| Tips for getting around St. Thomas posted by real travelers and St. Thomas locals. Map |
 | St. Thomas Transportation | Tips 1 - 10 of 28 |  |
Road traffic on St. Thomas (and indeed all the Virgin Islands) drives on the left instead of the right, but with lefthand drive cars.
Many visitors, especially those coming by ship, use the local taxis. Taxis in the USVI are not like the taxis most American or European cities. The most popular are vans, open air safaris vehicles (converted trucks; truck beds are customized with bench seating in an open-air covered area) and SUVs/cars such as you see lined up beside the ship.
Taxis on St. Thomas are not metered; rates are per person and per destination. As an example of how the fares work: From Havensight crossroads (near the cruise ship docks) to Charlotte Amalie would be $6 for one person and $5 EACH for two or more people. Because of this, many cabs will wait until they are full before they will leave. This makes sense for them. Why take two people for $5 each if you can take 10 people for $5 each? If you want to go before they get filled up, you will pay more.
Rules are set by the VI Taxicab Division. According to their rules: Licensed taxi vehicles are labeled with: a taxi placard or dome light on the roof, license plates that indicate Taxi status, On Duty/Off Duty sign in the window of the vehicle and a sign, usually on the fender, indicating passenger capacity. The drivers personal identification/taxi license should be on the vehicles dash board.
If you take a gypsy cab (without identification), you do so at your own risk.
The taxi that we took to Coki Beach had a rate card (third picture), but you should still ask about the rate for your party and your amount of luggage ( flat rate of $2 per bag - for items greater than 30"x20" up to $4 per item), plus waiting time (Waiting charges: $1.00 per minute. First five minutes free.) before you get into the cab.
You can also book a cab by the hour or for Sightseeing Tours: 2 hours - One passenger $50; two or more passengers $25 per person. 3 hours - One passenger $60; two or more passengers $30 per person. Leave a Comment
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For just $4 a person you can have a taxi from the Main Street of Charlotte Amelie shoping to the pier. Most taxi's carry mutliple people and look like a mini van or bus. It's an easy and cheap way to get around if you decide not to walk. Leave a Comment Theme: Other
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I always find that when exploring walking is the best way to see everything. As long as the weather isn't swealtering hot it is quite enjoyable to walk around Charlotte Amelie. We enjoyed walking along the water and in and out of side street shops. With the construction issues on the roads its actually quicker to walk than take a taxi. Leave a Comment Theme: Other
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During our cruise of the Caribbean, we were lucky enough to go to St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands.
We were on the Carnival Victory, which was a really nice cruise ship. We enjoyed the company of several other cruisers from CruiseCritic.com and enjoyed St. Thomas, although most of our time on the islands was actually spent in St. John. Leave a Comment
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Many cruise ships dock at the West Indian Ship Dock. When we were here there were three cruise ships at this dock and three others at another dock. It's a bust port of call. This dock is right by shopping and food and is a short 15 minute walk to the heart of town.
**They have free shuttle buses that take you to the mall if you don't feel like walking. It's a short 5 minute ride.** Leave a Comment Theme: Ship/Boat
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While we were their we decided to rent a car, which I personally think is the best thing you can do. Even though the island is only about 13 miles long and 3 miles wide we took our car everywhere! We rented a compact (Toyota Echo) and I would not recommend this. St Thomas is a very hilly island and the small motor of the Echo could not handle the ups and downs of the hills. There were sometimes that I actually thought we were going to start rolling backwards (although the light weight of the car did come in handy when I accidentally drove into a small ditch and my husband was able to lift the front bumper enough for me to back it out...). I would recommend getting something with a little more power. When my huband's parents went they opted not to rent a car. In the end I think between the cabs for them and the rental fees we paid it came out to be just about the same amount. Gas was pricey back in 2001 so I'm sure that it's even more now. However, we were there for a week and I only filled the tank the day we left.
We rented our car from Avis at the airport but there are tons of places to rent from. Check out the prices online before you go since often times that is the way you will get the cheapest rates!
Also, they drive on the left hand side of the road, but the wheel is on the correct side. It takes some getting used to but after a bit it becomes second nature. Theme: Car/Motor Home
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There is so much taxis on the Island that you will never wait more than 5 seconds... The rates are fixed and it is cheaper that renting a car. But careful, some taxi driver charges more than the fixed fees. Take the insland tourist magazine; they include the rates for most of the points you would go to. Leave a Comment Theme: Other
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Driving in St. Thomas is an adventure. You drive on the left side with a left-hand steering wheel. It honestly doesn't take long to adjust. The biggest adjustment for us was getting used to the steep hills, sharp curves, and narrow roads. When you hear a horn blow (which you will quite often), be alert! It usually means someone is coming up/down the hill, and they are using part of your lane. Theme: Car/Motor Home
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Beyond a doubt the best transport for a cruiseship passssenger is a taxi. Every place we went we found cabs readily available to custom-made tours of the islands, usually for less than the single-passenger charge for shore excursions. Avoid the crowded busses of shipmates - grab your own cab! Leave a Comment Theme: Car/Motor Home
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Many people come to St. Thomas by boat. Most of them come by cruise ship . Boats are Big in the VI.
If you are NOT there on a cruise ship, you might want to make a note of how many cruise ships will be in (using the website below) on each day you are there so that you can go into town on a day with less ships in port. Some days there are more than 6 ships in port (in which case some of them will be anchored). Leave a Comment
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