Considering Renting a car

[Spanky My]

Good idea or bad?? I have driven on the left so no big deal there. Just thought we would like to see as many beaches as possible during our one day cruise stop. Any thoughts about driving and or which beaches not to miss??? Thanks in advance folks for your response.....Spanky my

[texancruzer]

Well thats what we did and had a great time...... drove all over the island and have to say it was one of my favorites.

 

Pretty rural - like a tropical Texas Hill Country. But many many beautiful vistas as you come over a hill and then BAM a beautiful lagoon with white sand..... ahhhhh

 

If you have driven on the left - no problem. Once out of town hardly any traffic..... I mean maybe 10 cars the whole day !

 

Just remember on roundabouts to stay left....... and get a map ahead of time and have your route figured out..... head to the furthest point first and work your way back ......

 

We stopped at the old church in town, then to Long Bay and spent 2-3 hrs at the beach there, then down south to Nelsons Dockyard area (did not stop there) and then thru Fig Tree Drive (gorgeous canopied drive) and the over to West coast and up coast back to St. Johns and the pier. Stopped at various locations for pics, drinks, souveniers etc. Still had plenty of time to shop at Diamonds Intl :D and make "all aboard" We picked up our Hertz car at 9:00 and back on board before 4:30.

Any other questions.... let me know.

[Spanky My]

Thanks for the response. I think we will give it a go as we want to see several beaches and things to do on our 1 day visit. We may want to go back some day and spend a week or two.

[Andee]

We rented a car last week, and while we had a good day, I'm not sure I would do it again. We maintain that Antigua's #1 product is potholes--the roads were terrible. Plus, we had two detours, one for an accident and one for a shooting--and it was quite challenging to find our way back to the main road.

[Just Married]

Spanky My,

 

I haven't been on here in months and months, but for some reason decided to take a gander tonight...

 

Texan Cruizer and I were on the same cruise and we also rented a car that day. My husband drove (first time on left and no problems - just keep an eye out for live stock that roam everywhere and right across the street!) and we had a great time! We did some different things than Texan.. so it all depends on what you want to see and do..

 

I will agree that mapping things out in advance is definitly a good idea. You can always alter things as you go, but having a game plan in smart. Also if you can reserve your car rental now instead of waiting to get one, it makes things a lot easier! and the further in advance you book it the cheaper it is!

 

We ended up driving all the way to Pineapple Beach (which is beautiful - I wish we could have stayed longer!), Devil's Bridge, made a wrong turn and found this beautiful resort and beach on an inlet, had lunch at Turner's Beach, drove through Fig Tree Drive and also made it back it time!

 

I hope I've helped.. do it! Tour on your own.. you'll have a great time and you'll be glad you did!!

 

Happy Travels,

Amy

[12Cruise]

Hello, we are considering renting a car on Antiqua - Could please tell me who you rent your cars from? And, did you pre-reserve or just rent once you were on island?

 

Thnx!

[Andee]

We rented from Budget, and I wouldn't recommend them. They weren't where we were supposed to meet them, and it took over an hour to finally get the car.

[12Cruise]

Andee - thnx for the heads up!

 

Anyone else have suggestions???

[lauriedun]

I'd like suggestions too! Would you recommend a 4 wheel drive? How much to rent for a day?

[Spanky My]

For your response here.We are going to get a car and hope to see some very nice beaches and snorkeling spots. There will be SEVERAL ships in the day we are there so it maybe hectic. But it should be fun. Thanks Again ....Spanky My

[Just Married]

Geee guys.. I'm not sure I remember which company I used as it was a year ago...

 

I believe it was Hertz.. and i think it was $65 for the day (we reserved it ahead of time - months in advance). I do remember that who ever is going to drive has to get a temp. day Antiguan driver's license. I believe it is $20.

 

Yes, this is who I contacted...

 

St. Johns Head Office Carlisle Estate Airport Road St. Johns

Antigua Phone: 268-481-4440 Alt Phone: 268-481-4441 Fax: 268-481-4460 Location Type: Independent LicenseeHours of Operation: 0800-1700 7 Days

 

We had them arrange for a jeep type vehicle (I think it was a Grand Vitara) to be at the port for us when we arrived. Due to a mix up it wasn't there, but the rep drove us to the airport to get our vehicle and then we started our journey from there. This wasn't a big deal since it got us out of the city and into the country.. however had the vehicle been at the port it would have been nicer.. but it was still doable.

 

Hope that will help you all out! Have a great time!!

[texancruzer]

Sorry didnt post sooner..... just got back a while ago from 3rd cruise :D

 

We definately rented from Hertz.... I called the international 800# I got off the website. She was very nice and helped me rent 3 cars for that cruise (San Juan, St. Maarten and Antigua).

 

They arranged to have it brought to the pier area.... actually about a block in. You must reserve thru the main office (not the airport one) for them to do this..... it is at no extra cost. Our customer service rep Vivian met us on time and had us on our way in about 15 minutes.... she was there waiting to meet us at 4:00 when we said we would be back.... piece of cake....would do it again in a heartbeat.

[Don527]

Hi Texancruzer and all

 

This is the one port that our family is not sure what to do and renting a car may be a great idea.

 

Just a few questions,

 

How are the roads and are they very curvy and narrow ? (Also, I have never driven on the left hand side, is it very hard ?)

 

Were you able to go around the entire island and see all the sights ? How afar is it say from Long Bay to get down through Fig Tree to Turners Beach ? (just trying to get an idea on time)

 

Any ideas to stop and see and advise how long you can stay at a beach would be helpful

 

Regards Don

[texancruzer]

Don: I will try to answer all as best I can....

 

roads: Ok they are not the best I have been on but not the worst either..... they are for the most part 2 lanes. Some potholes and no shoulder in most areas..... not real curvy but not totally straight either. Some times they have to go around hills or other obstacles. Not real big hills.... never felt unsafe or scary. Driving on the left..... there are some things to remember when doing this....... especially when turning as it is awkward at first. There are some "roundabouts" on Antigua also.... think Chevy Chase going around and around near the Coliseum in the movie European Vacation (lol) just remember "stay left" going in and "stay left" going out. All that said......hardly any traffic once out of town.

 

The island is not that big...... we made a large circle and saw all the stuff we wanted to and spent a few hours at Long Bay snorkeling before too. The key here is advance planning. Research what there is to do..... decide what you want to see and do.....then get a map (do a websearch) and figure out a plan.... be flexible somewhat if time goes by faster than you planned..... you may need to skip something or edit the plan..... always head to the furthest point first (early in the day) and work your way back towards the ship.....and allow a "cushion" of time for an oops or delays.

 

We picked up our car at 9 - dropped off car a little before 4 - shopped at the pier for 30 minutes and back on the ship..... all aboard at 4:30. Not sure of distances since you asked.....and we sort of "explored" so not like we were rushing from one spot to another. Stopped at quite a few places and took photos, checked out an old church etc etc...

 

It is very doable...... we also did this on St. Maarten (drive on the right) and had a great time there also.....

[crusinhokie]

Just returned from the Serenade and rented a car in Antigua. I can't stress enough how much advanced planning is important in doing this. Some islands you can wing it but not here. First, the road signs once you get out of town (and even in town some) are scarce. And by scarce I mean once out of town we never saw another. Now that might be the route out of town we chose but of the several maps we obtained they had very few road names as well. The people are very helpful but our day was frusterating to say the least.

 

Also, we did not have good luck with Hertz. When I reserved with the 800 international number they had no idea where we would meet. We got off the ship and the locals told us where to go and the person never showed up. At 9 (an hour later than my reservation) I finally purchased a phone card and found the right phone only to get treated poorly. They acted like it was my fault and we weren't able to meet inside the port area. We basically got picked up and driven to where they had double parked the car to do the paperwork. None of the paperwork was prepared and all had to be filled in by hand. The whole time we were treated like a problem and inconvience. The customer service was just awful. I had to ask for everything and the woman was visably annoyed when I asked for a map. Returning was just as bad. There was no place to meet, we were just supposed to park "somewhere" and call. The woman in the afternoon was better but was still annoyed when we returned the car early.

 

If I were to return to Antigua, I would definietely plan more and consider another rental company.

[Spanky My]

I just recieved this from Dollar rental car in regards to my reservation...

 

 

Dear Customers

 

 

Your are hereby advised that effective 29th January, 2007 all Rental Contracts will be subject to a 15% Government Sales Tax calculated on the Time and Mileage only.

 

Inlight of this all reservation made in the months prior to 29th of January will carry an additional 15%.

 

This 15% Sales Tax is mandatory to all Companies on the island and cannot be waved .

 

Your full cooperation on this matter will be deeply appreciated.

 

Please be guided accordingly.

 

Sorry for any inconvenience caused.

 

Best Regards

Heck with the Car rental price,one day license, Insurance, and now this tax it is going to be apprx $100 to rent a small vehicle!!! Ouch! May have to reconsider as should those who are THINKING of renting......

[texancruzer]

Heck with the Car rental price,one day license, Insurance, and now this tax it is going to be apprx $100 to rent a small vehicle!!! Ouch! May have to reconsider as should those who are THINKING of renting......

 

We had four adults...... to do a cruise line excursion to do the things we did (if there had been one) it would have cost anywhere around 75.00 each. Thats 300.00 !!!

 

With the car (57.00 + ins. & gas) and Antiguan drivers license (20.00) we spent around 100-110.00 tops.... divided by 4 = 25.00-27.50 each.

 

AND we said where, when, for how long which you cannot do on a guided tour......

 

Just a thought

[scoruntt]

Does anyone have thougts of renting scooters instead of a car? We are debating it. Sounds like fun.

 

Scoruntt

[lauriedun]

Just back from our cruise! We did decide to rent a car in Antigua. We rented in advance from Hertz. They were very prompt in meeting us at the pier and had us on our way in less than 15 minutes. We had an awesome day, but I am not sure I would rent again. We were happy we did it because we got to see a lot of sights...Shirley Heights, Nelson's Dockyard, lots of goats (tee hee) plus we went to a way out the way rather deserted beautiful beach that we probably wouldn't have done if we would have hired a taxi. That said, I must agree with others in that the condition of the road and lack of street signs was a huge problem! Even though the island is not that big, it is still easy to get lost, even with a good map! Gas was also very expensive, I think we paid close to $4/gallon, though I am not sure because everything was in EC$. The locals were nice and were helpful with directions...but having the car added a little stress to the day. We were glad to get rid of it at 4:00.