Adult Ages 12 to 59 • Legal USVI Resident Residents-Only Reduced Rate • Valid Photo ID Required at Terminal Check-In$6Adult Ages 12 to 59 • Non-Residents Rates$8.15Child Ages 2 to 11$1Senior Ages 60+ • Legal USVI Residents-Only Reduced Rate • Valid Photo ID Required at Terminal Check-In$1.50Infant Ages 0 to 1Free
There are two passenger ferries that go between St. Thomas and St. John, making it very easy to travel between the two islands. Indeed, many locals do it every day as part of their commute! It could be worse, right?
St. Thomas to St. John Ferry Schedule – Red Hook
Departing Red Hook, St.Thomas to Cruz Bay, St.John
6:30 am | 7:30 | 8:00 | 9:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | Noon | 1:00 | 2:00 | 3:00 | 4:00 | 5:00 | 6:00 | 7:00 | 8:00 | 9:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | Midnight
Departing Cruz Bay, St.John to Red Hook, St.Thomas
6:00 am | 7:00 | 8:00 | 9:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 | Noon | 1:00 | 2:00 | 3:00 | 4:00 | 5:00 | 6:00 | 7:00 | 8:00 | 9:00 | 10:00 | 11:00 pm
Adults: $7 one way
Children 2-11: $1 one way
Seniors: $1.50 one way
Luggage/Boxes: $4 per piece
St. Thomas to St. John Ferry Schedule – Charlotte Amalie
Departing Charlotte Amalie, St.Thomas to Cruz Bay, St.John
10:00 am | 1:00 | 5:30 pm
Departing Cruz Bay, St.John to Charlotte Amalie, St.Thomas
8:45 am | 11:15 | 3:45 pm
Adults: $13 one way
Children 2-11: $3.50 one way
Seniors: $6 one way
Luggage/Boxes: $4 per piece
Red Hook to Cruz Bay Passenger Ferry Details
The most popular, frequent and consistent ferry is the one that goes from Red Hook, on the East End of St. Thomas to Cruz Bay on the West End of St. John. This ferry has hourly routes between the islands starting at 6am and ending at midnight. With the new fancy ferries, the trip takes around 10 minutes. You can sit in the air-conditioned inside cabin where most locals go, or sit on top and enjoy the view.
They will not come back for anyone, so don’t be late! And during busy travel times like the morning and evening commute, take into account potentially long ticket lines. Fortunately, the Red Hook ferry does go every hour, and there’s a bar in the terminal, so if you do miss your ferry, all is definitely not lost.
Speaking of beverages, they are generally not allowed on the St. Thomas to St. John passenger ferries. Certainly not if your drink is without a lid. But coffees with lids have, at times, been banned from the passenger ferries, so keep this in mind when buying things to drink before hopping on the ferry.
Call for questions: 340.776.6282 and/or 340.776.6412
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Charlotte Amalie to Cruz Bay Passenger Ferry Details
The less popular, frequent and consistent passenger ferry option for travel between St. Thomas and St. John is the ferry that leaves from downtown Charlotte Amalie on St. Thomas. It arrives and departs from the same dock in Cruz Bay as the Red Hook passenger ferry. The boat ride is a little longer, depending on the ferry being operated, it will be 30 – 45 minutes.
During slow season (Aug – Nov) this ferry occasionally does not run. Sometimes it will also be pulled off for another route, so always call the day before to make sure that this ferry is running, especially, if you need to catch a flight.
If the Charlotte Amalie to Cruz Bay ferry times work well with your flight on St. Thomas, sometimes it is nicer to take this ferry because it means you can bypass the shoulder-to-shoulder, packed-in-like-sardines taxi ride from the Red Hook ferry terminal to Cyril E. King airport. The taxi ride from downtown Charlotte Amalie is much shorter.
You will fly into St. Thomas first. From there, you will most likely take a people ferry or car barge to St. John.
Some people do arrive on St. John via private resort ferry, private water taxi or helicopter. But for our purposes here, we’ll just cover transportation options for the masses.
Getting Between St. Thomas and St. John via Ferry
If your plan is to take a people ferry — either because you have rented a vehicle on St. John or because you are not renting one at all — you have two options. The easiest and most popular option is to take a taxi from the Airport to the Red Hook ferry terminal. But there is a ferry to St. John that leaves from downtown Charlotte Amalie too.
Getting a Taxi at the St. Thomas Airport
No matter which ferry you’re heading to, it is easy to get a taxi at the airport. Outside of the baggage claim area, taxi drivers are literally milling about waiting for you to ask them for a ride.
While it doesn’t seem organized, it is. Just tell the first taxi driver you see outside of baggage claim where you’re going and they’ll point you in the direction of the appropriate passenger van. (Read a little more about the St. Thomas passenger van experience here.)
If you’re not sure who the taxi drivers are, look for someone in the taxi area with a clipboard, or just someone who looks like they know what’s going on, and they’ll get you to where you need to be. We know it sounds a little haphazard, but you’ll get to the right taxi van. Trust us on this.
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Red Hook to Cruz Bay Ferry
The most consistent and frequent option is to take the hourly ferry from Red Hook to Cruz Bay. Red Hook is the name of a little area or neighborhood (not quite a town) about a 20 – 40 min drive across St. Thomas from the airport, depending on traffic.
Ferries leave Red Hook reliably at the top of the hour from 7am until midnight. The ferry ride from Red Hook is about 10 minutes and costs $7/person and $1.50/piece of luggage.
Charlotte Amalie to Cruz Bay Ferry
There is another ferry that leaves from downtown Charlotte Amalie three times a day. Most of the time.
While the Red Hook ferry only stops in the case of inclement weather, the Charlotte Amalie ferry may not be running for a variety of reasons, so it is always best to plan for the case that you might have to go all the way to Red Hook.
Even though the Charlotte Amalie to Cruz Bay ferry schedule is less consistent, many people still prefer it. It is a convenient option if the timing of your flight arrival or departure coincides with the ferry schedule because the taxi ride is shorter.
However, the boat ride is a little longer. Depending on the boat, it can be anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes. The taxi drivers at the airport will know whether or not the downtown ferry is running. You can always go to Red Hook if it’s not.
BUT on the way back to the airport from St. John, make sure to call the ferry company in the morning to make sure the Cruz Bay to Charlotte Amalie route is running so that you don’t risk missing your flight.
St. Thomas to St. John Ferry Schedules
Do these things and have fun in the VI.
Getting Between St. Thomas and St. John via Car Barge
A lot of people who visit St. John regularly prefer to rent a vehicle at the airport on St. Thomas and drive to the car barge in Red Hook (located right next door to the people ferry terminal). Not all rental companies on St. Thomas will allow you to take their vehicles to St. John. Some will allow it but will not come over and help you in the event of a flat tire or other mechanical issue.
Some visitors obey this rule. Some do not.
If you rent on St. Thomas and drive over, it often makes sense to stop and buy some groceries before getting on the barge. The last car barge from St. Thomas runs at 7pm.