Car Rental in USVI

First-time poster. . .

Family and I are going to St. John (Starwood Condo) for the first time in August.

I've been a long-time Hertz customer and have more than enough points to rent a van for the whole week.

But the Rep at the Hertz counter I spoke with in St. Thomas said that we could be subject to a $1000 fine if we're caught taking the car over to St. John.

Alternatively, I believe AVIS will let us take their cars (and I'd love some confirmation on that), but I end up paying about what the fine would be if I used Hertz.

QUESTION: Under what circumstances would anyone on St. John discover that my rental car is from St. Thomas? Are people actively looking? Has anyone done this and not gotten caught?

Thanks,

Myron

Don't be penny wise and pound foolish. Who cares if they have agents watching for you. Imagine what would happen if you were to break down, or God forbid, get into an accident if you were on St. John. The $1000 fine may be the least of your worries.

Why not just rent from a car rental company who will allow you to take a car to St. John? Or rent a car for a day once you cross over to the island?

BTW, many times rental cars have certain license plates or something else identifiable that indicates that they are rental cars. There may even be a way to distinguish one company for another via license plates or a sticker. If I were Hertz or Avis, I'd simply ask the car ferry workers to be on the lookout for such cars, and offer to split the $1000 fine with them if they catch anyone.

FYI, the first time I was on St. John, my husband overheard an argument with the O'Connor Car Rental clerk over their jeep. There was language prohibiting them from removing the top. Even though the renters put the top back on, they were assessed a heavy fine. Who knows who turned them in? But they did.

I just went to St. John in May. I rented from Amalie Car Rental, and had a great experience. They bring a car to the airport in St. Thomas, and you can return it there when you leave. The more people in your party, the more it makes sense to rent on St. Thomas and take the ferry over.

I am also a long time Hertz customer, and might not have worried too much about getting caught just for taking the car over. However, as Lisa says, things happen and it is not just someone seeing you that is a problem. The roads are very narrow in St. John, and you mostly park on the side of the road with many other tourists and cars. You (and the rest of the tourists) drive on the left side of the road and just a small distraction can result in someone driving on the wrong side of the road. An accident is not out of the question.

August is also within hurricane season. It would be bad if a storm comes and somehow results in damages while you are on St. John.

Note that there are a few steep hairpin turns in St. John that could be difficult to negotiate in a car without 4WD when the road is wet. I understand the attractiveness of a van, but you might want to consider a larger SUV, like an AWD Dodge Durango, if you need the space.

I felt better in a car with slightly more ground clearance than a standard car I'd rent in the US. I don't think Hertz has any 4WD vehicles on St. Thomas. Some places I went to didn't directly require a 4WD, but the dirt roads and parking areas were uneven and it was very useful to have a vehicle that stood higher off the ground.

Good luck with your trip. St. John is a great place to visit.

There are a lot of threads on renting in StT/StJ.

Do not take your Hertz vehicle to StJ - it is a small island and only 2 car barges running - so it will be noticed as it is well known that Hertz will not let their cars on StJ (for some unknown reason).

You are not supplying enough info about your needs to get best feedback...
How many adults/children? How much luggage?
Length of stay?
Do you know which phase you will be staying at WSJ - VGV (Hillside) or BV?
(Strange question, but VGV has parking outside villa and BV does not)

Also - how is a $1000 fine equal to an ~$500/wk rental? (Unless you are staying for 2 weeks)

We also use Amalie - and take car barge - they charge a premium (new vehicles/customer service), but after a few adventures we find them worth it.

Thanks for all the comments. Very helpful.

I double-checked, and I may have been overstating a bit. . .a decent rental costs $500.

Avis is sold out of anything other than a full size sedan.

I will be travelling with my wife and our 3 children (10, 6, and 4 years old). So, I could cram them in the back seat if I couldn't find a larger vehicle. We are staying 7 nights (Fri-Fri) at the Westin Resort and Villas.

I will check out Amelie. That may be the best bet.


Myron

My suggestion... FWIW - is to rent on StT and take the car barge over to StJ ($30 1-way, do not pay for RT). I rent from Amalie because I know their cars are in great condition - and they make the pick-up and drop-off easy at STT.

Fri-Fri is great - we have a Fri-Fri as well (2 weeks in June - 2Bd TH VGV phase). On a Friday - there is little traffic from STT to Red Hook (car barge) as there is unlikely to be a Cruise ship in - about 30 mins drive. StT is much more hectic than StJ - so it is only 30 mins of pain. Stay Left...

If you want freedom while on StJ - a 4WD is the way to go. A 4WD is also best on StJ - due to the curvy/steep roads that get slick in the rain (and it will rain). Besides - how you going to get to Little Lameshur beach?

I would suggest cramming the kids in the back of a 4WD 4Dr Jeep Wrangler XL (USVI laws are a bit more relaxed than the states) - Amalie has these (at a slight premium) - total cost is more like $600/wk...

Ditto on Amalie. Brand new vehicles and the best customer service.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

The license plates start with initial of the island they are registered in. So T, J, C for St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix. Pretty easy to spot.

FWIW, last year we got a flat on StJ (we rented from O'Connor's) as we were driving home and stopped to see the Hillside Villas - so literally across the street from the rental agency. We made it back with th tire about 1/2 full. There was some level of debate as to whether we were responsible for the cost of the tire repair but in the end, we did not have to pay anything; however, a good example of why not to skirt the rules on taking over a car from Hertz.

We have used Discount Car Rental 4 times in the last 3 years ... they seem to have the largest cars on the island.

It was an old car ... but it worked great and it was nice not to worry about scratches here and there.

Returned yesterday from WSJ. We used Amalie for the first time. It was the easiest and best car rental experience I had ever.

We used Dependable once - glad we found Amalie