What's it like driving on St. John, USVI?

Рет қаралды 9,581

3 жыл бұрын

Take a ride with me on St. John in the US Virgin Islands.
Quick correction on the video: St. John is a US Territory, not a State Territory.
Music by bensound.com

Пікірлер: 64

@annreynolds6413 3 жыл бұрын

Nice video. I’ve been trying for years to depict how steep the roads and switchbacks are on St John. You gotta go there to experience it. The road to our house is off Marina just before the first bridge coming from your direction into town. It’s in an area called Skytop and is 800 feet straight up. There are 4 very steep and hairy switchbacks then a right going back down a 1 lane road and then a dirt potion of the road riddled with nasty potholes before going straight into our driveway. The house is built into the side of the mountain. Gorgeous views of Fish Bay though. Last year was the first year I started seeing road signs on the south end and this year was the first I saw road signs all the way up to the house. For years, I had no clue the roads had names. Once you make the turn up the mountain from Marina Drive, only one side of the road is cement. The other side of the “road” is dirt/stone. It’s not easy navigating an oncoming car up there either. You definitely need torch navigating the steep switchbacks on the mountain. It’s all part of the fun and beauty of St John! 😎🌴🐢🐠🐟

@jpindahaus 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the comment! I agree - you have to experience it! Is your place one of the villas or are you a permanent resident?

@annreynolds6413 2 жыл бұрын

@@jpindahaus Sorry, just saw this now. We own a house in Skytop high up overlooking Fish Bay. We rent it when not there through a property manager who takes care of it for us.

@gregoryloch7018 2 жыл бұрын

Amazing! I’ll be there in 2 weeks and I’m renting a Jeep. I’ve been so curious about what it’s like to drive on the island, and you answered all my questions! Thank you!

@jpindahaus 2 жыл бұрын

So glad (and jealous) to hear! While you're there, remember that you're on island time so no need to drive fast. Enjoy the view and be safe!

@susiemcmahon9413 2 жыл бұрын

We just got back from St. John and drove on this road daily while staying at Fish Bay. It WAS steep! Also drove up to Skytop...amazing views and scary switchbacks :)You really have to be there to experience it. We had fun driving around the island and loved the island!

@walt686868 11 ай бұрын

Great video. Enjoyed this.

@jpindahaus 9 ай бұрын

Thank you!

@captainknuckles9599 2 жыл бұрын

I am from here love the video hope you guys come back!!!

@jpindahaus 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you! We definitely plan to visit again!

@staceyrschwartz 2 жыл бұрын

Don't forget to mention the nearly complete lack of street signs. Great video. Definitely miss St John

@jpindahaus Жыл бұрын

Good call! I thought I did, but maybe not.

@CrappyBJJBlueBelt 2 жыл бұрын

Just got back from St. John's. I haven't been there in about 10 years. I forgot how STEEP the ascent is on a few hills on the way to Cinnamon Bay. I had 5 people in my 4-door Jeep and they were white knuckled because they were like, "we are going up THAT????" LOL The car all of the sudden got super quiet haha

@jpindahaus 2 жыл бұрын

Were you cutting through the middle of STJ or going around North Shore Rd?

@peterlamere1982 8 ай бұрын

The reason they drive on the left is so you can keep a good eye on the edge of the road as you are driving. There is 90 % of the time no shoulder too the edge of the pavement and if you ketch the edge and fall off your car is a goner. The edge usually has a 10inch drop off and your tire cannot climb back up. You have at this point lost control of your vehicle and are stuck in the bush. You will need a tow truck too lift your vehicle back up onto the pavement. Hopefully you haven't shredded your left front tire. The Virgin Islands are mountainous extinct volcanos and the roads are very vertical. In a normal world many of these road wouldn't be permitted too exist. But St. John is not the normal world and you basically go mountain climbing with your Jeep here. You definitely want too rent a jeep here. Enjoy Jacobs ladder. You have too get a running start and don't let up or you will stall and slide backwards. Happy adventures. PGL. Hatuna Matata SJ....

@jpindahaus 8 ай бұрын

Thanks for the feedback and good information for others looking to visit and drive STJ!

@robertpierce1981 2 жыл бұрын

Nice short tour

@jpindahaus 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! 🙂

@bandit4true 2 жыл бұрын

Bought from Denmark, Danish. Not the Dutch. Thanks for the lift truly enjoyed it.

@jpindahaus 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for clarifying. I'll try to correct it.

@ShaneA1976 2 жыл бұрын

Staying on Saint John right now, at Calichi at Picture Point...the drive UP the hill from Coral Bay is white-knuckle near the top...two blind switchbacks in a row. This last time up the hill, a delivery driver was stopped in front of a home, heading up on the steepest section and another jeep waiting to come down. Got back to the rental and swore never again. All the other drives on the island were bearable, if not pleasurable. But that one hill...this last time, I really thought I had it. Until that stopped vehicle. Made a drink as soon as I got back to the house. All that said, pretty cool island, and a few of the places I liked the most were at Coral Bay, especially Skinny Legs.

@jpindahaus Жыл бұрын

I completely understand the white-knuckling! Were you with others, and were you the only driver? I tried to get my crew to take the wheel and nobody else wanted to drive! We're heading back Spring '23 and staying closer to Coral Bay off of Bordeaux Mt. Rd and Bay Forest Rd, so, not too far from where you stayed. And, I liked Skinny Legs too! Do you get a chance to check out Delyvonne Breakfast Bistro or Miss Lucy's?

@ShaneA1976 Жыл бұрын

@@jpindahaus Was just me, wife, and child and neither of them are up for the task of driving, but we made it work. Delvyonnes was not open in the new location yet, so we couldn't go and never made it to Miss Lucy's. We'll hit it the next time, for sure. We went to seven or eight beaches, tons of restaurants, and had a great time.

@gstapleton 3 жыл бұрын

Great vid, JP! Those streets are too damn steep!! Ha!

@jpindahaus 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks! The experience was unforgettable!

@ralitsadzhigreva6195 2 жыл бұрын

That’s the place where i experienced my first panic attack due to the state of those roads in USVI. We were on a cruise and silly unsuspecting me decided to get a “cab” (which was a big 4x4 truck with lots of people crammed inside the open back) and go to Megan’s Bay or something like that from the old cruise port…well, as soon as the first turn came I thought I won’t make it to the beach alive! There was a lot of screaming and crying involved! Now I cant go to a place, wherever in the world that might be and just have a normal day out exploring. I take days in advance to study the landscape and decide if I want to go out at all or stay in port or whenever we are at that time..horrendous experience on the road

@jpindahaus 2 жыл бұрын

Oh my goodness! I couldn't help laughing at first, but I am sure it was traumatic. Come to think of it, I was the only one in my group (there were four of us) that was willing to drive. And what a great idea to research prior to going somewhere. Sounds like you like to go on cruises?

@AlexCaspian 2 жыл бұрын

That's very strange that there's a left hand traffic in US Virgin Islands while most cars, especially American are LHD.

@jpindahaus 2 жыл бұрын

I'm not entirely sure but it's said that many British expats controlled a large part of vehicles used for trade and commerce, which also included their left side driving.

@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOY Ай бұрын

Also right hand drive floor buses by VITRAN with front passenger entry.

@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOY Ай бұрын

Pickup trucks with rear cabin minubuses or jitneys have only exit to the left side.

@dongustafson2812 2 жыл бұрын

Great video, been there also, loved Coral Bay and the drive to it as well. Question on the music? Do you know which Bensound track name it is? Thank you!

@jpindahaus 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the comment, Don! I thought the title was in the description, but guess not. The title is Brazil Samba.

@dongustafson2812 2 жыл бұрын

@@jpindahaus Fantastic, Thank You!!

@mr.hamster333 3 жыл бұрын

My Dad works for Wapa/ Lineman out there in St. John Them Roads Are Steep But The Views Are Nice.

@jpindahaus 2 жыл бұрын

I couldn't agree with you more! I want to go back, whenever we get back to "new" normal.

@dblockvillin 11 ай бұрын

How did you know where you were going were you able to use GPS?

@jpindahaus 9 ай бұрын

My apologies for not responding sooner. We did use a GPS, but honestly, it's fairly easy getting around the island; however, there were times where the GPS or even Google Maps had us going down a road that did not exist! The main roads that you might traverse are N. Shore Rd and Centerline Rd.

@maximac222 2 жыл бұрын

We're headed there Sept 11th..(I know) so this is helpful! Though better than the island of Great Camanoe where the road is like two strips of rudimentary concrete!

@jpindahaus 2 жыл бұрын

Although I don't think you'll have any issues, have you reserved your vehicle? If you plan to explore the island, I highly recommend getting a Jeep. We booked ours through Conrad's.

@maximac222 2 жыл бұрын

@@jpindahaus We have booked a Jeep! Through Conrad's as well!

@raakone Жыл бұрын

This is fun. But you need another correction, it wasn't purchased from the DUTCH, but from the DANES. It was a Danish territory until 1917, the USA purchased it because of fears that Denmark might be conquered by Germany. At the time, Denmark was a left-drive country (they'd later switch to match the rest of mainland Europe, nearby Sweden would be the final holdout until 1965), they too had the driver on the left side of the vehicle, so that they'd notice if there were animals on the side of the road.

@jpindahaus Жыл бұрын

In going to fix it. Thank you so much!

@jaycee330 2 жыл бұрын

So, in USVI you drive on the left, BUT the cars are left-hand drive mostly. How does that affect ones driving, that you aren't near the centreline?

@jpindahaus 2 жыл бұрын

I would compare it to driving in the "fast lane" on the highway, or driving in the far-left lane on a one-way street. For me the tricky part was driving through a roundabout. You go around clockwise.

@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOY Ай бұрын

Right Hand Drive floor buses that is wheelchair friendly, by VITRAN. American school buses added it’s exit door behind the driver’s seat to the left side

@lightningbuster 2 жыл бұрын

We went there back in 2009 and rented a Dodge Grand Caravan, stayed at Great Expectations near Chocolate Hole. I just remember having to wait in a line of cars when it rained because no one would be making it up the hills. But the rain came, poured heavily, and within like 5 minutes the sun would be out and the roads would dry.

@jpindahaus 2 жыл бұрын

I was driving the jeep right after a downpour and I was in 2WD. I got stuck on one of the switchbacks and had to put it in 4WD to make it up it.

@piercehawke8021 2 жыл бұрын

What gets me is why the US Virgin Islands mandate driving on the left, especially with LHD vehicles. The only other outlier in that regard's Gibraltar, despite being part of the UK, driving's required on the right. Although scuttlebutt has it that same side driving is for safety reasons due to Spain also driving on the right.

@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOY 2 жыл бұрын

British Virgin Islands vehicles are imported from Japan (RHD vehicles), South Korea, Latin America, USA (LHD vehicles)

@trismegistus2881 2 жыл бұрын

Other outliners are the British Indian Ocean Territory (military only), Turkish Cyprus, Myanmar, etc.

@piercehawke8021 2 жыл бұрын

@@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOY There are quite a few USDM Japanese cars as well, LHD and all.

@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOY 2 жыл бұрын

@@piercehawke8021 and some European LHD and Japanese RHD cars in BVI.

@jordanjones7985 3 жыл бұрын

I’ll assume it isn’t pedestrian friendly.

@jpindahaus 3 жыл бұрын

Good assumption! There are pedestrians, but I wouldn't walk it!

@Lisbonese Жыл бұрын

The US purchased the US Virgin Islands from the Danish not the Dutch.

@jpindahaus 9 ай бұрын

Correct! I made a mistake when I was narrating.

@davidparker9803 2 жыл бұрын

Shoud been there when only one side of the road was paved ha ha

@shaneleslie8968 Жыл бұрын

Good to see U.S is adopting the correct side to drive on. Proven safer thanks America

@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOY Ай бұрын

in Palau and Micronesia, they have alot of Right Hand Drive Japanese JDM vehicles driven on the right side of the road. Some LHDs are Korean and US vehicles.