Car Rental Recommendation

[amypintx]

We were just in Aruba on a cruise for Spring Break and rented a car from Smart Car Rentals (https://www.aruba-car-rental.com/). I had done some research on this board before going and know that a lot of people ask about rental car companies so I just wanted to share our experience.

 

When I was researching, I just stumbled across the Smart Car Rental website and it let me make a reservation without any kind of deposit. I wasn't sure what to expect when we got there (because it seemed a little sketchy since the site didn't take a deposit) but it was great. The guy met us at the entrance to the port (he had a sign with our name on it) and we just had to walk over to the next parking lot, filled out the paper work, paid him and we were off. So easy. We told him what time we wanted to return it and he met us in the lot at that time. I'd definitely rent from them again next time we go.

 

[mikehoncho]

Thank you...It's been difficult to find car rental around the cruise port.  Were there any additional fees that weren't shown on the booking page?  Any upcharge to use credit cards?

[amypintx]

57 minutes ago, mikehoncho said:

Thank you...It's been difficult to find car rental around the cruise port.  Were there any additional fees that weren't shown on the booking page?  Any upcharge to use credit cards?

 

Nope! We used a credit card to pay the rental fee and then they put I think a $100 hold on the credit card as a deposit that then dropped off after we returned the car. 

[margie1221]

Thanks amypintx!!  This is VERY helpful... BTW my son and family are in Newcastle - lived in Moore before that - small world 🙂

[TechDiva]

I was just in Aruba last week (9/21) through Royal Caribbean.  We rented a jeep from Budget car rental.  We wanted to rent a vehicle from a global car rental place that we could trust versus one of the ones right at the pier.  I talked to someone at Budget about a week beforehand and they told us to walk to the Renaissance Resort (not even a mile outside of port) and let the bellhop know that we needed to get to Budget.  They hailed a cab for us and it was maybe 3 miles away.  Getting and returning the vehicle were very easy.  When we returned the vehicle, one of the employees drove us directly to the port.

 

It was a little pricier but worth the peace of mind.

[Dar & Bob]

On 9/29/2022 at 3:10 PM, TechDiva said:

I was just in Aruba last week (9/21) through Royal Caribbean.  We rented a jeep from Budget car rental.  We wanted to rent a vehicle from a global car rental place that we could trust versus one of the ones right at the pier.  I talked to someone at Budget about a week beforehand and they told us to walk to the Renaissance Resort (not even a mile outside of port) and let the bellhop know that we needed to get to Budget.  They hailed a cab for us and it was maybe 3 miles away.  Getting and returning the vehicle were very easy.  When we returned the vehicle, one of the employees drove us directly to the port.

 

It was a little pricier but worth the peace of mind.

I notice Budget has other locations at the Hilton hotel and Irausquin do you happen to know if those are within walking distance.  How is the island to drive around?  Lots of traffic.  We haven't been there in ages. 

[TechDiva]

24 minutes ago, Dar & Bob said:

I notice Budget has other locations at the Hilton hotel and Irausquin do you happen to know if those are within walking distance.  How is the island to drive around?  Lots of traffic.  We haven't been there in ages. 

 

No, those are not going to be within walking distance.  Those are going north from the port towards the lighthouse.

 

The island was not hard to drive around.  It helped that they drive on the same side as we do in the US.  I think that the most traffic that we encountered was in Oranjestead, which is the downtown area near the port.  Probably the biggest annoyance for me was all of the roundabouts.  I hate those things here and it seemed like every 1/2 - 1 mile we encountered one, as if they decided that those were easier to install than traffic lights (as we encountered very few of those).

 

It was our first time there and we really enjoyed ourselves.  Definitely have to go back on a land vacation.

[msufan90]

What kind of car did you rent?  Most people say a jeep but would an SUV work as well?

Kathryn

[Ravensfan1973]

On 3/29/2022 at 6:41 PM, amypintx said:

We were just in Aruba on a cruise for Spring Break and rented a car from Smart Car Rentals (https://www.aruba-car-rental.com/). I had done some research on this board before going and know that a lot of people ask about rental car companies so I just wanted to share our experience.

 

When I was researching, I just stumbled across the Smart Car Rental website and it let me make a reservation without any kind of deposit. I wasn't sure what to expect when we got there (because it seemed a little sketchy since the site didn't take a deposit) but it was great. The guy met us at the entrance to the port (he had a sign with our name on it) and we just had to walk over to the next parking lot, filled out the paper work, paid him and we were off. So easy. We told him what time we wanted to return it and he met us in the lot at that time. I'd definitely rent from them again next time we go.

 

I just made a rental from your recommendation.  Hope it goes smoothly.  Did you have an automatic transmission?  Nobody in our party knows how to drive one.  Thanks for the review.

[amypintx]

@msufan90 I’m so sorry. I’m just now seeing this. We always just get a regular car. The only place we’ve gone that’s bumpy is getting to the old natural bridge. Everywhere else is roads. 
 

@Ravensfan1973 Ours was automatic but I don’t know for sure that all of them are. If none of you can drive standard, I’d maybe call the company just to verify beforehand. 

[Ravensfan1973]

2 hours ago, amypintx said:

@msufan90 I’m so sorry. I’m just now seeing this. We always just get a regular car. The only place we’ve gone that’s bumpy is getting to the old natural bridge. Everywhere else is roads. 
 

@Ravensfan1973 Ours was automatic but I don’t know for sure that all of them are. If none of you can drive standard, I’d maybe call the company just to verify beforehand. 

Sorry I meant nobody knows how to drive a manual transmission.  Hopefully it will be automatic.   I'll definitely call before we depart the  states.