Any suggestions on Jeep rental?

[2minpins]

We are thinking of renting a Jeep and exploring the island on our own. Any suggestions?

 

Should we book ahead of time? I am thinking to just get off the ship and find one. I do know there is one other ship in port that day, and they are in first, so I figured I would have better luck getting a decent vehicle with good air if I don't commit ahead of time. Also, we want to find one who will allow us to keep the vehicle later, as we are in port until 11:00pm.

 

Any suggestions for things to do/see that you don't see mentioned often?

 

Thanks:)

[pholter]

We booked our's in advance cuz you just never know how many ships will be in port and how many folks will want them vs. the supply.

 

www.arubaroyal.com is the place we used and were very happy.

[dfd22120]

Just an FYI I have been checking into renting a Jeep in Aruba also and I can not find anyone that lets you keep the Jeep past 7pm. I was hoping for a late return also but no luck. The closest thing I could find was one company that will rent a hard top "Jeep" which you can lock up at the pier and they will pick it up the next day. I was trying to get a true Wrangler so I just sent them an e-mail asking if the "hard top" is a true Wrangler or something different.

[showergirl5311b]

We were in Aruba on AOS on November 1st this year. We rented a jeep, we got off the ship as early as we could and right there is an entire line of little booths with all the different rental places and we had no problem renting one that morning. We had a great time exploring the island on our own!

[poetrylady]

If your ship is in port on Aruba from 8:00 to 5:00 (Golden Princess), would you suggest a 9:00 to 4:00 rental time? Or can you get your jeep when you disembark and then bring it back when you get done touring? I am assuming the price is for "however long" one keeps the vehicle during the time in port that day, rather than by the hour. Is that right? I note that Avis has a rental booth at the cruise terminal. We usually use Avis so I will probably go with them once again. If anyone has any experience with them, I'd like any tips. Thanks.

[jmo1]

We rented a 4X4 Wrangler from Royal last month without a reservation. They had several to pick from. We chose a rag top with air conditioning. We should have just picked the hard top, because we never put the top down, but rather used the air all day. It is hot in Aruba. It cost $73.50 USD for all-day rental. We had to return the Jeep by 6:00, and just made it in time, because we were all the way down at Baby Beach and hit rush-hour coming back.

Here's a link to port calendars, showing what ships are at selected ports each day.

http://www.cruisecal.com/dnn/Default.aspx?tabid=27

[phlydude]

I made a reservation here for my cruise next weekend...

http://www.carrentalaruba.com/

[dfd22120]

Phlydude can you let me know how it goes when you get back? Do you know how late you can drop off a Jeep?

 

Hope you have a great trip!!!!!!

[phlydude]

I think they said something along the lines of 6PM. I'm figuring it will be plenty dark by then so I won't have an issue with that. By then I will be looking to hit the bars.

[eldercruser]

Phlydude - thanks for posting your rental car link. We are going to look into it for our February visit.

[phlydude]

Make sure that if you want to lock up the jeep when going to the beach, you ask for a hardtop and if you can't drive a manual transmission, ask for automatic.

[eldercruser]

When I learned to drive - over 50 years ago - there was hardly such a thing as an automatic transmission. Good idea about locking up.

[phlydude]

I tried to drive a manual transmission, once.

My feet are too big and I don't have the coordination to drive a manual. Those tiny little pedals get lost under my size 14 EEE feet!!!

That clutch and brake were getting hit at the same time, it wasn't pretty.

[ebfeaster]

I'm thinking about renting a vehicle when I am in Aruba in 2 weeks. Which side of the road do they drive on there? I would feel more confident about renting a manual transmission if they drive on the right.

 

Ellis B

[phlydude]

from everything I have seen, they drive on the right side of the road like we do here in the US and like their mother country, the Netherlands

[jmo1]

Yes, they drive on the right side of the road in Aruba.

[vlnovak]

Did anyone take out the extra insurance? i anm using a visa but do not know if it covers us down there. Also have a car for 3 day in San Juan, do I need insurance there?

[phlydude]

I took the extra insurance just for peace of mind. It was cheap (under $20) and it would save State Farm having to pay a claim down there if something did happen.

The island was very easy to drive. There are a few main roads and they are numbered. 1A and 1B (1A goes toward 1 direction, 1B is the opposite side of the road). We drove 1, 2 and 4 and went the lighthouse, the natural bridge (there is still one there in addition to the one that collapsed along with another you see on the way), the beach and around town a little bit. I had a navigator who could read a map which helped. It is a little crowded so be patient and give yourself plenty of time to fuel up and avoid traffic.

[lgarner]

vlnovak, check with your insurance company - ours covered us in San Juan (still part of U.S.) but will not cover us in Aruba. There I will get the extra coverage.

 

phyldude - what did you think of the rental agency you used? Would you recommend them again? How far were they from the cruise dock? What type of vehicle did you get?

 

Thanks!

[phlydude]

I thought they were good. They all pretty much seemed the same. You came off the ship, walked through the little area where there were shops and went outside. Along the area where you have to walk to go out to the shopping area was all the rental car folks. I told them I had a reservation, they called the office and got the info. I was there for like 5 minutes and signed the paperwork. We then went over to the SUV (it was a Toyota Highlander I think) checked it out and away we went. The tires on the SUV were a little light on the tread (but I wouldn't expect less from a rental on an island that hardly gets any rain where tires are double the price of the US) and the SUV held 5 of us without issue. It handled the bumpy roads by the natural bridge without issue and wasn't too bad on gas.

[ukbballfan]

Anyone have an opinion about renting a scooter in Aruba. Are the roads good enough? Is it still too hot in late January for that?

[lgarner]

Was the SUV at the dock or did they drive you to another location? I am dealing with amigo car rental and they are offering to pick us up and take us to their office. Problem is, they we get there at 7 but their office doesn't open until 8 and they will pick us up around 8:30 - sounds to me like it will be 9:00 before we are on the road.

 

I could just wait and find a rental car at the dock but would rather book it in advance. The company you used sounds like the answer if they are at the dock when we disembark.

 

I was going to book the vehicle tonight but I'll wait for your answer. Thanks!

 

Lisa

[phlydude]

Lgarner - the car was at the dock (well just off the dock in a parking lot)

I would recommend these folks, they seemed to be good and I didn't have any problems.

 

ukbballfan - I saw a few brave souls riding around on scooters. The roads are sandy so you have to be careful. If you don't have experience driving a motorcycle or scooter regularly, it might not be the best time to learn. It wasn't dangerous like Mexico or Jamaica but it wasn't tame either. You definately couldn't go too far because the roads do get choppy once you go towards any tourist destination that's along the Atlantic coast. But the cool thing was that there is a Harley dealership in town that rents bikes for those that want to ride a hog for the day.

The weather is in the 80's all year long with a steady wind. It is a desert island so keep that in mind as you should have a big bottle of water with you to keep from dehydrating.