Grand Turk Nathans Golf Carts

[5326jan]

Jan, Thanks so much for the review of the island and the jeep.....AND for the personal note regarding the golf cart.

 

I think I have given up on the idea of a golf cart....doesn't sound like a good idea for our family of five :(

Even the Corolla would be tight, but from the sound of the roads, it might be safer than the jeep..ha! But it might be stuck and unable to go where a jeep could go...

 

sigh. Still can't decide what to do.....

 

Thanks again.....appreciate your coming back and letting us know!!

robin

 

Hi Robin. Dh and I are sitting at the airport on another adventure and I pulled up your reply. We decided that if we were to go to gt again we would rather spend our $95 on a water sport or at a bar than driving around the island. Other than the light house there was NOTHING worth seeing for more than a quick overview of the culture which would take all of 45-60 min to see. At any rate the beach was beautiful.

 

Don't mean to be harsh about culture. It is at the mercy of mother nature and tourism. No industry to speak of and only potential for income is thru tourism and production of salt. It would be a hard life.

[robinlbe]

Thanks, Jan....

I appreciate, again, your thinking of me.....

 

it would be fun to do the "fun" stuff, but part of the interest for us, I guess, is seeing the "real" place....especially if this is our one and only time to be there. I think it's good for our kids to SEE what it's like other places. They know how blessed we are, even though we are FAR from well-to-do, and we have to live very frugally. But we are RICH compared to these countries....and it's always a good reminder to us and to our kids.....

 

For five of us, if we can rent a jeep for under 100, that probably is cheaper than anything else we could do.....

[vickila]

Aside from stray donkeys, there are many stray dogs -- that look hungry. Did not feel too protected in a golf cart! lol:)

[FL Naturelover]

Where was the beach with the conch shells? I would love to take my daughters there. Thx!

 

To the right of the pier.

[5326jan]

To the right of the pier.

 

We couldn't find a way to get there in the jeep. There is a manned gate at the pier parking lot and we were not allowed to come in. We only saw tour buses come and go. You have to walk just outside that gate to pick up the golf cart/ jeep. We even drove down a dirt road parallel to the parking lot and it was simply an access road to a bunch of salt ponds. Nothing worth seeing and it was smelly.

 

When you get off the ship you will be funneled into a little shopping area with duty free shops and tour guides. I think you veer off to the right to go to the shell beach. If you go hard left you will be in Margheritaville and the beach to the left. You can walk farther down the beach to Jacks Shack and on further to Governor's beach. You can also go out the gate and walk across a "field" to go to those places.

 

If you find shells on the beach, make sure the animal is gone and the shell is relatively clean or you will have quite a smelly mess in your cabin. We made that mistake with sand dollars we found one year. Smelled like someone died on our balcony!:eek:

[portlandpete]

Aside from stray donkeys, there are many stray dogs -- that look hungry. Did not feel too protected in a golf cart! lol:)

 

I also was wondering about the dogs chasing the cart......

What if the golf cart stalls and the dogs are right there??

[5326jan]

I also was wondering about the dogs chasing the cart......

What if the golf cart stalls and the dogs are right there??

 

Just my humble opinion, but I didn't think the dogs looked like a problem. Unless you're dragging meat from the back of it, I think you'll be fine!:D

[crewsweeper]

I also was wondering about the dogs chasing the cart......

What if the golf cart stalls and the dogs are right there??

We were there last week and believe me donkeys and dogs are the least of worries. Our cart was fine, we passed a couple of scooters:D. But the seating for 3 left a lot to be desired, especially with the poor road conditions on Lighthouse Road and elsewhere. Nathan was very friendly got us on our way, wife was less so, like you're interupting her day. No check in on return. We had a good time, but once is enough. 3 hours gets you the full tour of the island, and ex-cruisers not a lot to see.

[portlandpete]

Glad to know the dogs won't be a problem! Still trying to decide if it is

worth it to rent the cart. Not sure if there is enough to see. Maybe a few hours on the cart and then to the beach.

[crewsweeper]

Glad to know the dogs won't be a problem! Still trying to decide if it is

worth it to rent the cart. Not sure if there is enough to see. Maybe a few hours on the cart and then to the beach.

 

To head to Bohio Beach (north of the town and one of the best beaches for snorkeling) in a taxi, RT from the cruiseport would be around $16 per person. Unless there's something/place specific you want to go in town, you might negotiate with a taxi for a "tour" to the lighthouse, not much else to really see, and back then hit one of the beaches next to the cruiseport (try Local Village) and rent loungers. Carts can be fun, but unless you stop somewhere for a long lunch or snorkeling, it won't take "a few hours" to see the island.

[sueandtimj]

We rented a golf cart a few weeks ago in Grand Turk from Nathan. Our golf cart was in excellent condition - but it's a standard size cart. We had two adults in the front and two 13 year olds in the back. We had more than enough space, but I don't think a 5th person would fit (unless you're talking about 3 kids). We really enjoyed having the golf cart. We drove all over the island (got lost a couple of times, but the island is so small, it's very easy to get back on track). There isn't a lot to see on the island, but we didn't want to have have "another" beach day. We went to the lighthouse, saw where the horseback riding exursion took place, ate a local roadside stop, shopped at a couple of local shops and checked out a couple of beaches. Pillary Beach has a resort on it. The drinks and food were very expensive (much higher than the cruise ship), so we didn't eat/drink there. We also went to Governer's Beach for a little while. We put in $5 worth of gas, but in all honesty, after 4 hours of driving around, the needle on the gage had hardly moved. We did see lots of donkeys, but we didn't see any dogs (well a couple that were in fenced yards) and at no time did we not feel safe. There are not a lot of cars on the road either, so whenever a car would come up behind us we would just drive a bit on the shoulder until it passed and get back onto the road. When we were at the lighthouse, the doon buggy excurision pulled up. We thought for sure that our kids would be disappointed that we were not doing that, but they both said that they liked the flexibility of going wherever we wanted and stay as long/short as we wanted.

We would highly recommend renting the golf cart if you're wanting a different day than a beach day. We left Grand Turk feeling like we had actually seen the island. That said, friends of ours stayed at the port and swam in the pool, walked the beach, ate at Jack's shack and also had a great day.

[gram2trips]

Luv the reviews from everyone. 3 "ole ladies" we r going to be there in Oct on the Carnival Pride. Thought we would rent the golf cart just for something different & see the island as we wont' get back. Have mixed feelings after reading all the reviews..........but we don't want to spend all our time sitting on a beach...... How far in advance do u have to rent the carts??

[Silent Penguin]

Reading this thread has been educational. Forewarned is forearmed. We will probably rent from Nathan.

 

It doesn't sound like these carts or the roads are in any worse shape than those I've experienced in parts of Mexico, Costa Rica or Columbia. If you can't fit a whole cinderblock or most of a car tire in the potholes, it's not a pothole by Baranquilla standards. If the cart has seats that are attached to the floor of the vehicle, it's nicer than what we rode in as missionaries in Santa Marta.

[5326jan]

Reading this thread has been educational. Forewarned is forearmed. We will probably rent from Nathan.

 

It doesn't sound like these carts or the roads are in any worse shape than those I've experienced in parts of Mexico, Costa Rica or Columbia. If you can't fit a whole cinderblock or most of a car tire in the potholes, it's not a pothole by Baranquilla standards. If the cart has seats that are attached to the floor of the vehicle, it's nicer than what we rode in as missionaries in Santa Marta.

 

That's probably a wise decision. I think we have a tendency to visualize a scenario and if you are realistic that it's not going to be a perfect cart.... or in our case, any cart at all.... and just realize that you will hopefully have some kind of vehicle to explore an island that has a half of a mile of tourist industry and the rest is the "real life" of the island..for better or worse, you will be fine. If you think you are going to get a country club cart, to explore a beach resort with lots of shopping and restaurants and beautiful scenery, you will be disappointed. You will see the real lives of an island that completely depends on the ships coming in. It is an experience that we all should appreciate and remember that the few bucks we spend for a chair on the beach or a cart for the day is crucial income for the islanders. Just my editorial comment after a 2 month reflection.

[swimmer_steph]

I've emailed Nathan about renting a Jeep for our day there and he has one. Now he needs a credit card either by phone or email to reserve the Jeep.

 

Has anyone had any problems/issues sending him their CC info via email? I'm terrified of the price to call him since I'm in Alabama and he's there.

[swimmer_steph]

Aside from stray donkeys, there are many stray dogs -- that look hungry. Did not feel too protected in a golf cart! lol:)

 

Oh no. Were you able to buy dog food for them? I do animal rescue and can't imagine seeing starving dogs and not feeding them. Were there grocery stores around?

[Oompaland]

No problems what so ever. The call was not expensive at all maybe $2. I am from Wisconsin and called on our land line.

 

It is a great experience. Have fun!

[swimmer_steph]

No problems what so ever. The call was not expensive at all maybe $2. I am from Wisconsin and called on our land line.

 

It is a great experience. Have fun!

 

I just tried phoning Nathan and was informed it would be $11.00 for the first minute and $3.00 for each after. :eek:

 

Has anyone given Nathan their credit card info via email and if so, were there any problems? I'm not willing to spend $13.00 for a two minute call.

[jacpan]

I've emailed Nathan about renting a Jeep for our day there and he has one. Now he needs a credit card either by phone or email to reserve the Jeep.

 

Has anyone had any problems/issues sending him their CC info via email? I'm terrified of the price to call him since I'm in Alabama and he's there.

 

There wasn't any problems for us!

[PeaceLoveCruise]

I just tried phoning Nathan and was informed it would be $11.00 for the first minute and $3.00 for each after. :eek:

 

Has anyone given Nathan their credit card info via email and if so, were there any problems? I'm not willing to spend $13.00 for a two minute call.

 

If you send him your phone number, he will call you back. I don't put cc information in e-mails... Just in case. Good Luck!

[Mooguy]

So did most of you reserve a cart ahead of time or just pick it up the day of arrival?

[Oompaland]

We rented prior to sailing. Friends of ours tried day of and they were all rented.

[Mooguy]

We rented prior to sailing. Friends of ours tried day of and they were all rented.

 

Could you please post the info on where/how to reserve

 

Thanks

[PeaceLoveCruise]

E-mail Nathan here:

nathanandlinda@tciway.tc

[gusandgidgetsmom]

Thank you all for the information. I have contacted Nathan and am going to rent a cart for our cruise in June. I will go into it knowing that my cart may not be perfect. I however am used to riding a cart under not ideal conditions. We live in the middle of a national forest and our Grandchidlren sometimes use our cart as they would their 4 wheelers! We have had a very muddy cart as well as a broken axle so think I will be just fine with his rentals!

I read in a post where someone took a van to his rental shop. My husband has a few mobility issues so wondered how to "catch" that van??