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Thinking of renting a mid-size auto in STT for a week at Maho. We are 4 with luggage, so the small jeeps are not adequate, and the larger jeeps are a little too pricey. We don't really plan on doing much adventuresome exploration. Mostly back and forth from Maho to town, and a couple days sightseeing STT.
Rental agent says lots of people take the cars to STJ with no problem, but everyone seems to be talking jeep.
Can we get around OK without a jeep?
Given the description of the driving you'll be doing I think you'll be fine with a mid-size auto. Have a wonderful trip and remember to keep left!
We actually had 5 adults and a Ford Taurus from Budget a couple years ago. Biggest problem was fitting all the luggage to/from airport and hotel. The rest of the trip was a "breeze". A couple roads in STJ can be a little scary (once you get past Trunk Bay going toward Cinnamom and beyond to Leinester) and we've not done the south beaches in a car, just a Jeep, but as long as you're going to the main beach areas, you should be just fine. Just watch it after a rain because the STJ hills can get slick. Car ferry in a mid-size car is easy - don't worry.
Good Luck - Have Fun!
I agree with the others. The only problem you will have with a car is if you get caught on some of the bigger hills in the rain. Then you could lose traction. If conditions are dry, you will have no problem. If you do get caught in the rain, it does not seem to last long and things seem to dry pretty quickly.
Joe
I have stayed at Maho camp with a small car. You have to be patient and drive slowly, but it can be done. The road up to Maho is a bit treacherous and can only accommodate one car at a time....so the problem arises if someone is coming down while you are going up...or vice versa. A jeep is better. But, if you really need to economize, a car is possible. Just plan on going very slowly up and down the road to Maho.....and doing that road at night is much harder.
Was at Maho 2 weeks ago with a "small SUV" from Avis (Jeep Compass). Holds 5 people (barely), and we had quite the challenge for space with luggage plus a grocery stop on the way to Maho (after that, fine). Agree with those above that this worked out fine, but I was a bit nervous when the rains came - a couple of hills between Trunk and Maho are pretty serious - you turn and it seems like you are going straight up! With dry roads and reasonable speed, it was fine. Car ferry and "wrong side" driving = not a problem.
We just got back from STJ and we rented a Jeep Liberty it was very comfortable for 4 people and luggage and I would have been scared to death to not have the 4wd as it rained a couple of times and the roads were very slick. Even when it didnt rain my husband had to put it into 4wd many times going up the really steep hills. He was grateful because he went exploring and went on a road he thought was supposed to be paved-oops. We used to go 4 wheeling all the time so he's not timid about it but he too felt 4wd was the way to go. We did see a few 2wd cars on the island though.
We rented 2 jeeps. One for the 20 somethings (5) and another for us (4-50 somethings). None of us are big people, but we had a really hard time getting out of the jeep wrangler. Kind of tight. Craig our friend would always help me get out, but the first time i had to get out of the jeep, i lost my balance, hit my outer thigh on the little thing that the door closes on and ended up with a bruise the size of a basketball.
Jeeps are fun and great on the roads, but not very practical if there's more then 2 people.
