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Rent a Golf Cart for the Day!

lestoby

By lestoby,
in Grand Turk

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lestoby

lestoby

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NATHAN SMITH BUSINESS MAN

We had initially reserved 4 scooters with Tony’s rentals for a total of $80 ea scooter. While in the parking lot at the port, while asking others where Tony’s was located, we came upon Nathan. Nathan offered us his golf cart for $80 for all day usage. What a deal! We saved a ton of money and it came out to be $20 per person for a self-guided tour. It was also a lot safer and we were able to carry our gear a lot easier. We used the scooter to tour the area and the town. We hopped on and off of our golf cart to snorkel (using our own gear) at the beach and to eat lunch. Other cruise people were so jealous that we got such a fun tour of the area. One person even offered us $20 to give a friend a ride back to the port). We took his $20, but gave it back to him when he returned the cart as promised.

No deposit or ID was required to rent the cart. We just handed Nathan $80 and we were on our way. Everybody in Grand Turk is very trustworthy.

Contact info: 649-046-5928 or NathanandLinda@TCIway.tc

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lestoby

lestoby

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There are not a whole lot of places to go on a 6 mile island, but we just had tons of fun driving on paved roads only. We made u-turns when we ran into a dirt road.

 

There are really only two main roads that seem to run paralell to each other and you can seem to turn around in circles a lot. I wish I had known earlier about a lighthouse on the island, but a waitress said that it was on the far north side and we were almost due back to the ship at that time. I don't know if the roads to the lighthouse are paved or not. I brought a map (not a very good one) of Grand Turk, but it did not seem to do much good, so we just followed our Indian sense :D

 

We spent a lot of time on the main beach road and went snorkeling (brought our own snorkle jackets, masks and snorkles). There is a coral reef that starts just about 2 fteet into the water.

 

PS: To put a golf cart in to reverse, there will be a switch (lever) on the front passenger seat that you move from right to left.

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monicajay

monicajay

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Thanks for the info,

 

I have e-mailed also, to see if he will reserve in advance. Our ship arrrives at noon and there is another ship arriving in the morning so if we don't have a reservation I doubt there will be much left.

 

We did the golf cart thing once before in Costa Maya and loved it.

 

I'll post back when if and when I hear from him.

 

Did he have many carts?

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lestoby

lestoby

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I am so sorry, I put in a typo for the phone number. Here are all the phone numbers on his business card:

 

 

Phone: 649-946-5928

Cell Phone: 649-231-4856

or 649-231-7224

 

I do not know how many carts he has available. There were about 10 in the port parking lot, but I don't know that they all belonged to him.

 

Good Luck and again, I apologize for not catching the phone number typo.:(

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lestoby

lestoby

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There were two ships in port when we arrived as well. Nathan was not "Hawking" the rental of his golf cart in the parking lot. We actually approached him asking for directions to Tony's, so I don't know if renting Golf carts is his number one business.

 

Most people on our ship were going snorkeling at the reef, at Margaritaville (waaaayyyy toooo expensive!), Dune Buggies (which looked dangerous), or taking van tours.

 

One more great thing about the golf cart, is that it kept our heads dry when it started to rain for about 10 min.

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lestoby

lestoby

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Poking around the internet looking for Nathan Smith in Turks and Caicos,

 

I found a NY Times article that indicates Nathan is primarily based in Salt Cay T&I.

 

Here is the info that they post for Nathan:

 

No one needs a car to get around Salt Cay, which has more donkeys than cars to begin with; it's the perfect place for getting around on foot, by bike, or by golf cart. Nathan Smith, the "unofficial mayor of Salt Cay," not only offers taxi service from the airport but rents golf carts and bikes (and offers tours of all kinds, including snorkeling and troll fishing for tuna). Contact Smith's Golf-Cart & Bike Rental, located next to the Salt Cay Divers dive shop (tel. 649/946-6928 or cellphone 649/231-4856; two-seater golf-carts $50/day, $280/week; four-seaters $60/day, $350/week; bikes $10/day; credit cards accepted).

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wfdemt

wfdemt

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Going by golfcart would be a great way to get around. I'm recovering from a broken arm and won't be able to do too many adventerous things, so this would be a safe solution.

 

Keep us posted on your results in reaching Nathan.

 

Thanks,

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lotro

lotro

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We'll be in GT on 2/8 and after reading this post, I immediately emailed Nathan last week and have not received a reply either. Since we are leaving this Saturday, I'm not holding out much hope of hearing from him. If we end up running into him at the port area, I'll post an update upon my return after 2/16.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Steve-N-Steph

Steve-N-Steph

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Like all the other posters I have also emailed Nathan and gotten no response. We will be in GT on 2/27 and would really like a golf cart so we are anxiously waiting to hear from lotro about there experience. To the op lestoboy how do we get to the parking lot from the ship? When we were in Costa Maya the golf cart people had a booth. Did Nathan have one? Any specifics would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

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samnz3021

samnz3021

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We had reserved scooters with Tony's rental and when we went looking for them he wasn't anywhere around. After waiting around for an hour and a half we asked Nathan if he knew where they might be and that's when he offered us the golf carts. We were so happy it ended up this way because we had a great time with them. He has them right outside the gates on the only road out from the cruise port. He was standing in the parking lot inside the gates next to his van. You pay him there and go get your cart and off you go. When we came back we just left them in the parking lot since nobody was around. We had a great day exploring Grand Turk in our golf carts.

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Steve-N-Steph

Steve-N-Steph

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samnz -I hope you don't mind, but I have all kinds of questions. Did u have a map of the island or just wander around? Were the golf carts two or four seaters? What did you pay for them and how long did you keep them. Any recommendations on where to go? Good places to stop for lunch and a Margarita? Best beaches if you went to any? Any info about your day would be appreciated. I'm really encouraged now that I've heard from someone else who just stumbled on Nathan and was able to rent a golf cart. We are really looking forward to being able to do this. :)

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samnz3021

samnz3021

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Steve-N-Steph..

You really don't need a map of the island since it's not very big. I believe it's only 7 miles long and 1 1/2 wide. We just followed the road to the north as far as it went then backtracked and then took a road that headed east to get over to the other side of the island. Then we headed north again til you come to the lighthouse and that is as far as you can go. You can't get lost so just explore all the roads to see what you find. Even the dirt roads. You will see cows, horses, goats, etc.. wondering along side or across the roads. So watch out for cow patties and horse manure in the road.:) The golf carts are four seaters. Two front seats then two in the back that face the other direction. We paid $60 for each cart. We had two in each one but I think if you have 4 in each it was $80 for the day. We ended up having them 3-4 hours since we were there only from 7-1 pm and we didn't end up getting them right away because we were looking for the scooters. For food and Margarita's I would probably say Margaritaville would be your best bet. It is right there at the cruise dock so we went there for drinks after we returned our carts. We had fun just exploring. They only go about 15 mph but you really don't need much more than that. Just remember to drive on the left side of the road. Have fun. We sure did. If you have any more questions just ask.

 

 

 

 

 

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