Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
CAR
St Croix has several car-rental agencies, but none of them seem to have many cars. Book
ahead for a vehicle if you can. Rentals cost about $55 per day. Many companies, including
those listed, will pick you up at the airport or seaplane dock. As in all the Virgins, you drive
on the left. Roads on the island's west side, in the rainforest, are particularly rough.
Budget( 340-778-9636;
www.budgetstcroix.com
)
Centerline Car Rentals( 340-778-0450, 888-288-8755;
www.ccrvi.com
)
Hertz( 340-778-1402;
www.rentacarstcroix.com
)
Olympic( 340-773-8000, 888-878-4227;
www.olympicstcroix.com
)
TAXI
Taxis are unmetered, but rates are set by territorial law. Prices are listed in the readily avail-
able free tourist guide
St Croix This Week
. The fare for one person from the airport to
Christiansted is $16, to Frederiksted it is $12. The following taxi services get good marks
from islanders:
St Croix Taxi Association( 340-778-1088)
Frederiksted Taxi Service( 340-772-4775)
Cruzan Taxi Association( 340-773-6388)
Christiansted
Christiansted is not only the island's major town but also a traveler's delight. For decades,
its greatest appeal lay in its six-block historic district, which includes well over 100 resid-
ential, commercial and government buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries of Danish
colonial rule. Here, the well-preserved fortress, flanked by gold, pink and brown West In-
dies neoclassical buildings, evokes the days when Christiansted was the capital of the Dan-
ish Virgin Islands and St Croix plantocracy society was awash with gold. The district abuts
Kings Wharf, the commercial landing where, for more than 250 years, ships landed with
slaves and set off with sugar or molasses.
Today the wharf is fronted by a boardwalk of restaurants, dive shops and a brewpub,
with art galleries, wine bars and courtyard bistros tucked into the narrow lanes leading in-
land. It all comes together as a well-provisioned base from which to explore the island. The
main arteries are King St (eastbound) and Company St (westbound).
