Any Advice for Renting a Car and Doing GC on Your Own

[kristing63]

I would like to rent a car on Grand Cayman. Can anyone offer advice on how/where to rent a car, and what to see and where to go while there. Thanks in advance for your help!

[twinkletoes4445]

I think renting a car is really the way to see Grand Cayman. We rented from Andy's (http://www.andys.ky) at the airport (we flew in). You might contact them and see if they'd pick you up at the port area.They have two locations...one at the airport, and the other along the 7MB area (next to Coconut Joe's-a restaurant that we enjoyed).

 

We loved the East End, the drive to Rum Point, Savannah and Bodden Town. These are places that most cruise ship passengers won't get to visit. If you are looking for local artists work, you might stop at Pure Art. It's about a mile out of the port area...away from 7MB. It was by far our favorite shop.

 

http://www.pureart.ky/

 

The great thing about Grand Cayman is you can really go anywhere on the island and feel safe. Traffic moves along pretty slowly, and the drivers are very polite.

[kristing63]

Thanks so much!

[twinkletoes4445]

Have a great time! :)

[cruising grandma]

Here is another car rental site. I used them in Ocotber, and we found two other couples from the ship who came along for the ride.. We went to Rum Point Beach for the day......took the long way there and short way back. We had lunch and enjoyed the beach, clean restrooms, too. They have sun and shady spots with loungers. It was a very relaxing day. http://www.caymanislandsdiscounts.com/AvisRates.htmy Remember drive on the left!

[kristing63]

Thanks again! How about mopeds?

[twinkletoes4445]

Thanks again! How about mopeds?

 

I think I saw a moped rental spot across from Carlos & Charlie's, but other than that, I don't know anything about them. I probably wouldn't rent one...but that's just me. The traffic along 7MB can get very heavy, and I'd worry I might get run over. But that's just me.

 

But I do remember on our honeymoon (years ago), we rented mopeds and went all over the little mountain town we were staying at...and had a ball.

 

If you don't get answers to your moped question, you might start another thread asking about them. There are a couple of posters who live on the island, and they'd be able to tell you more about where you might find moped rentals. :)

[drew sailbum]

There are a few outlets that rent mopeds. There are three spots that come to mind:

 

1) Along the waterfront, north of the cruise terminals on the inland side of the road.

 

2) On Shedden Rd right by the KFC restaurant.

 

3) Down the side road next to the Hard Rock Cafe.

 

These may all be different outlets of the same company, I'm not sure.

 

 

Drive safe. Drive defensively.

[B and B Rookie Cannucks]

we just got back from our western carribean cruise on the Valor. We did the jeep 4X4 tour with island marketing. The cost was 69.00 pp It was a great way to see the island . Gino was our tour leader and gave us lots of information and everyone agreed (there were 7 of us 2 jeeps) that we would not have had nearly such a great day trying to do it on our own. Also, I have to say that I had read that driving in Grand Cay was easy I would agree that once you got out of Georgetown it was easy but those crazy intersections/traffic circles and driving on the left in town was a bit crazy at times.

[signman]

I had a great rental from Economy Car Rental on 25 Jan. Prices were better than anyone else. Pier pick up and drop off.

[caribbeansun]

I'd pass on the moped and stick to a car. GC is easy to drive around - from the pier head south and you'll quickly be out of the city and into South Sound - it's a beautiful drive along the coast once you get out of the city proper. Don't sweat the round-abouts - just watch to the right as they have the right of way, when it's clear off you go.

 

Follow the main road out to the east end and then you can take it all the way around to Rum Point if you wish. On the way back you will have to reverse and travel back towards the east end but there is a center road that will take you directly back to the south shore which you can then retrace your drive back into town.

 

If you head north from the pier you will be into major traffic but that is where Seven Mile Beach is - much more commercial and touristy.

 

Enjoy!

[charleigh]

this is also something my dh and i are thinking seriously about, after reading your posts i am pretty much set on it, the main attraction for me in GC is Rum Point. I have heard so many great things about it. I definitely want to hit a few sites there and back though, shopping and stuff. I have 9 hours from docking to leaving, I am the most excited about GC out of all of our stops.

[CruisinMama7]

What's better? Rent a jeep or car while in Grand Cayman - with Rum Point as the main destination? I've never rented a jeep B4 and wondered if you get more of an island "feel" with a jeep vs. a car. Is the extra cost for a jeep (approx $45-$50) really worth it? Just curious...:confused:

[frisquito]

I hate to be the devil's advocate but here goes. We just got back from Grand Cayman last weak. After reading the posts we decided to rent a car and drive to Rum Point. We stayed an hour and wasn't that impressed so drove back to Seven Mile Beach. We parked at the Burger King and walked across the street to the beach access. This was a much prettier beach and at this location we were the only ones there. There wasn't anywhere to rent umbrellas or buy drinks but we just wanted to play on the beach with our daughter. For the little amount of time we had on the island I wish we hadn't wasted our time renting a car.

[indie]

I hate to be the devil's advocate but here goes. We just got back from Grand Cayman last weak. After reading the posts we decided to rent a car and drive to Rum Point. We stayed an hour and wasn't that impressed so drove back to Seven Mile Beach. We parked at the Burger King and walked across the street to the beach access. This was a much prettier beach and at this location we were the only ones there. There wasn't anywhere to rent umbrellas or buy drinks but we just wanted to play on the beach with our daughter. For the little amount of time we had on the island I wish we hadn't wasted our time renting a car.

 

 

thanks for this post, you have to be honest. I was considering the rental and rum point drive, but i figured my ship wouldnt be there long enough to really get the most out of the island that way. I will rent a car on my cozumel stop, which will be considerably longer, but i think i will stay in the georgetown/seven mile beach area for my few hours in GC.

[charleigh]

i was sure about renting a car in GC but after the "devils advocate" post maybe not, its 100$ to rent, with tax and gas, so is it worth it or would that money be better spent right there in georgetown? Also, has anyone used the new public transportation yet? I wonder if you could get to Rum Point in decent time?:confused:

[signman]

It takes a full 45 minutes to drive to Rum Point from the airport.

[signman]

Frisquito must not have been there long enough to fall asleep in one of the hammocks.

[indie]

signman, could you please give some honest advice.

 

Rum Point sounds very nice and relaxing, but i really dont think i would be able to enjoy it and even relax if im constantly trying to count the minutes till i have to turn around and head back. And i kind of would like to not be rushed and see a bit of GC's more populated side.

 

If my ship arrives at 7 am ship time, has to tender, I would then have to get a rental car, and navigate around the island to Rum Point.

 

The ship departs at 2pm ship time. So i would have to come back from rum point in time enough to make sure i can turn in the rental car and catch the last tender. I would like to turn in the car and have a little while to navigate the area near the pier.

 

I would likely not have much time to enjoy many of the other sites of the island will I? Or much time at Rum point itself? And im worried because something like a flat tire could mean me missing the last tender.

[Dave Mck]

signman, could you please give some honest advice.

 

Rum Point sounds very nice and relaxing, but i really dont think i would be able to enjoy it and even relax if im constantly trying to count the minutes till i have to turn around and head back. And i kind of would like to not be rushed and see a bit of GC's more populated side.

 

If my ship arrives at 7 am ship time, has to tender, I would then have to get a rental car, and navigate around the island to Rum Point.

 

The ship departs at 2pm ship time. So I would have to come back from rum point in time enough to make sure i can turn in the rental car and catch the last tender. I would like to turn in the car and have a little while to navigate the area near the pier.

 

I would likely not have much time to enjoy many of the other sites of the island will I? Or much time at Rum point itself? And im worried because something like a flat tire could mean me missing the last tender.

 

 

 

If your ship leaves at 2:00 I would suggest skipping Rumpoint. When I rented a car and went I allowed my self 2 hours to get back th the ship just in case. I think we arrived at Rumpoint around 10:00 and left around 1:30. Three hours was a good amount of time there but anything less may be a waste. You may just want to take a cab over to the closer beach.

[indie]

Thanks so much for your help Dave, i think thats exactly what we will do. Even if it does give us enough time, i dont even want to spoil my time on the island worrying about getting back.

 

Thank you!

[frisquito]

I agree with Dave Mck, exploring the island requires time that our cruise didn't give us. There is plenty to see and do around Georgetown and 7 mile beach, like the Lonely Planet guide says, is the quintessential beutiful caribbean beach. We would have loved to have had more time to drive around the island and experience the culture but with our brief stop in GC, our car rental experienced was rushed, constantly checking our watch. We arrived at the pier 6 minute before the last tender!

[indie]

wow, so glad i read this post. That would be more stress than i need while in Paradise.

[signman]

I would not do Rum Point with a 2 PM sailing time. My ship sailed at 5, with the last tender at 4:15. I wanted to leave Rum Point at 2:30, but my group started getting antsy even before 2.

[bookbabe]

Even if it does give us enough time, i dont even want to spoil my time on the island worrying about getting back.

 

Don't worry that you're missing anything by making that decision. :) Rum Point, as nice as it is, is just a beach. Yes, it's a nice beach, but so is Seven Mile Beach, and Seven Mile is a heck of a lot closer to the pier and much easier to get to. Sometimes, Rum Point is a bit less crowded, but on a weekend or holiday or when there are a lot of cruise ships in, Rum Point can be just as crowded as Seven Mile...and since it's a lot smaller, with only the one snack bar and one gift shop, the crowds seem bigger because they're crammed into a smaller space. (My FIL owns property at Cayman Kai, just around the cove from Rum Point, and I won't go anywhere near the area on a weekend, for example.)

 

Personally, unless you've been to Cayman a bunch of times and you're looking for something different, I'd recommend getting a day pass at one of the hotels along Seven Mile Beach instead of trying to rent a car and drive all the way out to Rum Point. Why spend all that time driving (and stressing about getting back on time) when you could be spending it sitting on the beach instead?