Traffic on St Martin and St Thomas?? Is there a lot???

[Ashkins]

I have been rethinking my excursion plans.

I had originally signed up for the 2 flags over St martin... for 5 people. and the Coral world excursion for 39$ ....

As I add up the prices... eek! I was looking around for rental prices and found some VERY reasonable prices... 23$ plus insurance 9$ and tax (what is is 50%??) for St Martin .. Me, hubby and kids can drive around and just explore on our own.... with St Thomas I saw prices of 32$ a day plus insurance 9$ and tax ... Coral world is 54$ for a family (2 adults and 4 kids).. then we can explore on our own visit the tram, Hard Rock St Thomas, Harley St Thomas, ect...

When I brought the idea up to my sister she said she has heard traffic can be really bad.... for those who have been what have you seen as far as traffic and those who have rented cars what kind of experience did you have???

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

We rented a car for one day in St. Thomas. It was one of the worst experiences possible. Heavy traffic, winding roads, mountains, construction, driving on the opposite side of the road, "left of way", taxis all over the place flying by you. A general mess that unless you have nerves of steel, I would avoid like the plague. You can get cabs to take you around. They are everywhere. Most will even come back to pick you up to take you to your next destination.

 

[liza]

We just got back, and here's what we did: On St. Maarten, 8 of us rented a van. You drive on the right side of the road in St. Maarten, and driving is NOT a problem. We drove into Marigot on the French side and shopped and ate lunch, then later went to Orient Beach. On the way back, we stopped at a grocery store. On an excursion we wouldn't have had that ability. We had control of our schedule, flexibility, we saw what we wanted to and paid much less for the day than we would have paid for just one excursion. The total cost for the van (tax, everything) was less than $100. We did have to fill up with gas. Renting the van was the perfect choice for us. We didn't even do it in advance. When you depart the ship in St. Maarten, when you exit the pier bear right, following the groups of people bound for excursions and lots of waiting in lines. At the far end of that area are the car rental windows in a separate small builiding. Names you will recognize, plus some you won't. We actually rented from one I've never heard of, a local island company, and it was just fine.

If we do the Disney Cruise again, we will definitely rent a vehicle again on St. Maarten.

On the other hand, we did not rent a car on St. Thomas/St. John, and I'm glad. If you want to visit both islands, St. John would have been some tense driving! Driving is on the left in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and St. John is hilly and the roads are curvy and narrow, and the vehicles pass each other closely and rapidly. Since time is so limited on that day, you'll be driving during the "main" drive times. The taxis are plentiful, I'd rather watch the view than pay attention to driving, and besides it's a lot of fun to ride one of those open-air taxis on St. John! They are like covered flat-bed wagons with a long padded bench running down each side. My children loved riding in them! It was almost like a roller coaster ride for my 3-year-old, who was sitting in my lap with my arm firmly around her and one hand holding tight to the pole nearby.

The downside to not renting on St. Thomas/St. John is that it is relatively, when compared with renting one car on St. Maarten, expensive to get around both St. Thomas and St. John by taxi/ferry. Now, if you plan to spend the whole day on St. Thomas and NOT go to St. John, I don't have any advice for you.

Bottom line: Renting in St. Maarten was a great decision. And since we went to St. John, I am glad we did NOT rent on St. Thomas.

Have a Magical trip!

 

[peagreenid]

And it was PURE HELL! I made advance reservations with AVIS! We are avid Avis renters.......but, that was the biggest mistake of our lives. Our Geo Tracker was a piece of junk. We actually had to walk around the vehicle to do a damage report before we took off. I just about died when we stopped at a beach and my daughter put her foot on the rear bumper to tie her shoe and it fell off.
The traffic was Attrocious. There were parts of it, that the traffic was so heavy we were at a complete stop and couldn't move. Yet everyone behind you just keeps honking... trying to force you to do something. We too drove all the way around the island, and yes it was nice to see all of the beaches, and we visited all of them, BUT, Parts of St. martin are pretty crime ridden. And well there were parts of it we never saw another soul. It was also reported that on that same day 6 disney crew members were robbed while on the island. Our vehicle was a rag-top, with NO locking compartments. Made it difficult to go shopping, and when we went to the beaches we took everything with us. If we ever visit St. martin again, it is one island that we will do a planned excursion instead. We would feel more comfortable with a larger group of people. There are Large portions of St. martin that just aren't worth seeing.
P.S. don't rent from AVIS.
smiles Patty

 

[Lisa L from MI]

We just got back yesterday from the 3-16 cruise!!! Our original plan was to rent a car in ST Thomas and explore on our own. We decided not to at the last minute and I tell you I am SOOOO HAPPY we didn't rent a car!!!! There is NO WAY on earth we would have survived driving there!!! We took a taxi to Megans Bay.....and it was the most TERRIFYING experience of my life!!!!! I didn't even want to get back on the return taxi from the beach!!!! I don't think I would even do it again!!! I would rather walk!! LOL!!!