Rent a Golf Cart for the Day!

[Psee]

YMMV, but this is how it was for us. After leaving the ship you head to the end of the pier and the shops. Margaritaville is on your left and the taxi area is just beyond. When you get to the taxi area head across the parking lot and to the front entrance of port (about a block). Once you exit the main gate there should be some scooters and golf carts located on the side of the road. Nathan's employees will be there doing the paperwork for the rentals. When I questioned the $80 rate for 2 the employee called Nathan on his mobile phone and handed the phone to me. (Nathan didn't come off the price.) After filling out the paperwork we hopped in and started out.

 

We headed north on the main road and thought we were heading for the lighthouse but ended up on a back road on the other side of the island. It was not a problem though and the beaches and scenery were great. We stopped at several beaches and private drives, made it to the lighthouse, and then back to town for stops at several other beaches.

 

We saw the dune buggy and bus tours but they seemed a little too structured for us. Puttering around on our own was a lot of fun and we liked the flexibility to just go wherever we wanted. :)

[kruisin' kim]

Psee, my husband will be diving here, so I will be on my own with my 17 and 21 yo children. Do they have 4 seater carts available or will I have to rent two?

[Psee]

Psee' date=' my husband will be diving here, so I will be on my own with my 17 and 21 yo children. Do they have 4 seater carts available or will I have to rent two?[/quote']

 

Shouldn't be a problem. Our cart (as well the others we saw) had 4 seats. They have 4 sets of seat belts for the front and rear passengers. We used the rear ones to secure our beach bags. :)

 

I don't know how big his fleet is but when we got there around 10AM there were no carts. (Our ship docked at 8AM.) They said they had one more available but it had to be brought to the rental area. It took about 25 minutes for it to show up so you might want to get there early.

[lookin4beaches]

Psee' date=' my husband will be diving here, so I will be on my own with my 17 and 21 yo children. Do they have 4 seater carts available or will I have to rent two?[/quote']

We just got back from Grand Turk; as Psee said, the golf carts are 4 seaters. The cost is $80 dollars/day; it appears the there are at least 6 carts so get there early. You can take a chance that someone will return a cart like we did around 11:00; it doesn't take long to tour the island if that's all you do.

 

Remember, drive on the left;)

 

Have fun,

[Aldeya]

We were on Princess cruise last year and Grand Turk was one of the ports we visited.

 

We enjoyed the beach very much and walked around the cruise center a little. Nothing special EXCEPT one store which I can't forget and despite all the Internet search I can't find any information about.

 

I hope someone can help me with the name of the store. It's kind of an art store which sells a unique metal sculptures of some artist. If you went to the store and saw the items I'm sure you'll remember it. They are very unique, many of the metal sculptures have moving parts. It's hard to explain but I'm sure you don't forget it if you saw them even once.

 

I can't forgive myself that I didn't write the name of the store or the artist. If someone visited the cruise center and happened to be in this store I would really appreciate if you can help me with any information.

[tcrny]

Hi everyone ... thanks for the info on golf carts. Sounds like a blast to explore the island on our own. Just wondering if the beaches are public beaches or part of resorts ... are you allowed to go to any beach and do they charge admission? We have our own snorkel equipment. Are there any beaches you recommend for good snorkeling? Thanks so much ... glad you all had a great time. We are visiting GT in early August. Cathy

[w8ing2cruz]

We must have been on the same cruise as Psee. We were in Grand Turk last Wednesday - and followed our plan. I'm so glad we did. I was slightly concerned because it was just my daughter and myself. No worries. Nathan's helper told us it was $80 and same as Psee - he called Nathan's number and handed me the phone. I told him that I've read on cruise critic that it was $60 for only two people. He countered with $70 and I told him we'd pass. He then accepted the $60. I'm guessing that with the price of fuel he had to increase his prices. We first went to Bohio Resort as I had a picture that my husband took last year when we were there that I wanted to drop off. We snorkeled here for awhile and then headed to the lighthouse and the rest of the island. We stopped at Governors Beach and then finally at Big Daddys for lunch before returning the cart. As far as snorkeling goes - both Bohio and Governors were great. Have fun!!

[lestoby]

I thought golf carts were battery operated (not gas). Maybe Grand Turk is like Tijuana where you can bargain for a better price.

 

We were 4 people, so $20 pp was an excellent rate (better than $240 for 4 mopeds), I didn't think to bargain, but good for you!:)

[mosweet]

Thanks for all these great post. We will be in GT in Sept. and this is the thing we like to do. wish they had ATV's but we'll deal with the golf carts! ;)

[thepeach]

We were in Grand Turk on Friday and rented the golf carts. We got the guy down to $70-there was no way he could get approval for the $60-he called and we listened. We tried the we heard it was $60 on Cruise Critic, but he wouldn't budge. However, our golf cart did not have much gas, so he gave us $10 back to fill up the gas cart, so we sort of ended up at $60. Gas is $6.00 a gallon. The area to go to rent the golf carts is outside the gates of the cruise center, which we didn't realize. We were able to leave the carts in the parking lot next to the cruise center when we returned them. We found cold drinks in the gas stations, and at Cee's (sort of like a mini Sam's Club). Also found a clean bathroom at Cee's, the original intent of our stop. We had a great time on the golf carts, and glad we found out about them on CC. It was truly the only way to see the island.

[mosweet]

Thanks for your feedback. I think our group is going to rent the golf carts too. We'll try and work a deal since it will be 12 of us. :rolleyes: I can't wait to get there! :D

[yankedog]

Mosweet, did you get a reply? There will be 10 of us in our group and wondering if you got a good deal? thanks.

[dcwell1]

There will be 12 of us and I would like to see about getting a better deal as well. I hope he has enough 4 seat garts available! :cool:

[onehotpooh]

i assume its first come , first serve. correct?? siunds like unless you call or email him which might not mean much either way, 1st come?

 

 

 

pooh

[mosweet]

I didn't e-mail him cause I read in previous post that he doesn't respond. So we'll just have to be in the first group to get off the ship. When do you go?

 

Mosweet, did you get a reply? There will be 10 of us in our group and wondering if you got a good deal? thanks.

[scubatigger]

Do the golf carts come with gas or do you gas on as you go. Thanks

[4cruizers]

Do the golf carts come with gas or do you gas on as you go. Thanks

Yes, there is gas in them when you pick them up.

[4cruizers]

We just rented a golf cart two weeks ago. He has a limited number. You need to get off the ship and get out there to get a cart. We were second to get there and there were quite a few people coming behind us. He had maybe six there and he said he had just a few more at home that he could go get.

 

When you return them he will let you take them into the port area there and drop them off (at least he did with us, actually he had someone ride with us, as we had two carts with three people in each, and they took them back.) It was quite an adventure. We did get to see the lighthouse and donkeys and cows all over the road. Took a lot of wrong turns. Found a swimming spot that was not crowded at all. Turned the cart in with a few hours left and went back and enjoyed Margaritaville. Met some friends that had rented a cabana. If I go there again I will probably just stay at Margaritaville. You need to explore and see Grand Turk at least once.

[tcrny]

We leave on our cruise 7/28 and Grand Turk is our last stop in port from 1-6pm. Sounds like we may not have luck with a golf cart at that time if they are limited ...

 

Does anyone know about a beach just down from Margaritaville that you can walk to? I heard it is half the distance than Governors Beach.

 

Thanks! Cathy

[4cruizers]

We leave on our cruise 7/28 and Grand Turk is our last stop in port from 1-6pm. Sounds like we may not have luck with a golf cart at that time if they are limited ...

 

Does anyone know about a beach just down from Margaritaville that you can walk to? I heard it is half the distance than Governors Beach.

 

Thanks! Cathy

Are you the only ship in port that day? We were supposed to be, but the Miracle came in after us, as I think it had to divert because of Bertha. We were there from 11:00 to 5:30. I think we returned our cart around 2ish. We actually found a private spot, went down a road and went swimming and snorkeling there. It was actually very close to the port, but away from the crowds.

 

I would still try to get a golf cart, as you never know who has returned one.

[tcrny]

Are you the only ship in port that day? We were supposed to be, but the Miracle came in after us, as I think it had to divert because of Bertha. We were there from 11:00 to 5:30. I think we returned our cart around 2ish. We actually found a private spot, went down a road and went swimming and snorkeling there. It was actually very close to the port, but away from the crowds.

 

I would still try to get a golf cart, as you never know who has returned one.

Grand Turk is our last stop, and according to port time dot com we are the only ship but this website is not up to date as our princess cruise had an itinerary change early this month due to mechanical problem. the website still shows old itinerary, so now I don't know. Not sure how long it will take to get off the ship but will possibly take a look for the carts. Thanks, Cathy

[mosweet]

Looks like we are doing the itin you did. Do you remember if you were the only ship in port that day? I think we are but I'm not sure. I can't wait to go! :D

 

Are you the only ship in port that day? We were supposed to be, but the Miracle came in after us, as I think it had to divert because of Bertha. We were there from 11:00 to 5:30. I think we returned our cart around 2ish. We actually found a private spot, went down a road and went swimming and snorkeling there. It was actually very close to the port, but away from the crowds.

 

I would still try to get a golf cart, as you never know who has returned one.

[4cruizers]

Looks like we are doing the itin you did. Do you remember if you were the only ship in port that day? I think we are but I'm not sure. I can't wait to go! :D

the Miracle came in after us. They had been diverted because of weather. We were supposed to be the only one that day.

[Lovely_Star]

Okay I finally got pictures posted. Unfortunately there are no pics of the actual golf cart as I was always sitting in it when I was taking pictures and didn't think about it.

 

http://sssportsphotos.smugmug.com/gallery/4449756_Sg9Ca#261581016

 

Hey thanks for sharing your pics . . . I thoroughly enjoyed all of your island tour shots :)

[Veroite]

Arrived in grand Turk onAugust 11, 2011. Immediately met Nathan. Our group of six hired Nathan and his van to give us an island tour. Phenomenal. Nathan knows everyone, and I do mean everyone! Nathan stopped to allow us to tour any building we wanted. He took us to the grocery and the pharmacy. He gave us the history of the island and introduced us to several locals including the staff of the Turks and Caicos national Museum. He recommended a great little getaway Hotel for lunch, Bohio. Good food, great owners and a postcard view. While there, he even had his son, who is a pilot for Turks and Caicos Airlines, come by to say hi since I told Nathan that I was a pilot. Nathan is definitely your man in grand Turk. If I ever go back, Nathan is the first person I will call for recommendation and set up.