Is it really necessary to reserve a rental car in Moorea before arriving?

[josassoc]

My husband and I will be hanging around Moorea for five days before our cruise. So, I figured we'd likely be renting a car for a couple of those days to explore the island. But, I tried to check into rental agencies in advance (Avis, Europcar) and their websites were pretty difficult to traverse. In addition, I'm not sure which days we're really going to want the car. So, (despite my tendency to preplan every detail) I thought we'd just wait and see what we'd want to do when we get there.

 

Is it hard to get a good rental car, if you haven't prereserved one? I'd love a Jeep, SUV or convertible. And, I realize those cars are more at a premium. Anyone "been there, done that" and know the best way to handle this? I'd also like to get a sense of what rentals cars of this type typically cost per day.

 

Thanks, Lisa

[jeanine]

Hello, we were in Moorea last week. On the Paul Gaughin. I had reserved a car, ended up not using that res. Went to Alberts instead, better deal than Avis. $70 for all day, and he waived the refilling of gas tank. Saved us about $10 there. We had a small station wagon type car with ac, standard. Didn't notice convertible or suv's. We went on the backroad up to Belvedere lookout. No problems. Hope this helps. Jeanine

[laurasue]

I didn't notice any fuel guzzing vehicles (jeeps, SUV's) for rent when we were in Moorea. My guess is if they do have them you'll pay a pretty penny. We rented a small economy class type car and I want to say we paid $75 for 24 hours (including a discount for staying at a certain hotel). We rented from Avis on the spot, no reservation needed. :) We took took the car up the small road up Belvedere and on teh dirt road back to see the waterfalls. It worked just fine.

 

Enjoy!

[josassoc]

I realize I've got "cruise planning fever" and can't seem to stop worrying over the details of our trip. In this instance, it seems reasonable to just wait and see when and where we'd like to rent a car...then do it at that time without a prereservation.

 

Lisa