How bad is driving on the other side of the road?

[pampaul]

We'll be on the Disney Fantasy this June and we're trying to figure out what we'd like to do on the islands.

 

Private Island is a beach day.

Cozumel will most likely be a beach day

Not sure what we're doing in Costa Maya yet (any ideas?)

 

But in Grand Cayman, I'm thinking of convincing hubby to rent a Jeep and taking a driving tour of the island. We've never been. But I read somewhere that they drive on the other side of the road. I asked hubby if he would do it and he said no way. For those of you who have rented a car and drove around the island on your own, was it hard to get used to? How about the traffic? We'll be the only ship in port that day, so there shouldn't be a huge cruise crowd.

 

We're on the island on a Monday from 10:45-4:45, so I'm assuming there won't be like "weekend" traffic and most people should be at work, no?

 

Any advice?

[drew sailbum]

We drive to the left of centreline here in Cayman.

 

Rental cars are a mix - some lefthand drive (like most vehicles in the States) and some righthand drive. When driving a righthand drive car the turn signal is on your right and wiper controls on the left. We know you are a tourist when you accidentally turn on the windshield wipers at intersections. :rolleyes:

 

It is pretty straightforward and easy to simply follow vehicles in front of you. That works well in the relatively busy west side of the island where there is moderate to busy traffic.

 

Usually the biggest issue with adjusting to driving on the left side of the road is at intersections. If your car is the first one in line at a traffic light your instinct might be to turn onto the wrong side of the road. :eek: The same issue applies when turning out of a parking lot onto the roadway. Look BOTH ways at every intersection - your instinct is to look at the wrong lane for oncoming traffic.

 

Cayman tends to favour roundabouts (aka traffic circles) instead of traffic lights. Just yield to vehicles already in the roundabout and go clockwise around the roundabout (ie bear left as you enter the roundabout).

 

If there are two lanes entering a roundabout then choose your lane based on what type of turn you would make if it was a "normal" intersection. Get in the right lane before a right turn, left lane before the left, and either lane for proceeding straight. Yield if you are in the inside lane of the roundabout and need to cut across the other lane to exit the roundabout. Better to go around the roundabout again (ala la the Grizwalds from European Vacation) than to wreck.

 

Keep in mind that speed limit signs are international variety (black numerals inside red circle) and posting the limit in miles per hour. Many righthand drive cars only have speedometer reading in kilometers per hour. Just stay with the flow of traffic.

 

My basic advice is that driving is a two person job for a day visitor. One drives. The other keeps repeating, "Stay left. Left. LEFT! NO, the other left!" ;)

[kickballpro]

Not hard at all. When I went for the US to Australia I picked it up really easily and actually preferred it. I did, however, almost went head on with a Bus until my corrected me.

 

You'll be fine.

[Capt_BJ]

Not hard at all. When I went for the US to Australia I picked it up really easily and actually preferred it. I did, however, almost went head on with a Bus until my corrected me.

 

You'll be fine.

 

if you do it for a few days, you pick it up. On the other hand your first few hours can be stressful. Everything Drew says is true but he forgets one BIG hazard - the other people on the road like you... turning into the wrong lane etc etc. PLUS some of them are on scooters ... after a few beers watch out :eek:

 

When I was a ship Captain in CG down in that neck of the woods we prohibited crew from renting scooters in the islands for just this reason: TOO MANY ACCIDENTS and hospital visits. Crunched cars were $$ but more survivable :(

[2-laner]

My sister was okay with it and it didn't take her long to adjust. My mom, on the other hand, totally different story. It would not have been a good idea to put her behind the wheel. She was in the passenger's seat and couldn't get comfortable with it at all. Kept jumping and would start to tell my sister she was on the wrong side of the road even thou she wasn't. At least we have something to tease mom about from now on. :D

[nw2this]

I did it Grand Cayman on a cruise day a few years ago. Like Drew said, I turned on the wipers instead of the turn signal everytime :o.

 

I wouldn't do it again not so much because of the difficulty of driving, but because renting the car was too time consuming. Tendering was time consuming. I didn't get see as much as I had hoped. Plus the bus is a pretty good deal.

[LauraMargaret]

We were also thinking of renting a car but unsure if it would be worth it for the amount of time we are on the island. We will be there from 8am-3pm and wanted to drive out to Rum Point and also do some shopping before getting back onto the ship.

 

Does this seem reasonable to do? Would we waste more time renting the car/driving than it would be worth?

[bobhsv]

This sounds perfect for us, as we are aussies. Any recommendations for hire car companies....ones that have the steering wheel on the right. Although I think it would be easy with a left steering wheel for us too.....as we are already conditioned to traffic conditions/corners etc re left side of the road. Very excited to have read this news.

Jen

[MyssMinerva]

I'm originally from New York but I live in Grand Cayman. I still get a little weirded out by all the round abouts (as the only one in New York I would have ever needed I just avoided by taking the thruway instead) but have found it really easy to drive. Besides, as long as you follow traffic you'll be ok! :) However, I try to remain further behind people than I did in the states because people will stop to let pedestrians cross and let cars out of side roads. Sometimes its sudden and sometimes its not. And yeah....I still turn my windshield wipers on to turn! Oops... :)

[bookbabe]

However, I try to remain further behind people than I did in the states because people will stop to let pedestrians cross and let cars out of side roads. Sometimes its sudden and sometimes its not.

 

This is a really good point. Driving on the left isn't nearly as big a concern for DH and I as driving more courteously. :) Drivers in Cayman usually seem way more laidback and more polite than you'd generally find in a larger city enviroment in the States or Canada.

 

Especially on the side streets and outside of George Town, it seems to be fairly common to just stop in the middle of the road to chat with someone going the other direction, or double-park blocking a lane while someone runs into a store or house for a minute, or stop for chickens crossing the road, etc. And nobody seems to get upset or honk or swear. You just wait until they're done or go around when you can. People seem to be more aware of other drivers and other people's needs, and are just nicer drivers in general. There doesn't seem to be that sense of frustration and self-centeredness like you run into during rush hour at home.

 

Our approach is always to just relax and go with the flow. There's no hurry to get anywhere at any particular time, you just have to be patient and enjoy the journey and the scenery, and you'll get where you're going eventually... :D

[lovevacadays]

I guess that depends on you. Many find it easy to adjust. I haven't driven in Grand Cayman but have driven on the opposite side of the road elsewhere. For me, I had to really think about it and wasn't fond of the experience.

[CayManTA]

We'll be on the Disney Fantasy this June and we're trying to figure out what we'd like to do on the islands.

 

Private Island is a beach day.

Cozumel will most likely be a beach day

Not sure what we're doing in Costa Maya yet (any ideas?)

 

But in Grand Cayman, I'm thinking of convincing hubby to rent a Jeep and taking a driving tour of the island. We've never been. But I read somewhere that they drive on the other side of the road. I asked hubby if he would do it and he said no way. For those of you who have rented a car and drove around the island on your own, was it hard to get used to? How about the traffic? We'll be the only ship in port that day, so there shouldn't be a huge cruise crowd.

 

We're on the island on a Monday from 10:45-4:45, so I'm assuming there won't be like "weekend" traffic and most people should be at work, no?

 

Any advice?

 

Avoid the time and hassle of renting and driving yourself, contact an outfit like Cayman Safari Adventures and see if they can accommodate you on the day your ship is in port in Grand Cayman. They will take you on a very fun tour to several very picturesque spots in the eastern end of the island where few "cruisers" get to. Another bonus is you'll have a guide telling you about what you're seeing, and you don't have to worry about losing your way!

[donaldsc]

It is easy. The only problems I had driving 8000 km in Australia was when I pulled out of parking lots and when I used the turn signals and turned on the wipers or headlamps instead.

 

I picked the car up in Sydney and had to immediately deal w city traffic and many many roundabouts.

 

DON

[americandream]

I rented a car in London and also had to immediately deal with city traffic. I did fine. The only problems I had were I would start to get in the wrong side of the car and I bumped the curb on the left with the tires a few times because, well I don't know why.

[2-laner]

Avoid the time and hassle of renting and driving yourself, contact an outfit like Cayman Safari Adventures and see if they can accommodate you on the day your ship is in port in Grand Cayman. They will take you on a very fun tour to several very picturesque spots in the eastern end of the island where few "cruisers" get to. Another bonus is you'll have a guide telling you about what you're seeing, and you don't have to worry about losing your way!

 

 

We went with Cayman Safari this past January and had a wonderful time. Sat back and let Shirley drive. Open sided jeep was great since the weather was sunny and warm.

[CDNJehn]

We rented a car and drove all over the place. Like was said earlier, it was mostly when I was turning at an intersection or pulling back onto the road that was a bit confusing. My boyfriend would just remind me "left, left, left". The traffic circles weren't too bad because we have a LOT of those where we live. As was also said before, we did waste a bit of time just getting the car as there was a bit of a line-up. We rented through Cayman Auto Rentals, which we walked to from the port. They gave us a left hand drive car, which was nice.

 

The other thing we noticed is that the speed limits are much lower than we were used to. The fact that you couldn't drive very fast out me a bit more at ease with the driving.

 

We followed this driving tour ... http://www.frommers.com/destinations/grandcayman/2367024325.html

[drew sailbum]

....

We followed this driving tour ... http://www.frommers.com/destinations/grandcayman/2367024325.html

 

Wow. Frommers got a LOT wrong. Way wrong. Wrong road names. Wrong names of landmarks. Places that have been closed for years. And more. Yikes!

 

But it does more or less lead to Rum Point and is a pretty drive in places.

 

 

Get your info here on Cruise Critic. It is a lot more accurate and up to date.

[TurtleTagger]

Here is a driving tour posted on Trip Advisor that follows roughly the same route as that one on from Frommer's. Appears to be a bit more current:

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g147365-c164561/Grand-Cayman:Caribbean:Driving.Tour.A.Guide.html

[LauraMargaret]

Just wanted to bump this and see if I could get any opinions on whether renting a car to go to Rum Point would be worth it. :)

 

We were thinking of renting a car but unsure if it would be worth it for the amount of time we are on the island. We will be there from 8am-3pm and wanted to drive out to Rum Point and also do some shopping before getting back onto the ship.

 

Does this seem reasonable to do? Would we waste more time renting the car/driving than it would be worth?

[cb at sea]

Just be aware that in the afternoon, traffic can be horrendous getting back to the ship, so allow yourself PLENTY of time! Took us 45 mins. to go 5 miles in a bus back from 7 Mile beach....could've walked, but we knew we had time!!!

[kokonutkroozer]

Just got back and rented a jeep in Grand Cayman on Thursday! It was great but I'm not sure I'd recommend it on a tight port schedule. Let me recap for you our experience.

 

We were in port on the Carnival Magic from 7-4. I wasn't sure about delays and made a reservation with Avis by the airport for 8am. Therefore we didn't rush immediately off but now in hindsight, I wish we did. By the time we got in on the tender, found out about the shuttle pickup, got to the rental office and on our way, we were quite behind schedule. We used their maps and others I had found online and made our way to the East side of the island. We took the exterior route all the way around to Rum Point and stopped for a couple of geocaching stops along the way. If you don't know, geocaching is like a treasure hunt using GPS coordinates obtained online. We stopped at the blowholes, the lighthouse park, and the iguana statue and artwork before getting to Rum Point. We spent about 1.5 hours at the beach which was just as beautiful as the pics and not overly crowded. On the return, we took the road that cuts through the island on the return.

 

We decided we did not have enough time to explore the West side as we had hoped. We've been to Cayman many years ago and although a little disappointed we had run out of time, could not run the risk of getting caught in traffic on the West side and catching the last tender. As it was, we had just enough time for some very brief shopping in town before catching the last tender back!

 

My husband drove and I was the navigator and I constantly reminded him to stay to the left. It wasn't that bad. The only hard part was coming out of the gas station and re-entering the traffic and traffic circles. That was the only time we were slightly caught off and disoriented, but we were fine.

 

Since you have two hours less in port than we did- I would recommend the car rental, only if you can accept and live with doing just one end of the island. If you prefer to visit the West side, then perhaps you can get away with using the public transportation options. The car rental process and getting to and from there really did waste quite a bit of time. No regrets, but it did cut into our overall enjoyment of the day. Hope you have fun whatever you decide to do!