Car rental for the day instead of taxi or shore excursions in Carribean?

[GottaKnowWhen]

I am fairly adventurous regarding driving, afterall, I live is a city with the worst drivers in the country. That being said, I would not even contemplate trying to drive in any of the ports in the Caribbean that we have been in. The conditions are incredibly bad and dangerous for non-locals. Negotiate a rate for a cab by the day instead.

 

Doc :eek:

 

 

We spent a week on Ste Marteen a few years ago. Rented a car for a couple of days and we enjoyed the opportunity to get out and about, but that was after we had had a one-day island tour for orientation. DIY with rental car is feasible if (IF) you have a good idea where you are going, have a good GPS with the right updated maps loaded in, and you don't plan to stop anyplace. My last point refers to the great difficulty in finding a parking place in a town like Phillipsburg. And as others have commented, St Thomas involves on the wrong (left) side of the road. All in all, probably not a good idea. If you search on something like "tours in St Whatever Island" you'll get hits on local guides and groups eager to load you in a van a give you a great tour customized to your interests for not too much money.

 

Enjoy!

[anka-morfin]

We spent a week on Ste Marteen a few years ago. Rented a car for a couple of days and we enjoyed the opportunity to get out and about, but that was after we had had a one-day island tour for orientation. DIY with rental car is feasible if (IF) you have a good idea where you are going, have a good GPS with the right updated maps loaded in, and you don't plan to stop anyplace. My last point refers to the great difficulty in finding a parking place in a town like Phillipsburg. And as others have commented, St Thomas involves on the wrong (left) side of the road. All in all, probably not a good idea. If you search on something like "tours in St Whatever Island" you'll get hits on local guides and groups eager to load you in a van a give you a great tour customized to your interests for not too much money.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

What about parking in the countryside? Like more remote beaches and villages?

[navybankerteacher]

What about parking in the countryside? Like more remote beaches and villages?

 

We spend a couple of weeks on St. Maarten every January. We have never had a problem parking at a number of beaches: Orient Bay, Friars Bay, Baie Rouge, Le Galion in particular. Immediate downtown areas in Phillipsburg and Marigot are tough - but there is a fairly central paid lot in Phillipsburg which we have always been able to use in those few times when there has not been an opening along the salt pond lots.

 

If you take the time to look at a map, you will see that there is a fairly straight forward road system - essentially a road around the island - with a few side roads: it only gets a bit tricky in the are on the south side of the island - essentially between the airport and Phillipsburg.

[GottaKnowWhen]

What about parking in the countryside? Like more remote beaches and villages?

 

Away from the main towns, parking is not so much an issue. In general you can expect that the known destinations (e.g. beaches or castles or overlooks) will have parking areas. On the other hand, on most if not all of the islands you can expect narrow roads with minimal shoulders on the side. Which means that just pulling over and stopping/parking can be problematic.

 

I like to drive. I enjoy exploring and route-finding. I like to visit new places. My main issue is that taking the three together (driving on unfamiliar roads in unfamiliar traffic patterns trying to find a particular spot under a bit of time pressure) demands my full attention to the driving and this means that I don't get to enjoy the countryside or town/village scenes. Which is why I made the comment earlier about GPS which I find to be a big help; directions like "in half a mile be in either of the two left lanes and turn left at the stoplight..." is a huge stress relief for me.