Airfare to St. John means a flight to St. Thomas
Airfare to St. John, US Virgin Islands, is airfare to St. Thomas: St. John has no airport, so every trip lands at Cyril E. King Airport and finishes by taxi and boat. Below: each route from the airport timed door to door, the landing time that still makes the last ferry, and the drive from the Cruz Bay dock to the villa. From the airport, the usual route measures 56 minutes to the St. John dock, before the wait for the boat.
Written by Virgin Islands Villas · Facts checked Oct 2026
How to get to St. John from St. Thomas
The usual way: a taxi to the Red Hook ferry terminal (36 min), then the ferry to Cruz Bay (20 min, $8.15 a person). About 56 minutes from Cyril E. King airport to St. John, more on cruise-ship days. Six other ways across are below, with times and fares.
The boat if you are stepping off a cruise ship or staying downtown: it leaves from the waterfront terminal, twice a day each way.
- Ferry, Charlotte Amalie to Cruz Bay45 min
Plus $4 a bag; $3.50 child; $6 for residents 60 and over with the elderly IDTwo a day each way: 8:45 and 11:15 am from Cruz Bay, 10 am and 12:30 pm from Charlotte Amalie (Transportation Services of St. John)Varlack Ventures lists its own Charlotte Amalie run as suspended for the off-season, as of October 2026; check its page before you plan on that boatNo reservationTimes (Transportation Services of St. John and Varlack Ventures)
45 min$13 a person$12 resident
The closest boat to the airport and the fastest door to dock, but two sailings a day, four Friday to Sunday. It lands at Cruz Bay Creek, not the main ferry dock.
- Taxi to Crown Bay Marina8 min
- Boat to Cruz Bay Creek35 min
Boat only; $15 senior, $10 child 3 to 11. The taxi to Crown Bay is $8 for one rider, $6 each for two or more.3:30 and 5:30 pm daily; 9:45 am and 2:15 pm Friday to SundayCheck in 30 minutes before departureTimes (Inter Island Boat Services)
43 min$20 a personThe route most guests take. The taxi is the long part; allow extra on cruise-ship days and at school-run time.
- Taxi to the Red Hook ferry terminal36 min
- Ferry to Cruz Bay20 min
Ferry only, plus $4 a bag. The taxi to Red Hook is $23 for one rider, $17 each for two or more.Ferry hourly, 5:30 am to 10 pmNo reservationTimes (VITRAN, run by Transportation Services and Varlack Ventures)
56 min$8.15 a person$6 residentRarely the best choice from the airport: the terminal is closer than Red Hook, but the crossing is twice as long and only two boats a day leave Charlotte Amalie.
- Taxi to the Charlotte Amalie ferry terminal12 min
- Ferry to Cruz Bay45 min
Ferry only, plus $4 a bag. The taxi to the terminal is $11 for one rider, $9 each for two or more.Two a day from Charlotte Amalie, 10 am and 12:30 pm (Transportation Services of St. John)Varlack Ventures' Charlotte Amalie run was suspended for the off-season in October 2026; it usually sails again from about November, so check its page firstTimes (Transportation Services of St. John and Varlack Ventures)
57 min$13 a person$12 residentYour own boat on your own schedule, any hour with notice. Priced by the boat, from $695, so it makes sense for a full house arriving together. The operator does not publish the crossing time, so no total is shown.
- Taxi to Crown Bay Marina8 min
- Water taxi to Cruz Bay
The boat, not the seat; the operator quotes from $695 from Crown Bay and from $495 from Compass Point Marina. The land taxi to Crown Bay is $8 for one rider, $6 each for two or more.By reservation; 24-hour service with notice
from $695 a boat
- FerryThe Red Hook ferry
The default way over: hourly until 10 pm, no booking, and it lands at the main dock in the middle of Cruz Bay.
- Ferry, Red Hook to Cruz Bay20 min
Plus $4 a bag. Varlack adds a fuel surcharge from June 12, 2026.Hourly, 5:30 am to 10 pm from Red Hook, 6 am to 10 pm from Cruz Bay; an off-season timetable runs from late July, usually to the end of October, so check the operator's current scheduleNo reservation; buy at the windowTimes (VITRAN, run by Transportation Services and Varlack Ventures)
20 min$8.15 a person$6 resident - Car bargeThe car barge
Only with your own car, or a rental whose company allows the crossing: National and Discount Car Rental say theirs may go (their own pages, 2026-10-09), so ask yours first. Most people rent on St. John. The crossing time is not published, so no total is shown.
- Car barge to the Theovald Moorehead terminal at Enighed Pond
Times (Big Red Barge, Love City Car Ferries and Global Marine)
$65 a car one way, $80 round trip, on the Big Red Barge and Love City Car Ferries rates pages (checked 2026-10-09). Each company sells its own tickets.
Fares change; the operator's page has today's. Road legs measured on island roads. Taxi fares are the Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission's tariff, in force since October 2022: per person, less each for two or more traveling together, plus $3 a bag. Checked 2026-10-09.
Is there an airport on St. John?
No. The Virgin Islands Port Authority runs the territory's two airports, Cyril E. King Airport (STT) on St. Thomas and Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix, and St. John has none. When you search flights to St. John, search for Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas.
So the airfare is only part of the trip. The taxi, the boat and the drive follow with their minutes; the boat fares are on our St. John ferry page.
How long from the airport to St. John, route by route
56 minutes by the usual route, a taxi to Red Hook and the ferry, and 43 by the fastest, a taxi to Crown Bay and the Inter Island boat. Each total adds our measured road leg to the operator's stated crossing, without the wait for a boat, which is what decides the day.
| Route | Legs | Total | Taxi, one rider / each of 2 or more |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taxi to Crown Bay Marina, boat to Cruz Bay Creek | 8 min taxi, 35 min boat | 43 min | $8 / $6 |
| Taxi to Red Hook, ferry to Cruz Bay | 36 min taxi, 20 min ferry | 56 min | $23 / $17 |
| Taxi to Charlotte Amalie, ferry to Cruz Bay | 12 min taxi, 45 min ferry | 57 min | $11 / $9 |
| Taxi to Crown Bay Marina, private water taxi | 8 min taxi, crossing not published | not published | $8 / $6 |
| Drive to Red Hook, car barge to Enighed Pond | 36 min drive, crossing not published | not published | your own car |
Road legs measured on island roads on September 16, 2026. Crossings as stated by the Department of Public Works, Inter Island Boat Services and Transportation Services of St. John, checked October 9, 2026. Taxi fares are per person on the Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission's tariff in force since October 2022, plus $3 a bag; the boat fares are extra.
The Red Hook ferry wins on frequency, not speed: a boat every hour on the hour, per the Department of Public Works. The Crown Bay boat sails at fixed times, and missing one costs far more than the 13 minutes it saves.
Which boat to take after you land
Take the Red Hook ferry unless your landing lines up with a Crown Bay sailing. It needs no booking and lands at the main dock in the middle of Cruz Bay.
The Crown Bay boat suits an afternoon arrival. Inter Island Boat Services lists sailings at 3:30 and 5:30 pm every day, with 9:45 am and 2:15 pm added on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, at $20 an adult as of October 2026, and asks you to check in 30 minutes before departure. It lands at Cruz Bay Creek, an 8-minute walk from the main ferry dock.
The Charlotte Amalie boat is closer by road but more than twice as long on the water, and sails twice a day per Transportation Services of St. John as of October 2026: a cruise passenger's boat more than a flyer's.
A private water taxi suits a full house arriving together, or a flight too late for any ferry. St. Thomas Water Taxi quotes from $695 a boat from Crown Bay Marina and from $495 from Compass Point Marina, at any hour with notice, as of October 2026. The price is for the boat, so it divides well among eight and badly between two.
What time does your flight need to land?
Early enough for a 10 pm boat from Red Hook, the last departure each way on the Department of Public Works list. The Transportation Services of St. John off-season timetable runs later, but it rotates every two weeks, usually lasts only until the end of October, and is not one to plan a night around. Our ferry guide allows 90 minutes from the airport door to the boat, so a 10 pm ferry wants you out of the terminal by 8:30.
For the Crown Bay boat the arithmetic is tighter. The 5:30 pm sailing, the 30-minute check-in and the 8-minute taxi put you at the curb by about 4:50.
The tradeoff: a flight that lands after dark and misses both leaves a private water taxi or a night on St. Thomas. The first Red Hook boat the next morning is 5:30 am on weekdays, per the Department of Public Works.
From the Cruz Bay dock to the villa
Every boat lands in or beside Cruz Bay, and the drive from the dock to the house is the leg most plans leave out: 9 minutes to Chocolate Hole, 28 to Coral Bay.
| Area | Drive from the Cruz Bay ferry dock | Taxi, one rider | Taxi, each of 2 or more |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cruz Bay | in town | $8 to Gallows Point | $6 |
| Chocolate Hole | 9 min | $11 | $9 |
| Great Cruz Bay | 14 min | $9 | $8 |
| Coral Bay | 28 min | $25 | $15 |
| East End | 41 min | $38 | $23 to $25 |
Measured on island roads on September 15, 2026, from the center of each area; fares from Cruz Bay on the same tariff.
Add that to the table above and a Coral Bay house is 84 minutes from the airport curb by the usual route, before any wait, and $40.15 each in taxis and the ferry for a party of two or more, before bags. If you bring a car on the barge, it lands at Enighed Pond, a 9-minute walk from the passenger dock. Book the flight first, then check its landing time against the last boat.
- How do you get to St. John, Virgin Islands?
- Fly into Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas, take a taxi to Red Hook, and ride the ferry to Cruz Bay. The taxi measures 36 minutes and the crossing is about 20 per the Department of Public Works, so the travel time is 56 minutes. The wait is extra, though the boat leaves every hour on the hour.
- Are there flights to St. John?
- No flight lands on St. John, because the island has no airport. Flights to St. John are flights to Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas, which the Virgin Islands Port Authority runs alongside Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix. From that airport, the fastest scheduled way across measures 43 minutes, by taxi to Crown Bay and the Inter Island boat.
- What is the closest airport to St. John USVI?
- Cyril E. King Airport on St. Thomas. It is 8 minutes by road from Crown Bay Marina and 36 minutes from the Red Hook ferry terminal, both measured on island roads. St. John is a boat ride from either dock, so it is the airport to search whatever the booking site calls it.
- How to get to St. John, USVI, after a late flight?
- Make the last ferry from Red Hook, which the Department of Public Works lists at 10 pm, or book a private boat. St. Thomas Water Taxi runs at any hour with notice, from $695 a boat from Crown Bay Marina as of October 2026. Otherwise it is a night on St. Thomas and the 5:30 am weekday boat.
- Car ferry from St. Thomas to St. John
- How to get around St. John
- St. John map
- St. John resorts or a villa?
- St. John weather by month
- St. Thomas to St. John ferry
Facts checked against the Virgin Islands Port Authority, the Department of Public Works, Transportation Services of St. John, Inter Island Boat Services and St. Thomas Water Taxi. Checked October 2026.