Renting a car in GC????

[Cloverfield]

This is a really last minute question, I am hoping someone can help out with... last minute, because we leave tomorrow on Liberty of the Seas :D

 

I have read through some great posts here on renting a car in GC. We are there next week, and think this might be a great way to see the island, or part of it at least!

 

Can anyone please tell me, where would we go, once in GC to rent a car? Are there set-ups at the pier, or do we need to go somewhere in Georgetown? As well, pricing for the day I see is around the $60-$70 - would that include any type of insurance??

 

Thanks in advance for your help! :)

__________________

[cruisingrightalong]

You may be familiar with this...but they drive on the left side of the road...is that right???? the opposite of America.

 

Lou

[m steve]

@economy@candw.ky. I'm renting from the in May and their rates seem very good. I don't know if they will send a car to the pier.

[bookbabe]

Most of the rental car places are at the airport, but if you've booked in advance they'll often send a shuttle for you. Most of the US chains have an outlet in Cayman...check your preferred one and see if they list one.

 

There's also Andy's, which is a local company, and they have an outlet at Seven Mile Beach as well as at the airport. http://www.andys.ky/

 

You pretty much have to book in advance to guarantee a car and to get any kind of available shuttle. You could just grab a taxi and go to your chosen car rental place, hoping for the best, but if you do that you should have a backup plan, just in case.

[Cloverfield]

Thanks so much guys for your help :)

Definately something we are going to consider...knew about the driving on the other side, I'll let my husband tackle that one ;)

Checked into a few of the chain places today, some have cars available, others not.

We'll see about booking, but definately have an alternate plan...thanks again :)

[MrsPete]

Don't do it. Seriously. Don't. We thought it'd be a great idea to rent a car in Grand Cayman, and it turned out to be the worst day of our cruise.

 

I think we rented with Avis (might be wrong, this was a year ago), and the deal was that we'd meet the shuttle at a store called something like The Blue Iguana, which was "just off the pier". Well, if you tell me something's just off the pier, I think it's going to be within two blocks or so -- I think you should be able to see it from the pier. Nope. It's a hike to The Blue Iguana. Maybe 1/2 a mile. We're young and healthy, so the walking didn't hurt us, but we kept doubling back because we thought for sure we'd passed the place. Nope. It's a looong walk.

 

Once we got there, no one was aware of any shuttle that should've picked us up, but the sales clerk called Avis. 30 minutes later -- at my request -- she called again. Another 30 minute later -- at my request -- she called a third time. Come on, folks, I've got a reservation. I have only a few hours -- get your act together! Finally the van showed up, and there were so many people waiting to go to Avis (if I'm right about the name) that there weren't enough seats. As the smallest adult, I ended up sitting on the floor jammed by the van's sliding door.

 

It was a short drive, and the pick-up procedure was quick. The car was in good working order, and they gave us a map. Driving on the "wrong side of the road" wasn't a big deal at all.

 

Our next difficulty, however, was that apparently they don't believe in street signs in Grand Cayman! Perhaps they all blew away in a hurricane, but it's difficult to navigate your way around.

 

We went to the Butterfly Habitat (A+), Seven Mile beach (incredible), and Hell (tourist trap). In between, we found ourselves immensely frustrated by unmarked streets and a map that didn't seem to match up with what we saw. We wanted to give up and return the car, but it took us forever to find our way back to the rental place!

 

Fortunately, the shuttle was ready right away -- no more waiting -- and we asked to be dropped off back at the pier.

 

I won't do that again. We spent most of our day driving around in search of things, and it wasn't any fun being lost.

 

Those public busses really are everywhere. In retrospect, I wish we'd just dropped our rental plans and headed to Seven Mile beach on one of those busses. Everything in Grand Cayman is clean, westernized, and safe. You'll have no problems finding plenty to do without a car.