One Day Car Rental at Pier?

Posted the query on cab fares to Green Cay, but it is apparently not a common destination so no-one has responded. So....

Am now considering renting a car at the pier and driving to Green Cay. Capt. Heinz says there is plenty of parking, so that is not a problem. It would also give us a chance to look around the island after the excursion.

Apparently Hertz, Budget and Avis all have rental offices. The prices for compact cars are less than the taxi fare for two persons. Does anyone have a particular recommendation or other information that we should consider in deciding whether or not to rent? Is driving on St. Croix a problem? Will a U.S. drivers license be sufficient?

Posted the query on cab fares to Green Cay, but it is apparently not a common destination so no-one has responded. So....

 

Am now considering renting a car at the pier and driving to Green Cay. Capt. Heinz says there is plenty of parking, so that is not a problem. It would also give us a chance to look around the island after the excursion.

 

Apparently Hertz, Budget and Avis all have rental offices. The prices for compact cars are less than the taxi fare for two persons. Does anyone have a particular recommendation or other information that we should consider in deciding whether or not to rent? Is driving on St. Croix a problem? Will a U.S. drivers license be sufficient?

We were just there a couple weeks ago and used Avis. Budget had more cars, but soke to the agents from both and would recommend both.

It is an easy place to get around on. Recommend going to Sandy Point in the morning (it is only open a few months out of the year) followed by afternoon at Cane Bay.

Posted the query on cab fares to Green Cay, but it is apparently not a common destination so no-one has responded. So....

 

Am now considering renting a car at the pier and driving to Green Cay. Capt. Heinz says there is plenty of parking, so that is not a problem. It would also give us a chance to look around the island after the excursion.

 

Apparently Hertz, Budget and Avis all have rental offices. The prices for compact cars are less than the taxi fare for two persons. Does anyone have a particular recommendation or other information that we should consider in deciding whether or not to rent? Is driving on St. Croix a problem? Will a U.S. drivers license be sufficient?

Hi, we just rented last month, used Avis but would recommmned Budget. They had more cars and provided faster service.

Recommmned you visit Sandy Point beach in the morning to see on of the best places in the Carribean, followed by a trip to CAne Bay for fun with the locals.

Noel0202

Thanks, that is great information. Did you go out to Buck Island? How did having a rental work out for that?

Noel0202

 

Thanks, that is great information. Did you go out to Buck Island? How did having a rental work out for that?

I have not visited St. Croix by cruise ship but have visited her many times by land. Driving on the left is not difficult. Just be careful at intersections! It won't be difficult to park at Green Cay Marina with the rental as there is plenty of free parking. And Capt. Heinz will give you a great visit to Buck Island.

When will you be on St. Croix? It is true that Sandy Point is absolutely gorgeous and close to the pier (but you'll need the rental car). But it is only open 10 to 4 on Saturday and Sunday. Maybe you could swing by there for an hour or so before you return to the ship.

Lovstx

Thanks for the information. It is great to hear from someone with your degree of experience. (Can't help but wonder why a US Territory drives on the 'wrong side of the road'. History, probably.) We will be there on Sunday, and should be done with the Buck Island tour at 2, so going to the beach before leaving at 5 is perfect!

Lovstx

 

Thanks for the information. It is great to hear from someone with your degree of experience. (Can't help but wonder why a US Territory drives on the 'wrong side of the road'. History, probably.) We will be there on Sunday, and should be done with the Buck Island tour at 2, so going to the beach before leaving at 5 is perfect!

During it's history, St. Croix has flown under seven different flags so the driving on the left side pre-dates the US purchasing the island in 1917.

Is your boat departing at 5? If so, going to Sandy Point might be tough. It is a 30 minute drive (at the least) from Green Cay to Sandy POint and then it takes about 10 minutes to drive into Sandy Point (think somewhat rough road). Then another 10 minutes out, a 10 minute drive back to the pier and you have to get gas and turn the car in. Could be tight.

Thanks for the tip. May have to rethink that part of the day.

Lovstx

 

Thanks for the information. It is great to hear from someone with your degree of experience. (Can't help but wonder why a US Territory drives on the 'wrong side of the road'. History, probably.) We will be there on Sunday, and should be done with the Buck Island tour at 2, so going to the beach before leaving at 5 is perfect!

If you re there on Sunday go to Sandy Point in the morning. It is a US national beach and only open on Sundays during the winter. Closed all other days.

It's pure paradise.

I am looking at renting a car for a few hours. We will be there on Nov. 2 2014 on Carnival Splendor. Can someone help me figure out what location I would pick up the rental from. I am looking at Budget first. Can I just walk to pick up the rental? I understand they drive on the other side of the road. Will I need extra coverage than my normal insurance or other fees?

Any updated information would be great.

Relax and enjoy life.

We will be there from 8-4. One location is not open until 10AM, I would rather find one that opens at 8am. I would return to the port around 2:30-3PM.

I am looking to snorkel for the day at Cane Bay, any advice would be great.

Noles0202 - Hello can you respond about the walking distance to the car rentals? Also wondering did you make a reservation and if so, did you call them or handle online.

I've read some posts that make me think they have to come get you from the pier, so I'm just not sure.

Thanks for any help/advice you can provide.

Congratulations on the National Title,

Brenda

Go Gators!! :)

I haven't been to St. Croix, but was researching it last week. Here's what I found: (This assumes you are coming into Fredericksted, as most or perhaps all cruise ships do.)

Car rental is reasonable, as is gas. Midwest Autorental will bring car to you. They have web site but must email or call for rates. Car rental – see http://www.gotostcroix.com/car-rentals, especially Judi (judiofcroix.com). Call 877-903-2123 toll free to discuss car needs & make reservation. On island call 340-773-2123. Hertz is about $56 for compact (midsized not available day we're there) incl. taxes but would have to get to airport. Judi will pick up & deliver anywhere on island; Midwest gives you taxi coupon to get you to a hotel to pick up car, but must return car to airport.

(I have not yet looked at Budget and any other big U.S. companies other than Hertz. I would prefer to get something close to the pier rather than having to take a taxi to and from the airport. However, it doesn't look like Fredericksted is a very big place, so that may not be possible unless Judi or a local company can drop off a car. I also have not tried to contact Midwest or Judi of Croix, so I don't know if the information is accurate.) If you find anything out, I'd love to hear about it! Good luck!

(I have not yet looked at Budget and any other big U.S. companies other than Hertz. I would prefer to get something close to the pier rather than having to take a taxi to and from the airport.

Try Budget. We rented from them in St. Croix a few years ago. Their "office" was a block from the pier, and the car was only a couple of blocks away.

Well, now I'm beginning to think maybe I should have thought about a car earlier. I just tried to book with Budget and Avis and they are both showing that they're all booked up. I'm hoping something will open up later, or one of the local companies will work out, as I don't want to have to go to the airport for a rental car.

Our visit is a month away. If anyone wants to rent in St. Croix at the pier, I would suggest not waiting to book a car. You can always cancel later.

Well, now I'm beginning to think maybe I should have thought about a car earlier. I just tried to book with Budget and Avis and they are both showing that they're all booked up. I'm hoping something will open up later, or one of the local companies will work out, as I don't want to have to go to the airport for a rental car.

 

Our visit is a month away. If anyone wants to rent in St. Croix at the pier, I would suggest not waiting to book a car. You can always cancel later.

Roothy,

Sorry you having trouble booking a car for your visit. Have you tried Centerline or Judi's of St. Croix? They are the local companies most people use.

In 16 visits to the island, I have never heard of Midwest Autorentals. And I wouldn't want to have to return the car to the airport and have them bring me back to the pier if I could avoid it. Would take you about an hour or a bit less.

Roothy,

Sorry you having trouble booking a car for your visit. Have you tried Centerline or Judi's of St. Croix? They are the local companies most people use.

 

In 16 visits to the island, I have never heard of Midwest Autorentals. And I wouldn't want to have to return the car to the airport and have them bring me back to the pier if I could avoid it. Would take you about an hour or a bit less.

Thanks. I wrote down their phone numbers last night and will call them today. There is also another local company listed on gotostcroix dot com that might be a possibility. I forget the name, but I plan to try them if Judi or Centerline aren't options. If it's a whole hour to the airport, I think an airport rental is out. I would probably just catch one of the shuttles or taxis and plan a shorter, less adventuresome day!

Thanks. I wrote down their phone numbers last night and will call them today. There is also another local company listed on gotostcroix dot com that might be a possibility. I forget the name, but I plan to try them if Judi or Centerline aren't options. If it's a whole hour to the airport, I think an airport rental is out. I would probably just catch one of the shuttles or taxis and plan a shorter, less adventuresome day!

Just as an update to this, and in case it will help someone in the future:

I called Judi of Croix, and they no longer (or perhaps simply do not) rent cars for only one day.

I called Avis, after not having any luck using their web site to book a car. (The web site did not tell me they were sold out, but gave some strange message that I wasn't sure how to interpret, and wouldn't proceed with the booking.) SO - if you try to reserve on line with Avis and it looks like you can't, just call them on their 800 number. The agent wasn't familiar with St. Croix, but after a minute or two, got the right place and location (cruise ship was the key, and spelling St. Croix!!) They will reserve over the phone and email you a confirmation. I reserved a Corolla-sized car for $55.49 including taxes, etc. Spouse can drive with no extra charge.

I didn't try Budget, but for one day, decided it really didn't matter which company I used, as long as they would bring the car to the port.

We are also looking in to a car rental for our November cruise. Looks like Avis and Budget are within walking distance. Not sure about the driving on the left, as in all our travels we have still never done that. Always done excursions in St Thomas and used cabs in St John.

We are also looking in to a car rental for our November cruise. Looks like Avis and Budget are within walking distance. Not sure about the driving on the left, as in all our travels we have still never done that. Always done excursions in St Thomas and used cabs in St John.

Yes, I noticed the address I received after booking with Avid is only a couple blocks from the port.

My husband has done well driving on the left in a couple ports but I have to admit that it scared me a little because the roads are sometimes very narrow, especially leaving the port. It seemed easy to bump into a curb. However I am thinking or at least hoping that roads on St. Croix and especially in Christiansted and Fredericksted are decent. Barbados was a little scary but we have never been to St. Croix so perhaps it will be fine. We will be there on a Sunday and my options are limited.

Did you do a taxi tour in st. John or just take a taxi to a beach there? I can't decide what to do in st. Thomas. Have not been to St. John so thought I might go there but I'm not much of a beach person and yet I'm not sure there's enough to see and do there so don't know if I want to pay for a drive around the coast plus Annaberg either.

I plan to rent from Avis or Budget, does anyone who has rented remember if they have the steering wheel on the right hand side?

When I must drive on the left, I prefer the wheel on the right. Just seems easier to me and helps me focus on staying on the other side of the road.

Any experiences renting with either of these companies would be appreciated.

Hi. We were there in early March. The car we got from Avis had the steering wheel on the left. It was a Kia Forte. My husband commented that he would have preferred right hand steering also, but he did fine with what we got. At least you can see how close to the curb you are!! I am guessing that St. Croix, being a U.S. territory, gets their cars from the U.S., hence the steering wheels are on the left! I suppose you could contact both companies to see if they have anything other than that type of car. Other than taking a bad, gutted route north to find a lighthouse that ended up not being visible from the road, we had a fairly easy time driving around the island, and enjoyed it very much. If you have a handheld GPS unit that covers the U.S. (although I see you're Canadian!), you might want to check to see if it has the USVI included on it. Mine did, which was helpful. We were able to get to Christiansted, which we loved, and also to a couple other places like the botanical gardens, and then back to Frederiksted by maybe 3pm. We did get confused once, and pulled over to look at a map, but then someone pulled up next to us and asked if we needed help. Their directions turned out to be excellent. Once again, in a town, we were looking dazed and confused and a gentleman called over to see if we needed help. There seem to be very friendly, helpful people on St. Croix!

If you get to Christiansted, you can go find the web cam, call your friends at home, and pose. It's a fairly good one - and should be able to find it by Googling.

Here are my notes (pre-trip) re car rental, etc.:

Car rental & gas reasonable. We have reservation for Avis (see p-o) for 9. They are in greenish, colorful building behind Custom House with “N2” sign. 70D King Street, in N2 Blue Diving Adventures building just 100ft from dock. Driving is on left and steering wheel on left. Signage on island stinks so ask agent for directions/maps. No bus service Sunday. Greetings are important. Say "good morning." There are self-guided driving tours that point out plantation ruins, Christopher Columbus' landing site from second voyage, etc. Speed limit 35 in rural areas 20 in towns, & 55 on open portions of route 66.

As to the "ask agent for maps" reference, we found a tourism rep at a table as we walked through the port area on the way out to the Customs House and town. When she heard we had rented a car, she went into the little building near by and came back with a good island map (had St. Thomas on back) and booklet. Look for her (or him if appropriate) to make your life easier while driving!

Sorry if I'm repeating stuff I wrote before...and good luck.

We rented from Budget and the wheel was on the left. Also, we took a taxi in St. Croix once, and that vehicle's wheel was on the left, too.

All cars on St. Croix have the steering wheel on the left. Have never, in 16 years, seen one with the wheel on the right. But I still fine driving on the left side quite simple. Only right turns are a bit tricky!

All cars on St. Croix have the steering wheel on the left. Have never, in 16 years, seen one with the wheel on the right. But I still fine driving on the left side quite simple. Only right turns are a bit tricky!

Thanks to you and others for your answers. I have always rented with the wheel on the right when driving on the left (Jamaica, Barbados, Grand Caymen, Australia) and done OK. Having the steering on the right reminds me I have to be attentive and careful. Not sure if I can deal with it being on the 'normal' side and still staying on the wrong side of the road.

Thanks to you and others for your answers. I have always rented with the wheel on the right when driving on the left (Jamaica, Barbados, Grand Caymen, Australia) and done OK. Having the steering on the right reminds me I have to be attentive and careful. Not sure if I can deal with it being on the 'normal' side and still staying on the wrong side of the road.

I think a lot has to do with the countries affiliation. Those in the British Commonwealth have the steering wheel on the right? All others on the left?

An oddity is Canada, in the British Commonwealth, but drive on the right with the wheel on the left.