--- title: "St. Thomas Airport (STT): Taxis, Car Rental, Drive Times · Virgin Islands Villas" url: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/airport description: "St. Thomas airport is Cyril E. King (STT): measured drive times to Red Hook and town, how shared taxis work, car rental, parking and the nightly runway closure." updated: 2026-10-10 source: https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/airport --- [St. Thomas](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas) · Getting there # St. Thomas airport St. Thomas airport is Cyril E. King Airport, code STT, run by the Virgin Islands Port Authority two miles west of Charlotte Amalie: 12 minutes by car from the town's ferry terminal and 36 from the Red Hook ferry to St. John. Below: where you can go from the terminal in measured minutes, how the shared taxis and rental cars work, the nightly runway closure, parking, and customs on the way home. Written by Virgin Islands Villas · Facts checked Oct 2026 ## Where you can go from the airport, in minutes Everything here is a drive, and the drive is longer than the map suggests: Red Hook is 13 km from the terminal in a straight line and 17 km by road, through Charlotte Amalie. | Destination | Minutes by road | Taxi, one rider | Taxi, each of 2 or more | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Crown Bay Marina | 8 | $8 | $6 | | Brewers Bay beach | 8 | $8 | $8 | | Frenchtown | 12 | $11 | $9 | | Charlotte Amalie ferry terminal | 12 | $11 | $9 | | Magens Bay | 27 | $18 | $15 | | Red Hook ferry terminal | 36 | $23 | $17 | | East End | 47 | $23 to $27 | $17 to $18 | | Cruz Bay, St. John, by Red Hook and the passenger ferry | 36, then 20 on the water | $23 to Red Hook | $17 to Red Hook | Minutes by car, measured by us in September and October 2026; Frenchtown, Magens Bay and the East End to the center of each area. Fares per person on the Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission's tariff in force since October 2022; Brewers Bay is priced as the University of the Virgin Islands beside it, the nearest place the tariff lists, and the East End runs from Sapphire and Red Hook to the Ritz-Carlton and Secret Harbour. Add time on cruise-ship days. The tradeoff: a house on the East End is close to an hour from the terminal, on the first day and the last. ## How the taxis work at Cyril E. King Airport Airport taxis are shared vans that carry 8 to 12 passengers, and only those multi-destination vans serve the airport, per the Virgin Islands Port Authority. A van drops each party in turn, so expect longer than the 36 minutes measured to Red Hook. Fares are set by the Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission and approved by the Legislature, and each passenger pays: the table above gives the shared fare to each stop. Bags are $3 each, every rider pays $3 more between midnight and 6 am, and a van to yourselves is the tariff's exclusive fare, $135 to Red Hook for one to four people. A licensed taxi has a dome light and a plate that begins TP, and the Port Authority warns that an unmarked car may charge a different rate. If something goes wrong, note the plate and call the Commission on 340-693-4211. ## Renting a car at St. Thomas airport The Virgin Islands Port Authority lists four rental companies for the airport as of October 2026: Avis, Budget, Hertz and Enterprise. Companies based elsewhere must register each airport pickup with the Port Authority. A car makes sense for a house on St. Thomas, most of all on the East End, 47 minutes out. For St. John it rarely does: a rental crosses on the Red Hook car barge only if the rental company allows it, and the easier pattern is to cross on foot and rent in Cruz Bay. ## Parking at the airport, and what it costs Parking is free for 15 minutes, $4 for the first hour and $20 at most for 5 to 24 hours, per the Virgin Islands Port Authority as of October 2026. Pay the cashier on site; American Express, Discover and Capital One are not taken. The three-level structure named for Dale A. Gregory opened in 2025. A car left more than 30 days may be impounded, so the lot suits a short hop off the island, not a season away. ## Getting to St. John from the airport Taxi to Red Hook, 36 minutes, then the passenger ferry to Cruz Bay, 20 minutes on the water. The St. John ferry guide has the fares and the first and last boats; the rule to carry from it is time. Allow 90 minutes from the terminal door to the boat, two hours on a cruise-ship day. The shorter taxi is to Crown Bay Marina, 8 minutes away, where Inter Island Boat Services runs to Cruz Bay three times a day on the Virgin Islands Port Authority's schedule as of October 2026. It saves the drive and ties you to one of three departures. ## Late flights and the nightly runway closure The runway at Cyril E. King Airport has closed every night from 10 pm to 5 am since December 1, 2025, for pavement work and resurfacing, per the Virgin Islands Port Authority as of October 2026. No scheduled flight lands in those hours while the work goes on; check the Authority's notices for when it ends before you book a late arrival. The tradeoff for a St. John stay: the latest arrivals land close to the last ferry from Red Hook, which the ferry guide says to plan around 10 pm, and a delay of an hour can mean a night on St. Thomas. Set the arrival time against the ferry guide before you book the flight. ## Flying home: customs, ID and duty-free A flight to the mainland is domestic, so a US citizen needs no passport: per US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a citizen traveling directly from a US territory has not left the country. You are still subject to customs and agriculture rules on the way out, and CBP officers may check bags or ask questions before you board, per US Customs and Border Protection. At TSA, everyone 18 and over needs a REAL ID license or a passport, and a traveler who is not a US citizen needs a valid passport, per the Port Authority. The allowance home is $1,600 of duty-free goods a person, with five liters of alcohol for anyone 21 or over, at least one of them made in the territory, per CBP as of October 2026. Counters, TSA and Customs can shut before the terminal's 11 pm, so the airline's check-in time is the one to keep. Questions people ask **What airport is STT, and where is it?** The code STT, for St. Thomas, belongs to Cyril E. King Airport, run by the Virgin Islands Port Authority at Lindbergh Bay, two miles west of Charlotte Amalie. St. John has no airport, so visitors to both islands land here. The terminal is open 6 am to 11 pm daily as of October 2026. **How far is Red Hook from St. Thomas airport?** 36 minutes by car to the Red Hook ferry terminal, 17 km by road, measured in September 2026 on an ordinary drive. A shared van drops other parties on the way, so the ride is usually longer. Allow 90 minutes from the terminal door to a St. John ferry. **How do I get to St. John from St. Thomas airport?** Take a taxi to Red Hook, 36 minutes, then the passenger ferry to Cruz Bay, 20 minutes on the water. Or take the 8-minute taxi to Crown Bay Marina for the Inter Island Boat Services boat, three sailings a day per the Virgin Islands Port Authority as of October 2026. **How much is a taxi from St. Thomas airport?** It is charged per person, by destination, on the Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission's tariff. One rider pays $11 to Charlotte Amalie, $18 to Magens Bay and $23 to the Red Hook ferry; two or more pay $9, $15 and $17 each, and each bag is $3. Licensed taxis carry a dome light and a TP plate; an unmarked car, the Port Authority warns, may charge a different rate. **Do I need a passport to fly home from St. Thomas?** Not if you are a US citizen flying to the mainland: per US Customs and Border Protection, a citizen traveling directly from a US territory has not left the country. You are still subject to customs and agriculture rules, and CBP officers may check bags or ask questions before you board. TSA asks anyone 18 or over for a REAL ID license or a passport. At a glance · checked Oct 2026 **Airport** Cyril E. King Airport (STT) Run by the Virgin Islands Port Authority at Lindbergh Bay, two miles west of Charlotte Amalie (checked 2026-10-09). **Terminal hours** 6 am to 11 pm daily Airline counters, TSA and US Customs may close earlier, per the Virgin Islands Port Authority (checked 2026-10-09). **Runway at night** Closed 10 pm to 5 am Nightly since December 1, 2025, for pavement work and resurfacing (Virgin Islands Port Authority, checked 2026-10-09). Check the Port Authority's notices for when it ends. **To Red Hook ferry** 36 minutes by car Measured on the island's roads, 2026-09-16. Longer on cruise-ship days and at school-run time. **To Charlotte Amalie ferry terminal** 12 minutes by car Measured on the island's roads, 2026-09-16. **Taxis** Shared vans, per-person fares by destination The Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission's tariff: $11 to Charlotte Amalie and $23 to Red Hook for one rider, $9 and $17 each for two or more, plus $3 a bag (checked 2026-10-09). **Rental cars** Avis, Budget, Hertz, Enterprise The four companies the Virgin Islands Port Authority lists for the airport (checked 2026-10-09). **Parking** $20 for 5 to 24 hours Free for 15 minutes, $4 to an hour, per the Virgin Islands Port Authority (checked 2026-10-09). No American Express, Discover or Capital One. More on St. Thomas - [St. Thomas all-inclusive resorts, or a villa?](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/all-inclusive-vs-villa) - [St. Thomas cruise port](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/cruise-port) - [St. Thomas map](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/map) - [St. Thomas weather by month](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/weather) - [Things to do in St. Thomas](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/things-to-do) - [Flights to St. Thomas](https://virginislandvilla.com/st-thomas/flights) Facts checked against [the Virgin Islands Port Authority](https://www.viport.com/airport-parking-groundtransport) and [US Customs and Border Protection](https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/western-hemisphere-travel-initiative/faqs). Checked October 2026.