Intro
Visiting USVI National Park on St. John’s is a magical experience; between the crystal blue water, the various wildlife and the beautiful jungle backdrop, there is no greater feeling than feeling the wildness of this island. However, getting there can feel stressful. When making travel plans, there are lots of things that don’t get accounted for. In my case, when it came to getting onto the car ferry to go across St. Thomas to St. John’s, there were some things that I felt would have been worth knowing before I left. My purpose is to give you some peace of mind by sharing my experience in order to feel less stress, even if only slightly.
Table of contents
How to Navigate The Car Ferry To USVI National Park
First off, you can only get to the USVI National Park from St. Thomas. In the USVI, there are three main islands (although I have heard that Water Island is the secret fourth island) of the USVI. You have St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. Johns which is where the national park is. And for anyone wondering, you can’t take a flight directly to St. John’s. You have to fly to either St. Thomas or St. Croix and then take a ferry from there. Flying into St. Croix will take some extra work because there is no direct line from St. Croix to St. Johns. You’ll be going from St. Croix to St. Thomas to St. Johns. I promise the national park is worth the hassle though!
Whereas flying into St. Thomas is a tad bit easier because you don’t need to worry about the hassle of scheduling another ferry ride. The Virgin Islands Port Authority actually has a great page that lists the companies that will take you to St. Johns. There are even passenger ferries that will take you to St. Johns as well if you’d rather wait till you get to St. Johns to rent your car. You can find all the information you need on picking a ferry service to St. Johns here.
Now I want to share with you three things I think you should know in order to help prepare you for when you take the ferry over to St. Johns.
1. Plan to Arrive Early
This is a piece of advice that applies to many things when it comes to traveling and getting to the car ferry is no exception. You never know when you might miss a turn on your way there or something will come up last minute that you have to do before you get to the ferry. We arrived 30-35 minutes early and it was necessary because a lot of time got taken up by the employees directing us where to go. Then before we knew it, the ferry was getting ready to take off! The line of cars waiting to board also got really long towards the end. Luckily for myself and my friend group, we just got to sit and watch instead of nervously waiting to see if there would be room for us to join. So getting there early, like the Port Authority advises, certainly pays off.
2. You Board the Ferry in Reverse
Hopefully you get a rental car with a backup camera or you’ve got some savvy backing up skills because when you’re boarding the ferry, you will have to drive onto the ferry in reverse. I feel it’s important to mention this because while some people think this is absolutely no big deal at all (like my 64 year old dad who has been a truck driver all his life), some people like my poor friend who was driving us there, didn’t have much experience! I felt bad because he not only lacked experience with backing up a car, he also had no experience using a backup camera. So the employees were kinda snippy with him being too close to parts of the boat and with him backing up crooked. So just be prepared to board the ferry in reverse and practice if you need before getting there.
3. The Car Ferry Location Doesn’t Appear on Google Maps
If you’ve read my article about St. Thomas beaches, then you already know that the USVI does not have a standardized address system. Because of this, using your GPS won’t always be accurate. The night before we left, I was prepping for our day in the national park by trying to locate the ferry; I couldn’t find it. I tried googling the company; it didn’t come up. I also tried looking up the address for the port that was on the company’s website; it didn’t come up. So before you leave, make sure to pin the location on Google Maps. I matched up the map on the company website to Google Maps and it worked just fine. But this is something you definitely don’t want to do last minute, especially because you may struggle with phone service outside of your lodging. And when in doubt, the ferry is located directly across the street from the East End Plaza:
- The name of the company I used was Love City Car Ferries
- If using this company: go on their website, click on “Find The Docks” and it will give you their pin on where the terminal is. Then you’ll want to pull out your phone, find the exact spot so that your Google Maps on your phone matches what you see on their website and pin it.
- When you’re on St. John’s coming back, the address to that terminal comes up so there is no need to manually pin it although you are welcome to just in case.
Conclusion
By now, you should have a better idea of what you need to prepare for in order to make the car ferry journey and to enjoy the USVI National Park. If you’re flying into St. Croix, you will have some extra work to do but it will still be a great adventure. If you’re flying into St. Thomas then you will only have to worry about getting to St. Johns and back. Regardless, remember to enjoy the island time and breath in the beautiful Caribbean air!
