Rent a Golf Cart for the Day!

[rglbjl]

Steph -

 

Thanks for the info and the pics. Grand Turk sure looks

a lot different than the other islands we have visited.

 

Only 65 days.

[rez4jc]

We rented a four seater golf cart from Nathan for $80 on Feb. 23rd. We were in port from 8am-4pm. We didn't have a map, but drove the entire island, even found the local prison! We took each dirt path that lead to a beach, and snorkeled at a few. The highlight for us though, was our final stop at Jack's Shack. The beers were cold, the conch fritters hot, and the beach, beautiful! We spent 3 hours there and had a great time. Beer & food half the price of Margaritaville. You can find Jack's Shack to your left, just after leaving the gated cruise ship area. You can see it from Margaritaville about a 1/4 mile down the beach.

[busdriver161]

Thanks for the info on Jack's shack. We have been wondering where to eat other than Margarittaville. We will be in Grand Turk in April and so excited to rent a golf cart.

[B40 Tha Cruisa]

Okay, so from what I understand when you get off the ship there is a shopping area/margaritaville. You walk directly through this and you will be outside of the "port area" and this is where you can find the golf carts?

[Steve-N-Steph]

B40 Yes when you get off the ship you walk right into a shop. Walk through this shop and into the shopping area. If you keep going you will come to a parking lot and a covered sidewalk where there are taxi's lined up. You will need to find Nathan here. You will not actually see the golf carts as they are parked outside the port parking lot. There is no stand or booth, just start asking for Nathan the guy who rents golf carts. Someone will point you in the right direction. Nathan also owns a taxi. He was very easy to find. My husband just went up to the first person by the taxi's and they pointed Nathan out.

[tampafish]

My DH and I will be sailing on the Triumph and be in GT on 4/10. We're hoping we can find Nathan and snag a golf cart with all the great info in this thread -THANKS!!!!! We tried to book the Dune Buggies but they only had one seat left. I think exploring in a golf cart and finding a beach to snorkel will be great fun.

 

Does anyone have a recommendation of where to stop to snorkel? I would like to see a reef, but don't want to go really deep.

 

Thanks again - I'm looking forward to the conch fritters too now. :)

[monicajay]

Our golf cart trip was a blast!

 

We arrived at noon on March 6th. Got off the ship quickly and headed out to the taxi area as others had posted. We did not find Nathan. I asked many drivers but nobody knew where he was. They suggested I walk over to the carts. Outside the gate we found 2 carts and nobody around. I waited for awhile then headed back in to the taxi area. One of the drivers kindly offered to phone Nathan but there was no answer.

 

While discussing what Plan "b" would be, I noticed a cart coming down the road. We headed back out to gate and meet up with Nathan's assistant. He wanted $80.00 but when I said other families had paid $60.00 he called Nathan and let me speak to him. "No problem" said Nathan and within minutes we were off.

 

There are very few road signs and we were not given a map nor did we ever find one. If I were to do this again I would print some maps before arriving. The main roads were good and very smooth but some of the dirt tracks we ended up on were full of pot holes.

 

We toured for a while exploring all kinds of neighborhoods and ended up at Bohio dive resort where we enjoyed the best beach afternoon. The beach was empty and had great snorkling not far off the shoreline. They did not charge us to use the resort but we did buy some drinks and food. Within minutes of walking along the beach you could find yourself all alone. The Carribean of the brochures.

 

We returned the golf cart around 4 pm and there was no one around. We left the keys in it as we had found it.

 

We then spent a bit of time in the pool at Margaritaville and had an overly priced drink thankful that we hadn't spent our entire day there.

 

Don't forget to drive on the left!

[LargoPescado]

Thanks for all of the information. It sounds like the cart is definietly the way for us to go. I guess the key is hitting Jack's Shack last, I woud hate to get a DUI in a golf cart.

 

I don't suppose that the carts have a glove compartment? My DW will probably be bringing her camera (shutter-bug) and just thinking about what to do with it while we snorkel. Otherwise I guess we could take pictures of each other snorkeling, but I ma not sure how that would go over. :rolleyes:

[monicajay]

My DW will probably be bringing her camera (shutter-bug) and just thinking about what to do with it while we snorkel

 

We stopped and snorkeled at Bohio Dive resort. The beach was empty. We left all our stuff (including camera, money and passports) in a bag on the beach. It was so deserted it never crossed my mind to be worried about our stuff.

 

There was a little compartment in the front but it did not close or lock. Bring your stuff to the beach and don't worry. This is paradise!

[Muumuu]

Researching for my daughters cruise this month. Thank you all for all this wonderful information.

Loved those photos of the island.

[B40 Tha Cruisa]

B40 Yes when you get off the ship you walk right into a shop. Walk through this shop and into the shopping area. If you keep going you will come to a parking lot and a covered sidewalk where there are taxi's lined up. You will need to find Nathan here. You will not actually see the golf carts as they are parked outside the port parking lot. There is no stand or booth, just start asking for Nathan the guy who rents golf carts. Someone will point you in the right direction. Nathan also owns a taxi. He was very easy to find. My husband just went up to the first person by the taxi's and they pointed Nathan out.

 

Thanks for the info, the whole thing sounds like a blast.

[busdriver161]

Where did you all get your snorkel equipment? Did you rent on the island or from the ship? We don't own any as we live in Colorado and have no use for it. Any info would be great.

[monicajay]

Where did you all get your snorkel equipment?

 

We brought our own. Got it for a good price at Costco and it has certainly paid for itself in the past 4 years many times over. We also live no where near the ocean but like to travel.

 

There was a rental place at the Bohio dive resort where we went snorkeling. I know that because one of ladies we knew from the ship had broken her snorkel and rented one there.

 

You could e-mail them to find out rates. When I e-mailed to ask if there was snorkeling there from the beach I got a very nice and prompt reply. They explained that there was no fee to come for the afternoon but we could rent lounge chairs if needed and they had a bar and a restaurant.

[copper6606]

Hi the price to rent the snorkel and mask was $10.00. So glad I did. I got great shots with my underwater camera and saw some fish [red] that I had never seen before. WE loved it there and can't wait to go back.

[copper6606]

By the way. We hired a cab and the cost was $4.00 We asked if he could take us on a bit of a tour so he charged us $15. [total] . and then came back for us in 3 hours and it was a $4.00 ride back. It was nice to see the island and here about the historic areas, salt flats and future development to come.

[lestoby]

I bought our vests (the zip up kind) on Ebay. They were about $40 each, but I liked the zipper better than the crotch strap. They were good for inflating and deflating in the air piece.

 

I got the mask and snorkle at Wal Mart in the summer.

 

We just snorkled right off of the main beach in town and saw lots of neat fish in the coral about 10 ft into the water.

[Jeanny]

we did the golf carts when we were in Grand Turk on March 13th. We rented two 4-seater carts for two people in each cart ~ $60 each cart. My Mom is in a wheelchair for long distance walking. We went out to the taxi waiting area and found Fred, one of Nathan's guys standing there with Nathan's business cards. I explained we had the wheelchair, etc., he called Nathan, who came right up. He had one of his kids drive a cart up to the parking lot, he's allowed to do that if some one is "sick" as he explained it. I brought two large bungee cords with us, he folded the seat down on a 4-seater and he bungeed it to the back for us.

 

We also rented two scooters from Tony's, they were waiting right outside the gate with the other golf carts.... One of the scooters wouldn't start when we were leaving the lighthouse, so JD just jumped on the other cart and we went back to the cruise center. We told Fred the other scooter was at the lighthouse because it wouldn't start... we couldn't even jump it, and gave him the key he said "no problem, we'll go get it".

 

Just make sure you take your $22 towel off of the seat if you're using it to keep the seats cool......:D

 

Tips on the lighthouse... there is a $7 admission charge.. no one was at the hut, the shop workers said, no problem, there isn't an admission charge, come on in!!

There are no bathrooms there... well, there ARE bathrooms, just no running water, so the bathrooms are closed.... where do the shop workers go potty??? in the bushes (or so they say!!).

 

Maybe it was just the day were were there, but there was tons of traffic.... we just pulled over when there was a lot of traffic behind us.

 

We were heading back to the cruise center as school was getting out... the kids are very friendly! we waved and said "Hellloooo" to them as they were walking home.

 

Have fun!!! We did!!!!!:D

[B40 Tha Cruisa]

we did the golf carts when we were in Grand Turk on March 13th. We rented two 4-seater carts for two people in each cart ~ $60 each cart. My Mom is in a wheelchair for long distance walking. We went out to the taxi waiting area and found Fred, one of Nathan's guys standing there with Nathan's business cards. I explained we had the wheelchair, etc., he called Nathan, who came right up. He had one of his kids drive a cart up to the parking lot, he's allowed to do that if some one is "sick" as he explained it. I brought two large bungee cords with us, he folded the seat down on a 4-seater and he bungeed it to the back for us.

 

We also rented two scooters from Tony's, they were waiting right outside the gate with the other golf carts.... One of the scooters wouldn't start when we were leaving the lighthouse, so JD just jumped on the other cart and we went back to the cruise center. We told Fred the other scooter was at the lighthouse because it wouldn't start... we couldn't even jump it, and gave him the key he said "no problem, we'll go get it".

 

Just make sure you take your $22 towel off of the seat if you're using it to keep the seats cool......:D

 

Tips on the lighthouse... there is a $7 admission charge.. no one was at the hut, the shop workers said, no problem, there isn't an admission charge, come on in!!

There are no bathrooms there... well, there ARE bathrooms, just no running water, so the bathrooms are closed.... where do the shop workers go potty??? in the bushes (or so they say!!).

 

Maybe it was just the day were were there, but there was tons of traffic.... we just pulled over when there was a lot of traffic behind us.

 

We were heading back to the cruise center as school was getting out... the kids are very friendly! we waved and said "Hellloooo" to them as they were walking home.

 

Have fun!!! We did!!!!!:D

 

Thanks for the info! Only 9 months out for me! :rolleyes:

[crzer1]

Hi all,

Thanks for all the great info on the golf carts. Sounds like Nathan is to guy to look for in GT. We're going on the Jewel of the Seas Dec. 29/08.

You can print a map from this site:

http://www.tcimall.tc/grandturk/map.htm

[KenP]

Rented a golf cart from Nathan on march 27, 2008 and had a "Grand" time.

 

Went to several beaches. Went to lighthouse (but didn't go in - they were collecting admission when we were there). Saw donkey's, horses, and cows. Had our own snorkeling equipment.

 

Nathan has been having computer problems so just show up early and proceed on to the taxi area and ask for Nathan.

 

Lots of fun and very relaxing.

 

$80 for 3 people for the day.

 

Our backup plan was to just take a taxi. Actually the taxi would have been much cheaper, but not as fun.

 

One more thing, take a basic map. You don't need a map to get back to the cruise center. but it is handy if you are trying to stop at a particular place. One person told us to goto the "Sandbar", a beachside bar, and it was helpful to have a map to locate this place.

 

We printed out a map from frommer's and it was adequate. We made some friends at the Sandbar with some fellow tourists who borrowed our map :-)

 

http://www.frommers.com/images/destinations/maps/jpg-2006/254_grandturkdining.jpg

 

have fun, and remember, drive on the LEFT.

[busdriver161]

We rented a golf cart on April 17th. It was fun. We just went thru all of the shops and parking lot and went to the carts. A young man working for Nathan was there and rented us a cart. I have to agree with the previos poster that it would have been cheaper to take a taxi but it was really fun driving the cart around the island. It definately a little island. We drove clear to the lighthouse and around the island and back to the ship in 3 hrs. We stopped in town and did some shopping. It is a run down little island except around the pier where carnival has put in some nice shopping. It was fun to drive around at our own pace and see what we wanted to see.

[Psee]

Does anyone know if they rent for less than a full day. Our ship is scheduled for 8AM to 2PM so we just wanted to rent the cart for a couple of hours in the morning.

[Psee]

Just got back today so wanted to post the rates for Nathan as of 05-04-08. $80 per cart for 2 people (no hourly pricing). The carts are not in very good shape but ours got us around the island just fine. It's basically fly by the seat of your pants so don't expect any instructions or directions. You can traverse the entire island in a few hours and we had a great time exploring on our own. After seeing the arranged tours such as the dune buggies and bus tours we were glad we had our own private transportation! :)

[chellencrette]

Psee ~ How long did it take you to drive the entire island? Did you have time to spend at Margaritaville too? Did you swim in any of the beaches...if so, what did you do with your things? We are trying to decide what to do here and am thinking of the golf cart.....wonder why the prices change so frequently...another poster said 80.00 for 3. Why were you glad that you had your own transportation after seeing the dune buggies and buses? We had also thought about the dune buggies. Thanks for your help and the most recent prices!

[B40 Tha Cruisa]

Was Nathan easy to find?