---
title: "Driving in St. Thomas and St. John, US Virgin Islands · Virgin Islands Villas"
url: https://virginislandvilla.com/usvi/driving-in-st-thomas-and-st-john
description: "Driving in St. Thomas, USVI, and St. John: keeping left, measured drive times, Jeep or sedan, taxis, park parking and what the rental desk asks for, Oct 2026."
updated: 2026-10-10
source: https://virginislandvilla.com/usvi/driving-in-st-thomas-and-st-john
---

[US Virgin Islands](https://virginislandvilla.com/usvi) · Getting around

# Driving in St. Thomas and St. John, US Virgin Islands

Written by Virgin Islands Villas · Updated Oct 10, 2026 · Draft seeded from the editorial map; body not yet written · [How this was checked](https://virginislandvilla.com/editorial-policy)

Driving in St. Thomas, USVI, means keeping left on hill roads slower than the map suggests: Cyril E. King Airport to the Red Hook ferry is 36 minutes by our measurement. On both St. Thomas and St. John we recommend a car almost wherever you stay. Below: the rules, drive times, Jeep or sedan, taxis and parking.

At a glance · checked Oct 9, 2026

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| Side of the road | Left Per the CDC's page for travelers, reviewed August 25, 2026, and the National Park Service's safety page for St. John. |
| Car | Recommended almost wherever you stay Our measurement of every listed area, September 2026: all 23 on St. Thomas and 20 of 21 on St. John came out car required or recommended. |
| Steep areas | 13 of 21 on St. John, 13 of 23 on St. Thomas Measured from elevation around each area's center, September 2026. |
| Airport to Red Hook | 36 min drive Cyril E. King Airport to the ferry terminal, measured 2026-09-16 without traffic. |
| Cruz Bay to Trunk Bay | 13 min drive Measured 2026-09-16 without traffic. |
| Taxi fares | Per person, by destination The Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission's tariff: the St. Thomas airport to Red Hook $23 for one rider, $17 each for two or more; Cruz Bay to Trunk Bay $12, or $9 each (checked 2026-10-09). |
| Renting | Age 25, valid license, credit card Discount Car Rental's terms, read 2026-10-09; 23 to 25 with full personal coverage and a daily surcharge. Other companies set their own. |
| Parking on St. John | Very limited Fines and towing outside designated areas, per the National Park Service, page updated December 10, 2024. |

## Is a car worth it on both islands?

Yes, almost everywhere. In September 2026 we measured every neighborhood we list: the drive to town, the ferry and the nearest beach, and how steep the ground is. On St. Thomas all 23 came out car required or recommended; the four rated recommended (Charlotte Amalie, Frenchtown, Red Hook and Nazareth) sit near town or the ferry but a drive from most beaches. On St. John 19 of 21 measured car required. Only the few streets beside the Cruz Bay ferry dock put town, the boat and a beach inside a walk.

Distance does more of the work than terrain. From Cruz Bay, Trunk Bay is 13 minutes by car and Salt Pond Bay 41; the far East End of St. John is 44 minutes from the ferry. A taxi covers each trip, but a week of beaches from a hillside house is a week of calls, waits and fares: two people from Cruz Bay to Trunk Bay and back pay $36 a day.

## Keeping left, and what the authorities advise

Traffic in the US Virgin Islands keeps to the left, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), whose page for travelers, reviewed in August 2026, tells you to look right for approaching traffic. The National Park Service's safety page for the Virgin Islands National Park puts the same rule in capital letters.

Seat belts are the law. The Virgin Islands Police Department enforces restraints for infants, children and adults under Title 20, section 466 of the Virgin Islands Code, and in 2026 it ran Click It or Ticket enforcement from April 19 to September 26 on the main roads of both islands. The CDC also advises no phone or text while driving, and no night driving where street lighting is poor.

No territorial page we could open states the speed limits or the rule for a visitor's license, so this page prints neither.

## How long the drives take, measured

Slower than the distance suggests, on both islands. The airport to Red Hook is 36 minutes for under 11 miles, around 18 miles an hour from one end of St. Thomas to the other, and the hill roads of St. John keep the same pace.

| From | To | By car |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Cyril E. King Airport | Crown Bay | 8 min |
| Cyril E. King Airport | Charlotte Amalie waterfront | 12 min |
| Cyril E. King Airport | Red Hook ferry | 36 min |
| Charlotte Amalie | Magens Bay | 14 min |
| Charlotte Amalie | Red Hook ferry | 28 min |
| Red Hook | Sapphire Beach | 4 min |
| Cruz Bay | Trunk Bay | 13 min |
| Cruz Bay | Maho Bay | 18 min |
| Cruz Bay ferry | Coral Bay | 28 min |
| Cruz Bay | Salt Pond Bay | 41 min |
| Cruz Bay | Lameshur Bay | 45 min |

Measured by us on the island road network in September and October 2026, without traffic. Read it for the ferry: the East End of St. Thomas is minutes from Red Hook, Charlotte Amalie half an hour.

## Jeep or sedan on the hill roads

A sedan handles the main roads; the driveway decides the rest. Of the areas we measured, 13 of 21 on St. John and 13 of 23 on St. Thomas came out steep, which in practice means low gear on the climb and a last stretch to the house that can defeat a small car in the rain.

The National Park Service says bicycles are not recommended on St. John because the roads are steep, narrow and winding, and it lists potentially dangerous roads among the park's hazards on its safety page (last updated September 2022).

Ask the owner what the guests before you drove and whether the driveway takes a sedan. It is the one question about a house that the photographs cannot answer.

## Renting on St. Thomas or on St. John

There is no bridge and no airport on St. John, so a car reaches it on the car barge from Red Hook, or you cross on the passenger ferry and rent in Cruz Bay. The barge and the ferry each have their own fares and timetables, which change by season and are not repeated here.

Whether a rental from St. Thomas may cross on the barge is the rental company's rule, not the barge's. Discount Car Rental, for one, says on its site as of October 2026 that any of its four-wheel or all-wheel drive vehicles can be taken to St. John, and lists no extra fees. Ask your company before you book and have the answer written into the agreement.

## Where a taxi works instead

A taxi works for the airport, the ferry and dinner in town. At Cyril E. King Airport only the multi-destination vans serve the terminal, carrying 8 to 12 passengers, and the rates are set by the Virgin Islands Taxicab Commission and approved by the Legislature, per the Virgin Islands Port Authority as of October 2026. Each rider pays: on the tariff in force since October 2022, the airport to Charlotte Amalie is $11 for one rider or $9 each for two or more. The Port Authority advises confirming the rate before you get in.

In Cruz Bay, taxis wait at the ferry terminal, and the National Park Service advises booking the return pick-up whenever a taxi drops you at a beach. On a taxi, the day runs to the driver's schedule.

## Parking at the park beaches on St. John

Parking, not the road, is the constraint on St. John. The National Park Service says vehicle parking across the island and the park is very limited, that a car left outside designated areas will be fined and towed, and that you should get to the beach or trailhead early (Getting around page, updated December 2024). Its 2026 compendium closes the administrative roads between Trunk Bay and Cinnamon Bay to public cars, noting there is no designated parking beyond the Trunk Bay lot. Its safety page adds that valuables have been stolen from several vehicles in the park, so leave nothing in the car.

## What the rental desk asks for

A valid driver's license, a major credit card in the same name, and an age of 25, on Discount Car Rental's terms as of October 2026. Drivers aged 23 to 25 need full coverage on their own insurance and pay a daily surcharge. That company sells no insurance and accepts your personal auto policy with full coverage, so check before you fly that your policy covers a rental car in the territory. The companies at Cyril E. King Airport, per the Virgin Islands Port Authority, are Avis, Budget, Hertz and Enterprise, each with its own terms.

Reserve the car when you reserve the house, and ask the owner about the driveway in the same note.

## Questions people ask

**Do you need a car in St. Thomas?**

For most stays, yes. We measured every area we list on St. Thomas in September 2026 and all 23 came out car required or car recommended. Taxi vans serve the airport and town, $11 from the airport to Charlotte Amalie for one rider, but beaches and dinners from a hillside house add up to a car's worth of trips.

**Does St. Thomas drive on the left?**

Yes. Traffic in the US Virgin Islands keeps to the left on St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix, per the CDC, which tells visitors to look right for oncoming traffic. Seat belts are required under Title 20, section 466 of the Virgin Islands Code, which the Virgin Islands Police Department enforces, and the CDC advises no phone while driving and avoiding night drives where the street lighting is poor.

**Do you need a car in St. John?**

Almost everywhere. Of the 21 St. John areas we measured in September 2026, 19 came out car required; only the streets beside the Cruz Bay ferry dock let you walk to town, the boat and a beach. Trunk Bay is 13 minutes from Cruz Bay by car and Salt Pond Bay 41.

**Do you need a Jeep in St. John?**

Not for the main roads; the driveway decides. 13 of the 21 St. John areas we measured are steep, which means low gear and a last climb that can beat a small car in the rain. Ask the owner whether the driveway takes a sedan, and ask the rental company whether its car may cross on the barge.

Facts checked against [the CDC](https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/usvirgin-islands), [the National Park Service](https://www.nps.gov/viis/planyourvisit/gettingaround.htm), [the Virgin Islands Port Authority](https://www.viport.com/airport-parking-groundtransport), [the Virgin Islands Police Department](https://vipd.vi.gov/news/vi-motorists-warned-click-it-or-ticket-2/) and [Discount Car Rental](https://www.discountcar.vi/). Checked October 2026.

Related guides

- [US Virgin Islands bachelorette party](https://virginislandvilla.com/usvi/bachelorette-groups-virgin-islands)

- [What to wear in St. Thomas and St. John, and what to pack](https://virginislandvilla.com/usvi/what-to-pack-virgin-islands)

- [All of US Virgin Islands](https://virginislandvilla.com/usvi)

Own a house in the Virgin Islands?

## The guest writes to you.

List your house once, for one flat fee a year. Guests find it here and their note lands in your inbox with dates and party size. You reply, you set the price, you take the booking.

[Start your listing](https://virginislandvilla.com/list-your-villa)