Should we rent a car in Carribean ports?

Hello,

My family of 3 adults and 2 young kids will sail in a month on RCCL. The stops will include St. Martin, St. Kitss and Puerto Rico. Does it make sense to rent a car in particularly in the first two ports? As I understand, taxis are charging a per person rate there, and car rental for 5 may be cheaper than a taxi ride. Other pros would be the ability to see more of the islands and having a secure place to store the personal effects. The cons would be the hassle of renting and returning, finding parking, etc. Are there any other factors we should consider?

I think it will depend on what you'll be doing! As far as "storing" your personal stuff, rental cars are HUGE targets for thieves ...they know rentals will have good stuff in them!

Another thing to consider is the o car rental location to port. More time could be lost to just retrieving and returning the car than what it's worth. Personally I would just take a taxi.

Your young kids are still in strollers? You could walk from the cruise port along the water front into town - Philipsburg. It's located on a beach. That is the lowest cost option. The town has plenty of shopping. :)

In St. Kitts, the beaches are far; the cute old-fashioned Caribbean town of Basseterre is hidden behind the modern shopping area at the cruise port. We headed into the mountains on a tour.

St. Kitts might have left hand driving. I do not remember because the roads on the mountains were so narrow that only one car fit.

I did not see a car rental place near the cruise port but I did not look out for it either. In St. Barth they brought the pre-ordered car from the airport to the landing spot.

I would not.

The unfamiliarity of the port, not knowing safe areas.

Be a sitting target for theft.

Others not knowing your where-a-bouts?

Nah, dont recommend.

Sea Ya

Thanks for the answers. The kids are 2 and 6, we are taking a stroller for the little one. We are not interesting in shopping- what do they have there that we can't buy at home? The ideal day would be to see the islands- cities, nature, everyday life of the locals and spend some time on a beach. I found some rentals close to the cruise terminal- more expensive, but worth the convenience. I googled St. Kitts driving- and they indeed drive on the wrong side of the road, and this is a serious argument against renting.

By personal effects I mean things like stroller or snorkeling gear- things I could live in a plain sight in a car.

We always rent a car in St. Maarten so that we can drive between the Dutch and French sides at our leisure. There are a number of car rental places adjacent to the pier, I believe the one we always rent from is Coastal.

St. Maarten / St. Martin is very easy to drive around. Be sure though, to drive the island from east to west, starting off in the direction away from downtown Philipsburg towards Maho Bay, and then make your way north from there towards Marigot on the French side, then loop from the north heading south along the east side of the island. The reason I suggest this route is because the traffic through downtown Philipsburg gets very congested late afternoon on the way back to the ship. There are so many great places to stop along the island.

I wouldn't bother renting a car in San Juan. Old San Juan is very easy to walk around, and there is a lot to see, but if you decide you want to go to El Yunque Rainforest, there are plenty of drivers at the pier that will escort you.

In St. Kitts, we would have preferred to have rented a car, but opted to hire a drive once we were off the ship.

Hello,

My family of 3 adults and 2 young kids will sail in a month on RCCL. The stops will include St. Martin, St. Kitss and Puerto Rico. Does it make sense to rent a car in particularly in the first two ports? As I understand, taxis are charging a per person rate there, and car rental for 5 may be cheaper than a taxi ride. Other pros would be the ability to see more of the islands and having a secure place to store the personal effects. The cons would be the hassle of renting and returning, finding parking, etc. Are there any other factors we should consider?

There is a third possibility. You may be able to hire a taxi van for a flat rate. I believe I saw them in San Juan, but I'm not sure about the other ports mentioned. Just make sure that, whatever you do, be back to the ship on time.

I saw taxi vans in Basseterre on St. Kitts. You might get names and addresses on the destination board. We booked Greg's Safari - a tour charged per person.

If you are going to rent a car talk to your car insurance company & read your policy before you leave. You may not be covered. In which case, you should buy the insurance when you rent.

Thanks for the advice.

If renting in St. Martin, would you make a reservation prior to the sailing? Will they have enough cars to service walk-ins?

Thanks for the advice.

If renting in St. Martin, would you make a reservation prior to the sailing? Will they have enough cars to service walk-ins?

Yes, I would advise to make a reservation well in advance, and ensure that you can cancel if you change your mind. In my experience, there are no guarantees with walk-ins.

Here is the link to Coastal Car Rental, whom we have used a number of times (I assume you are docking in Philipsburg, on the Dutch side?).

http://sxm-car-rental.com/

A great place to go for lunch for fresh fish is in Gran Case, near Marigot. There are lots of little mom and pop places along the waterfront that are void of tourists.

We rented a car on St Maarten. Did it online, it was no problem. Printed out a map and drove around the island. Very easy to do, good roads and beautiful scenery! :)

Even with insurance you want to find out the laws for each place you are visiting.

Some countries --if you are in an accident you are held until its all paid for.

(there was a review here in CC about a guy who rented a car and got in trouble because he just did not know)

I would not rent a car in a differnt country.

And with taking a taxi with that young of kids-- do they supply seats?

I rented cars overseas many times without a problem. I will check with CC company just in case. Good point about the child seats. How would we deal with the child seat issue in a taxi? I doubt they carry one in a trunk.

We rented a jeep from Coastal rentals in St. Maarten while cruising on the Reflection this past January. It is a 5 minute walk from the ship to their kiosk. After doing the paperwork an attendant drove me to a holding lot to pick up the jeep and it was not far.No regrets whatsoever.

We toured around the island (5 of us) and stopped where we wanted and stayed at each place as long as we wanted. Gave us a great feel for the whole island. The French side was quieter and a more relaxed pace with nice beaches. It was nice to see the planes coming in over Maho beach as well (IMHO this is a must do in St. Maarten). I paid the full insurance for the day and filled up just before I dropped the Jeep off. The previous advice about going through Philipsburg in the morning and coming back from the east side of the island is accurate. Traffic coming back late in the afternoon through the town is quite heavy.

Thanks for the advice.

If renting in St. Martin, would you make a reservation prior to the sailing? Will they have enough cars to service walk-ins?

I would definitely make a reservation. There were a few people looking for cars and none available. I would also get off the ship and to the kiosk as early as possible as a line starts up quite quickly.

We rented a car only once (in Grand Cayman), and it wasn't a good experience:

- We followed the directions we were given as far as picking up the car, but we wasted over an hour in that.

- Even with a map, we had trouble navigating the roads and wasted lots of time driving around.

- On the plus side, driving on the "wrong side of the road" wasn't a problem.

In retrospect, I'd go with a taxi next time.

For St Martin, I don't have an opinion about car rental, but a couple of observations. The roads seem decent (although there was a hurricane there in Oct that did a lot of damage). It's not a pretty island, and there are not a lot of interesting stopping places along the road as I recall. You also have to think about whether the kids will have a good day riding around in the car. Maybe find a beach and let them have a fun day playing in the water and on the sand. Check the Ports thread. Some of the beaches on St. M are in shabby shape after the hurricane.

St Kitt's - they definitely drive on the other side of the road (British style) in this place. I wouldn't experiment with adapting to that with two kids in the car. Two options, as I see it. 1. Find a taxi near the pier and ask the driver to take you to a beach where there are full facilities (potties, food and such) and where the beach does not drop off fast into deep water. Ask the driver to pick you up at a set time. 2. Get off the ship and walk past all the Diamonds International and similar shopping stuff. You will come out into Basseterre, which is very walkable. There is a charming square near the port entrance where the kids could run off some steam.

San Juan - unless you have a specific goal of something you want to see that requires a car, no need to rent one. This city is very walkable and interesting. There is also a free trolley that runs back and forth from the pier area to the forts. The earlier you take it, the less crowded it is on the trolley. If everybody gets too tired to walk back to the ship, get a taxi. They don't charge by the person, it's by the ride.

DW and I often rent cars at ports (all over the world) but only do it when we have a specific objective. Both PR and St Maarten are good places to have a car if your goal is to drive around the island and make multiple stops. But if you simply want to take the kids to a nice beach then you would do better to simply use island transportation (often shared van/taxis). As to St Kitts, we do not recommend renting a car for those not familiar with driving on Caribbean Islands.

Hank

Hello,

My family of 3 adults and 2 young kids will sail in a month on RCCL. The stops will include St. Martin, St. Kitss and Puerto Rico. Does it make sense to rent a car in particularly in the first two ports? As I understand, taxis are charging a per person rate there, and car rental for 5 may be cheaper than a taxi ride. Other pros would be the ability to see more of the islands and having a secure place to store the personal effects. The cons would be the hassle of renting and returning, finding parking, etc. Are there any other factors we should consider?

1. Re Ste Marteen - we spent a week there 10 years ago. Had a rental one day, an island tour another day. The rest of the time was wandering the (2) streets of P'burg, people watching, talking with locals. A day there on a cruise in November, we spent the day in Phillipsburg. Given that "extensive" experience, I would not waste time and $ on a rental. Take a local bus to St Martin (the French side), wander the market there, check out the nude beaches, then get back to P'burg, enjoy the beach and Boardwalk.

2. Re St Kitts - we've done the Rail tour and an independently arranged Island Tour. Both good. I would not try to see and do these on my own. The interpretive commentary from the driver is totally worth the price.

3. Re rental cars - been there, done that on many international business and pleasure trips. Most recently (this year) in Israel, Denmark, England. It can be a necessary evil to get you where you need to be, but using local transportation, local drivers, will always be my preference. Let Them worry about navigation, parking, interpretation of the Dutch or Hebrew or Danish instructions on the gas pump and the big issue of watching the time and gauging how to get you back to the pier in time to comfortably get back aboard... If you insist on heading off on your own, take a Garmin with you with proper locality maps downloaded and installed. Cheaper and more reliable than one you might get with your rental. You can even save yourself half an hour or so by preinstalling the route you want to follow in e.g. Ste Marteen.

I want to report that St. Martin car rental worked out excellent. The rental place was a very short walk from the pier, and the car was ready. First we did a circle around the island and visited the highest mountain- they don't take tourist groups there because the road is very narrow. Returned to the port, went to the ship for lunch and dropped off grandma with our 2 y.o. for a nap. Drove to Dawn beach- another place without tour buses and spent the afternoon snorkeling and relaxing.

I want to report that St. Martin car rental worked out excellent. The rental place was a very short walk from the pier, and the car was ready. First we did a circle around the island and visited the highest mountain- they don't take tourist groups there because the road is very narrow. Returned to the port, went to the ship for lunch and dropped off grandma with our 2 y.o. for a nap. Drove to Dawn beach- another place without tour buses and spent the afternoon snorkeling and relaxing.

Excellent! Thanks for coming back and telling us.

We were on the highest mountain with a tour. The last steep part on benches in the bed of a truck! Then we walked down on a forest trail to a farm. Great experience.

What did you do on St. Kitts and Puerto Rico?

Wow, I'm surprised they actually taking tourist to the mountain. The road was so narrow, both mirrors on our small rental car were brushing the tall grass. And there is barely space on the top to park 3 cars.

On St. Kitts we got off the ship fairly late. Took a taxi to a beach- don't remember the name, it was on the southeast part of the island. On the way the driver stopped oh the hill with a nice view of both Atlantic and Caribbean. We allowed a good safety margin on the return ride. Later I thought that we should have asked the driver to to show us around the island a little bit. The taxi fare was $16 each way.

Our stop in Puerto Rico was only 1/2 day. I've been to the island on a longer trip before and didn't plan venture far away from the ship. We just strolled around the old city.

Hello,

My family of 3 adults and 2 young kids will sail in a month on RCCL. The stops will include St. Martin, St. Kitss and Puerto Rico. Does it make sense to rent a car in particularly in the first two ports? As I understand, taxis are charging a per person rate there, and car rental for 5 may be cheaper than a taxi ride. Other pros would be the ability to see more of the islands and having a secure place to store the personal effects. The cons would be the hassle of renting and returning, finding parking, etc. Are there any other factors we should consider?

I have not been to St. Kitts. However, I have been to St. Maarten and the per person rated go down as the number of people goes up. The following is from March 2012 ...