rental car and returns to the group to load everything up. Rental car agencies are within walking distance to the Cruz Bay dock and many agencies offer pick-up/drop-off. If you land prior to 3:00pm and decide to rent on St. Thomas, please contact our office for recommended rental agencies. We highly recommend avoiding the agencies located at the airport (such as Hertz and Budget) due to poor customer experience — a look at their Google reviews is very telling.
If you are renting your vehicle on St. Thomas, you will take the car barge out of the Red Hook terminal over to Cruz Bay. Multiple barge companies operate out of Red Hook — for this reason, we do NOT recommend purchasing a car barge ticket ahead of time. You may not make the specific time or specific company you purchased for, and will need to buy another ticket for the barge you do end up catching. Head straight to the barge after you pick up your car, get in line with the other cars, and board whatever barge pulls up next.
Barge tickets are purchased once you're on board — cash only. Please ask us for current pricing as it is subject to change.
Questions about planning your trip?
Reach us at hello@antaresvi.com or 321-421-0499.
