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Charlottetown and Anne--better by tour or renting a car?


Melinda Brasher
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I'm a huge Anne of Green Gables fan, and am trying to decide if it's better to take a tour (more commentary but less time each place, fewer sites, less stress, more money) or rent a car (less commentary, more stress of getting the car and driving, more time, more sites, less money). Has anyone done both so you can compare? Or do you otherwise have insights?

 

I've also been struggling to figure out about rentals. Online, almost everything says "airport pickup" and even when I called the Budget number for Charlottetown and got the airport site, they didn't know anything about a downtown location--even though other threads here have talked about it. Will all of the companies come pick us up near the cruise terminal? Any help will be appreciated. Thanks.

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We are cruising New England/Canada this fall, and chose to hire a private tour for Prince Edward Island. This gives us the commentary of a knowledgeable, local guide and the flexibility to customize the tour to our interests--adjusting the time needed at certain stops, etc. I would be happy to report back regarding our experience with "Take the Island Adventure Tours" (Bill Murray) after the cruise. You might want to explore the option of a private tour on Trip Advisor. While private tours are sometimes (not always) more expensive than the big bus cruise line offerings, in our experience they are much more memorable. Some people keep the cost of a private tour down by sharing it with another couple via their cruise roll call. And it is so relaxing to have someone else do the driving!

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We rented from Budget in 2017, which was right inside the Visitor Information Center at the port. It was a combo Budget/Avis location, but I'm reading that this location is now closed. It would appear that the closest option is now 185 Brackley Point Road, which is a good 10-15 taxi ride from the port. That said, it will still be much cheaper than taking a tour because rental cars are generally relatively cheap here.

 

I'm not sure what a tour guide could tell you that you couldn't find out on your own with a little pre-cruise research. It's an easy drive up to Green Gables, and, if you drive, you can stay as long as you want, not to mention stop at places like the cemetery where Lucy Montgomery is buried.

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We are on a cruise next week and booked thru princeedwardtours.com . The island Drive and Anne of green gables tour. It's a 4 hour tour and departs from Prince st. Which is very close to the port.

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

We took a tour in 2016. WE went places  that I didn't care to go.  It was a GREEN GABLES tour to me.. Green Gables was our last stop and only had time for about 30 minutes. I was very disappointed.  The movie took at least 15 min. which our tour guide insisted we watch.   We are going again next year and we are renting a car.  Make sure you take a GREEN GABLES tour. Ours was a North Shores Tour so we went many places. I hope my experience helps. Have fun.

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On 9/17/2018 at 10:41 PM, Melinda Brasher said:

Thanks for input, everyone. The tours are probably all different, depending on which company you go with, the tour guide, the weather, etc, but do you know if they generally stop at Cavendish beach and if so, is it for like 3 minutes or is it a real stop?

 

If your party are the only ones on the tour, you should be able to customize it to what you want to do.  That was our experience in Charlottetown and Halifax.

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Have you joined the Roll Call for your cruise?  Folks on roll calls usually set up small private tours customized to what the group wants to see.  FWIW, we've been to PEI (and the other Can/NE ports) by car and by cruise ship.  When there by car we spent several nights and had a chance to see all of the island including the north shore where Anne of Green Gables is set.  That shore has wide sand beaches and is fairly "wild" while the south shore where Charlottetown is more "settled."  When we stopped there a few years ago, I enjoyed walking around Charlottetown by myself.

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  • 1 month later...
On 11/20/2018 at 8:10 AM, WorkerBee74 said:

I just arranged a car rental for Charlottetown - there is an Enterprise on University Ave (about 2km away).  I expect that they'll pick me up like Enterprise is famous to do, otherwise I'll hop a taxi.

 

We rented from Enterprise  at University Avenue in October. They will pick you up in port and drop you off.  We took a taxi in the morning just because we were anxious to get on the road but took the shuttle back. The folks were helpful and pleasant. 

 

We we took a clockwise circular route from Charlottetown to Victoria, Borden-Carleton, Cavendish/Green Gables, North Rustico and back to Charlottetown with plenty of time to spare. 

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