Personal driver for wife and I for a real island tour

We were just discussing we have never REALLY seen St. Thomas. Yes we've done the usual tours (beach/shopping...), but want to get a better feel of the 'real' experience of the island.

We have a stop early 1/19 and thought a personal/private driver for the two of us would be perfect to get away from the touristy areas and try local food.

I have done several searches here at CC and (maybe I'm not using the correct words) I am not finding much.

I would like to have this booked ahead of time and not just wander up aimlessly to the taxi stand.

Any input would be fantastic and thank you.

David we used could probably work out something with you. We did a group tour with him just using his standard one but he really knows his Island.

http://www.davidsfuntours.com/

Now, he would not be cheap, but you could pre-plan everything and skip the stuff you have seen, etc.

You could also hire a Taxi driver for the day, but they tend to know the tourist places better.

Thank you for the tip. Yep, that would not be cheap. I was thinking $200 at the most for the two of us.

Imo, a "real" island tour would include a walking tour of downtown and a drive to sites like Frenchtown, the University, and through various neighborhoods.

Most of the local restaurants are in town, too.

I know one taxi driver who offers a combo walking/driving tour, and that is Dawuud of Caribbean Historical Tours. He has a website, but not sure his combo tour is on the site.

If you are thinking about it you are booking a professional guide, vehicle (with gas, insurance etc) for 6-7 hours when they can't really earn any other revenue so $60/$70 an hour is quite reasonable for someplace with effectively same prices as in the US (and higher gas prices).. Compared to some other island destinations it is very pricey. We shared it with 2 other couples from cruise critic and had a great time, if you need to keep costs down.

You could hire a taxi driver and negotiate but they probably won't be a guide per se. David did things like buy us local fruits to try, and he did do most if not all of the things in the above post (I don't remember Frenchtown as a name, but I do think we went there, it was HOT).

I had looked at Dawuud as well, he was booked and seem to recall for a full day he was not much less.

Thank you for the tip. Yep, that would not be cheap. I was thinking $200 at the most for the two of us.

Jimmy Boulai of Marleys Taxi and Transportation. Easy communications , flexible and a really comfortable air conditioned Jeep. I would use no one else!!! Got his name thru these boards and contacted him with an almost instant response.340 998-1380. Tell him Nadine, Fred and Ella (granddaughter) say hello!!

Thank you all so much.

Jimmy Boulai of Marleys Taxi and Transportation. Easy communications , flexible and a really comfortable air conditioned Jeep. I would use no one else!!! Got his name thru these boards and contacted him with an almost instant response.340 998-1380. Tell him Nadine, Fred and Ella (granddaughter) say hello!!

Thank you Nadine! I just booked with Jimmy for our August cruise. I will tell him hello from you.

Thank you Nadine! I just booked with Jimmy for our August cruise. I will tell him hello from you.

Can I ask what he charges?

I am currently in discussion with Jimmy for our January cruise and he quoted me $65 an hour for my wife and I. Right in line with what Loonbeam said.

Now it's trying to figure out where to go and what to do. We want to keep it as local, non touristy as possible.

What does Jimmy recommend?

Jimmy said he would come up with some suggestions and asked us to give him some of our ideas to help him. That's where we are at the moment.

Can I ask what he charges?

He told me $35 per person for 4-5 hours. There are 3 of us.

I wonder why he is charging the other gentleman in this post $65 an hour?

$35 is probably the public, not private, tour price.

Yeah, I think that's what he quoted me if we wanted to share with other parties...

$35 is probably the public, not private, tour price.

How many people are put into a regular taxi that you would pick up from the dock? We are debating between a private tour, a booked tour through a company or just grabbing a cab when we arrive. We are 6 people. Thanks.

There are 'taxi's that are really more like shuttle buses that go to the main spots, these can have 20-30 people on them and may make multiple stops. The rest seem to be basic 3-4 seaters, maybe a couple of minivans. For 6 people I would pre-book.

How many people are put into a regular taxi that you would pick up from the dock? We are debating between a private tour, a booked tour through a company or just grabbing a cab when we arrive. We are 6 people. Thanks.