Has Anyone Had the Guts To Rent A Scooter??

We are sailing on the Jewel of the Seas 9/22 and hubby really wants to rent scooters.

We were on the Granduer repo in 2003 and took the bus, it seemed like such a pain and very crowded.

We motorcycle at home so we have some experience. Just gotta drive on the "Wrong" side I know.

We will also be there for a Saturday and Sunday so I am hoping for less traffic, Is this true?

We like to do our own thing and check out the nooks and cranies.

Any experiences..? are there 2 person ones?

I am also interested in hearing replies to this. We sail to Bermuda on Grandeur 7/17/05. Would like to try the scooters DH has motorcycle experience, but I would just like to be a passenger, are thescooters big enough for 2?

They have two people ones. Most of the visitors who get hurt are not experienced motorcyclists. The roads are narrow so just take it easy. Watch out for the tourist doing it badly...

I wouldn't. Not worth the risk of ruining my vacation.

We are sailing on the Jewel of the Seas 9/22 and hubby really wants to rent scooters. We motorcycle at home so we have some experience. Just gotta drive on the "Wrong" side I know.

Well . . . if hubby has motorcycle experience then you should be okay, just be careful about driving on the left (make sure he looks in the proper direction before pulling out onto a road) and read up on traffic circles.

We will also be there for a Saturday and Sunday so I am hoping for less traffic, Is this true?

No. But there won't be rush hour traffic to/from Hamilton. Almost all stores are closed on Sunday so there will be a lot less traffic in Hamilton that day but as for the rest of the island I don't think it matters what day it is - there will be traffic.

are there 2 person ones?

Absolutely, just ask the staff at the scooter rental. Lots of tourists 'double-up' on scooters.

Well . . . if hubby has motorcycle experience then you should be okay, just be careful about driving on the left (make sure he looks in the proper direction before pulling out onto a road) and read up on traffic circles.

 

 

 

Thanks so very much!

 

Here in New England we have lots and lots of traffic circles so that is no problem...but in Bermuda you go Clock Wise instead of Anti or Counter Clock Wise Right? oh I mean Left...LOL

 

Thanks again!

I can speak from my own personal experience. I have been to Bermuda 3 times and have rented mopeds all 3 times. The first 2 times, I had a screaming good time, rode all around the island and never had a single worry with the moped! It really is lots of fun if you are careful!

The last time was about 3 years ago. My DH and I rented one in Hamilton and set off for St. George. THere seemed like there was more traffic this time, but we had a good morning. When we were on our way back to the ship around 4pm, it started raining on us. I mean, POURING!!!!! I was in front and he was right behind me on his moped. It was coming down in sheets right into our eyes. In retrospect, I guess we should have stopped and waited it out, but we wanted to get back and get cleaned up for our early dinner. To make a long story short, my front tire hit a sewer grate (which was about 1 inch lower than the street) and I lost control. I was fighting to get things straight again, but I was wobbling and sliding on the rain-slick street. Over the handlebars I go, sailiing onto the asphalt street and sliding about 10 feet. I was thrown over into the on-coming traffic and finally stopped less than 5 feet in front of a big truck that screamed to a stop right in front of me. Jeez, Marie---was I lucky not to be run over!

I was so lucky that I did not break anything---lost one of my favorite sandals, scraped the he** out of my arm, leg and foot. Moped was wrecked (thank goodness we had got the insurance)

It was so scary!! We took a cab back to the ship and I limped on board bleeding and looking like a war refugee. Doctored myself back in my cabin, but was sore for a week.

If you decide to rent a moped, please be careful and don't go in the rain! :cool:

After two trips to Bermuda, I will tell you what scares me about the scooters.

1) How close the buses come up behind you, the traffic circles, and driving on the left hand side of the road.

2) On our first cruise to Bermuda, we were getting off the ship and saw a guy trying to work a scooter for the first time. He was trying to get on it and must have hit the gas and sent it into a spin with him still holding the handle bars. My husband tried to step in to help and nearly got knocked over as well.

I will stick with the bus and ferry. I feel so much safer.

Here in New England we have lots and lots of traffic circles so that is no problem...but in Bermuda you go Clock Wise instead of Anti or Counter Clock Wise Right?

Yes, you go clockwise around traffic circles in Bermuda.

If your husband hasn't used the motorcycle for a while have him go out driving on it a few times to get the hang of it again before your trip.

DH has been riding motorcycles since he was 5 years old. If he had not ridden before I think I would have refused to go with him. :)

Do take your time and make sure that you get a good scooter. The one we rented wasn't in very good shape and while I asked him to take he back DH would not.

If you do ride let other, faster, traffic pass you. The roads are very narrow and twisty and I think some folks get intimidated into riding faster than they are capable of doing. I know there were several times I went "Oh, Sh!t" when someone passed us very fast on a curve. But I would rather they did that than us trying to go faster.

Also about the rain; DH and I did get caught in the rain just last week. We pulled over to a bus stop and waited until it let up. Lots of locals do exactly the same thing so don't feel odd about doing this as well.

You might also want to buy a map before leaving. We got a good one from Rand-McNally.

Good luck!

Caroline

In the summer here you can't keep him off his bike! We just got back from a ride.

By the way, by any chance do they rent motorcycles in Bermuda or only scooters? Thanks!

Only scooters. Price of gas is over $6.00 a gallon.

same price as in Europe...

Modeds and Scooters are for rent... the larger 'bikes' you see on the island are max of 100cc. They require a special license to drive them .. and can only be obtained ONCE you get a regular scooter license. The 100cc test involves a lot of cones and such...

With the passage of the Motorcycles and Auxiliary Bicycles Amendment Act 2002, it is illegal to import and sell 2-stroke motor cycles over 50cc after 31 December 2004. 125cc and 150cc sizes will be allowed, as was the case decades ago. Currently, because of the shortage beyond Bermuda of 100 cc units, local distributors must import 125 and 115 cc models and convert them to 100 cc. Customers pay for this expensive process. Individual driver's licenses are required, irrespective of whether an owner already has a local license to drive an automobile. Like automobiles, mopeds and scooters must be inspected, insured for at least Third Party liability, licensed and registered annually. The average price for a new model, with extra locks and basket as extras, is about $3, 000.

Unlike visitors who are strictly limited to 50 cc rented vehicles, residents may own and operate mopeds or similar with a maximum 93 dbA noise limit, but this is chronically abused by many locals who deliberately make their bikes much louder and make the noise of traffic on main highways much louder and more unbearable than in downtown Manhattan or any US city from http://www.bermuda-online.org/wheels.htm

I think my riding lawn mower has more power than the mopeds and scooters. The some of the 100cc units are HOT (have seen a few detuned Hogs).

The store called 'The Marine Locker' around the corner from the Lobster Pot restaurant (near the XL Capital white building) is a GREAT place to buy Helly Hansen rain gear. They have bibs and jackets as well as plain slickers. A slicker is a requirement in Bermuda .. tho less so in the summer months. I bought a Helly jacket to wear on the island (working there as consultant) and now it is my favorite jacket for rain and cool weather.

Another WARNING.. they DO have radar detectors for speeeders! You would think with the twisty windy road (the country is made up of something like 79 islands connected by bridges) there would not be many places you could speed.. trust me there is!

Also DO NOT drink and drive .. especially from the Swizzle Inn near the airport. This is a wonderful place (not on the water or anything) but rum and scooters are not nice. I was on a plane home one week when a gentleman was lifted to the plane by the Catering Truck with his leg totally imobile... he was rushing back for surgery after 'messing' his knee up .. somthing about a shattered knee cap.

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Personally I would take the horse and buggy transport as a way of seeing downtown. Taxis are very expensive (as is everything else in Bermuda) .. so the bus and the ferries are the other option.

In closing I found the following line in the article mentioned herein that I think ALL notice scooter cruisers should note:

In its total land area of 21 square miles, Bermuda has six times more vehicle accidents per square mile than anywhere else in the world. More than a thousand unsuspecting visitors end up in hospital each year because they have accidents on these vehicles.

I am a very experienced motorcycle rider. My wife and I rented a scooter during our first day in St Thomas on our RC cruise there on the Serenade earlier this month and almost got killed twice. One was a maniac going around a blind curve in our lane at high speed, the other was a local who purposely clipped us as he went by. He hit my mirror, and my wifes leg giving her a nasty bruise (could have torn it off). Pony up the extra $$ and hire a cabbie or rent a car. I know it's a load of fun, but in the end it's not worth ruining your vacation or ending your life for.

Our nieghbor was in Bermuda a few years ago, rented a scooter with his wife and unfortunately, came home paralyzed from the waist down after a curve in the road with more gravel than expected. That kinda firmed up our family's decision about scooters. Yes, I know it could have happened in our hometown, but the combination of unfamiliar territory and riding on the left side of the road makes it a very different event.

Hope you enjoy Bermuda as much as we do.

DH used to have a motorcycle, so we rent a scooter and I ride on the back. We've had no problems...he can handle the left side and the many turnabouts.

I've booked a week in Bermuda in May 2007 and I'm sure we'll rent one again.

Every time we cruise to Bermuda they always annouce that they do not advice renting the scooters. People rent them any how and on the way back to Boston there are always several people on crutches or arms in a sling due to motor bike acciddents. Some one on our ship was killed once when she and her husband hit a bus head on. Riding the buses is enough of an adventure for me!

I've been there four times, rented scooters all times and have been very happy. Never a problem.

While in Bermuda, my DH (who rides a motorcycle with the police department) suggested renting one. I don't like the fact that he has to ride a motorcycle at work- let alone to rent a scooter on vacation. So, we passed and used the transportation system (ferry and buses). It did take a little longer to get to the other side of the island, but after we were out on the roads (in the bus) my husband said he was glad we did not rent a scooter. He said the drivers were crazy, the roads were narrow and many turns were blind (and people do not hesitate to pass on the blind turns). I saw many locals zipping around and saw many-many close calls! Just be very careful, because if my DH, who has extensive motorcycle training, felt uncomfortable with the driving conditions it may be more dangerous than it initially appears.

We were in Bermuda 3 years ago and rented mopeds. It was the best time. We cruised from one end of the island to the other. One day we went to Kings Wharf and stopped at beaches along the way. Another day we went to St. Georges. After waiting one evening after dinner for a taxi, mopeds are the best way to get around this great island.

We rented individual scooters on our honeymoon in 1970; they were pedal assisted to start and to go up hills.

In 1995, for our 25th anniversary trip, we rented a two person scooter, which I prefer because my husband and I could talk. I'm the navigator, so I read the map and gave directions.

I've told my husband that when we go back in 2020 for our 50th anniversary, I don't think we should rent a scooter. He disagrees.

I think alot depends on where you want to go. Been to bermuda many times. Usually just do bus and ferry. One time we were at the dockyard for several days and there was a bus strike so Hubby talked me into a scotter. A 2 person- and believe me if we fit anyone will. We stayed in the west end- venturing no further than Church bay. We only rode at non rush hour times- and in good weather. It was wonderful to be able to go to lots of little beaches and roads we had never seen before. I also loved being able to really smell Bermuda- something you miss in a bus. However I did find it tiring - mayybe because of being tense and having to constantly yell "left left" . It gives you a really up close and personal view of bermuda . If you decide do be careful and use caution. It seems so easy but I found by the second day we were zipping around a ltittle relaxed and wham we made a right hand turn and almost ran into a truck because we forgot "left left" No harm but vigelence is essential.

I rented a scooter in 1972 and was almost killed - and back then there wasn't half the traffic there is now. A few years later, my parents went on a cruise and one of the waiters was hit and killed by a passenger, on another ship. who was driving a scooter. Believe me they look like and are fun - if you have a death wish.

Going Sept. 23rd--will be our 10th trip to Bermuda. We have rented Scooters on every trip--wife rides with me. I'm 61 & the wife 59, and we only take the scooters. Love them, and you can see things and visit places that others never get to see. Nice thing--No waiting :) Ron