St. Kitts and Grenada - rental cars

[Mrs Booboo]

Has anybody out there ever rented a car for the day on either of these islands? If so, how was it? Able to get cars near where the ship docks? Easy to navigate the roads?

 

We are in St. Kitts from 7-3; would a rental car place be open that early?

 

We have discovered that we like the freedom of having a car and most islands have been pretty easy (St. Thomas, Aruba, St. Maarten). We did find Curacao to be a little challenging.

[denboy]

In Grenada my recommendation would be Y&R car rentals.Their web site is

http://www.y-r.com/ There is a discount for bookings made online.

You would need to contact them and ask if they could deliver to you but I am fairly sure they will.

You would probably classify driving in Grenada as challenging but for all that enjoyable. Make sure you get a decent map before you set off as road direction signs are scarce, if you do get lost it is no problem as by politely asking someone they will I am sure point you in the right direction.

 

If you decide to contact them please say to Richard that Denis passes on his regards and let me know how you get on.

[ambiz]

If you wish to rent a car in St. Kitts, the agency can arrange to meet you at the cruise terminal and get you set up with the car. Driving is on the left. The roads are not as wide as in the US, but if you drove in St. Maarten then you should be okay here since there is much less traffic here than in St. Maarten. It is fairly easy to navigate around. THere is a singel island main road that takes you around the main part of the island then you can drive over to the southeast Peninsula to explore that side and take in the views.

 

For more information about renting a car in St. Kitts you can visit http://www.discover-stkitts-nevis-beaches.com/st-kitts-nevis-car-rentals.html.

 

Regards,

Amicia

[Mrs Booboo]

Amicia,

 

I found information for Avis Rent-A-Car in two different places; one says it is on South Independence Square St and the other says it is on Bay Rd.

 

Also, I found two different addresses for Caines Rent-A-Car; Princes Street or C A P Southwell Industrial Site.

 

Do you know which of these is correct?

 

Also, would you say that any of these locations is within walking distance of where the cruise ships dock? It's hard to tell from the map I have.

 

Thanks

[tadjr]

I've been having the same problems with trying to get rental info on both of these islands. I wrote the St Kitts tourist board, but 2 emails came back undeliverable and the 3rd has been 2 days with no reply. None of the websites I've searched online can give me decent info. I also wrote a local company I found online with no reply.

Beginning to wonder if anyone is home there.

If you find anything please post it here. I will do the same.

 

Here is a link to the map of Basseterre I found online. Not sure if its better or worse that what you've been able to find.

http://www.caribline.com/islands/sk/btmap.shtml

[tadjr]

http://www.skyviews.com/stkitts/stkittsmap.html is another website that has a map. This one actually shows the location of the Hertz office. Its hard to tell the scale, but it doesnt look too far from the dock.

It says on the Hertz website that it is located in the CAP Southwell Industrial Park 1.5 mi S/10 min from airport. Hours Mo-Sa 8am-4pm Su 9-2. Phone 869-465-7822 and Fax 869-466-8346.

The have several models available starting at $40/day.

[ambiz]

Avis Rent a Car is now located on the Bay Road. Hertz Caines Rent a Car has offices at CAP Industrial site, the Marriott. The head office for the company that operates the Hertz Caines Rent a Car franchise is on Princess Street.

 

Avis is just outside Port Zante about a 5 minute walk. The head office for the Hertz company is within walking distance, about 7-10 minutes. Although they do not keep their cars at this downtown location, I believe it is possible for them to deliver the car their for you.

 

I believe it is also possible for any of the car rental agencies to arrange to meet you at the port.

 

I'll verify this with the agencies and repot back.

[tadjr]

Thanks for the info and help. I never received an email back from anyone or any business on St Kitts that I emailed so we decided to just do the ships excursion on the Sugar Train. Not the same as having a car for the day, but with no help coming from anyone we felt it best to play it safe here.

Will still be renting in Barbados and up in the air about Grenada.

[ambiz]

Sorry to hear that you did not receive a response to your e-mails. The businesses are sometimes slow to respond to e-mails, and because of SPAM sometimes the e-mails do not always get through. I have actually helped out some persons who e-mailed me and asked me to assist them by calling up the companies and making the reservations for them. If I have complete details this is easy, them the company can get back directly to the person to arrange payment.

 

I am sure that you will enjoy your tour on the Scenic Railway. Looking forward to reading about it when you return.

[CelebrationFamily]

We just returned from a week in St Kitts. We rented a car from Thrifty...located downtown not too far from the cruise port. The cost was $115 US for the day. That rate was for a new Suzuki Jeep and included gas and insurance. You can rent an economy for less.

 

BTW, the island is really gorgeous. And the drive around the island is fairly easy. If you are a photographer, take your equipment. And stop at Brimstone Hill, as well as Ottley's Plantation. You'll get some really special shots! Enjoy.

[Darcy8]

Does anyone know about how much a motor scooter rental would run on St. Kitts? Could we get around on scooters without a lot of difficultly?

Thanks. darcy8

[Mrs Booboo]

Amicia,

 

Would you happen to know (or could you find out) if the Avis office opens earlier on days when ships are in port? We are scheduled to dock at 7 AM, and would not want to waste an hour waiting for the office to open in order to rent a car. If Avis does not open that early, do you know of any places (close to the port) that do?

 

Thanks

[tadjr]

We saw the Avis office as we were heading to the train tour. It is easily within walking distance of the port 5 mins or so and not worth it to try to get them to pick you up at the port.

I wouldnt hesitate to rent a car here if we returned. The traffic wasnt too bad and there is one loop road around the island that can easily be done in a day even with stops.

If you dont want to drive, the train tour was a great alternative. Between the train and the bus it looped the entire island and the narrative was great. We also got some views that I'm sure car renters or tours didnt get to see.

This was one of the few places we would want to return to and spend more time exploring.

[Mrs Booboo]

tadjr - just thought I'd let you know that we did ultimately end up renting from Avis; very easy pickup and return. We beach-hopped around the southern peninsula; no problems driving - except avoiding the monkeys, cows, and goats in the road!

 

We too loved the island and wished we had more time there so that we could explore the northern half.

[tadjr]

Glad to hear you had a good time.

Some of my friends ended up renting a car and driving. It was their first time driving on the left and they said they didnt have any problems except they almost hit a rooster that flew in front of them. There were animals everywhere, eh? They even had a little train car to go in front of the train to shoo the animals off the tracks!