Carnival Jeep Tour or Rent a Jeep and Do it on our own?

[Julia Goolia]

My friends and I would like to take a jeep tour in GC. We are debating between doing the Carnival excursion or just renting a jeep and doing it on our own.

 

The three of them are worried about the jeep breaking down, getting lost, etc.

 

I am worried about paying Carnival $400 for something that we could do on our own for $150 as well as being locked into their timeline with all of the other Carnival people doing the tour, etc. I can't imagine that it would be that hard to find our way around GC (especially with a GPS), hitting the highlights of the touristy areas, etc. Am I wrong?

 

I am of the belief that if we do it on our own, we save money, do it at our own pace, only see the things we want to see, get to go to a better beach and eat better food than are offered through Carnival.

 

So -- what would you all do? And why?

 

Thanks in advance for any input/advice.

[MamaParrotHead]

I would rent the Jeep, with the understanding that it'd be a "morning" activity...and plan to be back to the tender area/downtown after lunch (provided your ship leaves in the afternoon). That way you give yourself, and the car rental company (who rents vehicles to hundreds of cruise ship pax, I'm sure, and knows time is a consideration when getting to you in time of an emergency/vehicle breakdown). That and be sure to have atleast one cell phone with you in case of emergency.

 

That way, after you return the rental, you still have time to poke around the shopping area near the tender dock or have a drink and have plenty of time to get back to the ship, provided everything goes as planned.

 

I might actually give the rental place a call and ask what their policies are on getting to you if there's a breakdown and a time frame to work with should the worst case scenario play out.

 

OR you could do a Jeep tour with an outside company like shoretrips.com or islandmarketing, which would probably be my first choice. Then you'd have a guide who knows what there is to see, what's a waste of time, but would be on your schedule AND would have the know how to get you back to town should there be a breakdown. ;)

[Julia Goolia]

I would rent the Jeep, with the understanding that it'd be a "morning" activity...and plan to be back to the tender area/downtown after lunch (provided your ship leaves in the afternoon). That way you give yourself, and the car rental company (who rents vehicles to hundreds of cruise ship pax, I'm sure, and knows time is a consideration when getting to you in time of an emergency/vehicle breakdown). That and be sure to have atleast one cell phone with you in case of emergency.

 

That way, after you return the rental, you still have time to poke around the shopping area near the tender dock or have a drink and have plenty of time to get back to the ship, provided everything goes as planned.

 

I might actually give the rental place a call and ask what their policies are on getting to you if there's a breakdown and a time frame to work with should the worst case scenario play out.

 

OR you could do a Jeep tour with an outside company like shoretrips.com or islandmarketing, which would probably be my first choice. Then you'd have a guide who knows what there is to see, what's a waste of time, but would be on your schedule AND would have the know how to get you back to town should there be a breakdown. ;)

 

Thanks MamaParrotHead. I appreciate your answer and insight. What you suggested is pretty much what we had in mind...getting back to the port early, etc.

 

Using a private company was our first choice. Unfortunately because we sail in the near future, they are all booked. (There are three ships in port that day.) We decided to go with a private rental through Cayman Auto Rentals. They have have been very responsive to emails, confirmed the reservation request, etc. I never heard back from Avis, despite sending two emails/requests. Andy's was our other consideration but I wasn't fond of having to take a bus/taxi to/from 7 mile to get the jeep. Cayman Auto Rentals said that they are a 10 minute walk from the port.

 

I am excited that it is only going to cost us $40/person including the fuel, insurance, special license for each driver, etc. And we get to do only the things we want to do -- and at our own pace. It was $100 through Carnival and we would have been stuck with all of those people, waiting for them at each stop, etc. I think that we will have much more fun on our own.

 

I've asked every other question and just forgot to ask the breakdown question so I'll email her back and ask her that now. Thanks for the reminder. It was originally at the top of my list and I just completely spaced on it.

 

Thanks again for the advice. I'll be sure to come back and post how everything went once we get back.

[TurtleTagger]

Here are some routes suggested by Frommer's. I would use them loosely as a guide after you refer to a map of the island and determine what is of most interest to you and your group. Personally would suggest you drive route #1, but go around the outer section of the island for a more scenic trip either going or coming back to hit the Botanic Park. Other places to stop not mentioned are Barefoot Beach, Starfish Beach and the East End Blow Holes (Google each with Grand Cayman included in the search). Have lunch at Kaibo Yacht Club in Rum Point/Cayman Kai (great Burgers), the Wreck Bar in Rum Point (nice setting), Driftwoods (beer is better than food) in North Side, Over the Edge in Old Man Bay (Great Fish), the Lighthouse in Breakers(nice food and view), one of the jerk/fish fry spots around Bodden Town (authentic) or Miss Vivine's (local food and nice view) on the East End.

 

Tour #1

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/grandcayman/2367024325.html

 

Tour #2

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/grandcayman/2367024326.html

[Julia Goolia]

Here are some routes suggested by Frommer's. I would use them loosely as a guide after you refer to a map of the island and determine what is of most interest to you and your group. Personally would suggest you drive route #1, but go around the outer section of the island for a more scenic trip either going or coming back to hit the Botanic Park. Other places to stop not mentioned are Barefoot Beach, Starfish Beach and the East End Blow Holes (Google each with Grand Cayman included in the search). Have lunch at Kaibo Yacht Club in Rum Point/Cayman Kai (great Burgers), the Wreck Bar in Rum Point (nice setting), Driftwoods (beer is better than food) in North Side, Over the Edge in Old Man Bay (Great Fish), the Lighthouse in Breakers(nice food and view), one of the jerk/fish fry spots around Bodden Town (authentic) or Miss Vivine's (local food and nice view) on the East End.

 

Tour #1

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/grandcayman/2367024325.html

 

Tour #2

http://www.frommers.com/destinations/grandcayman/2367024326.html

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you. This was all awesome information and exactly what we were looking for. We'll definitely be taking all of these recommendations into consideration when planning our adventure. Wow! I didn't think I could get any more excited, but your information and links have me smiling pretty dang big right now.

 

Thanks again. You have been a huge help!

[ohitssunshine]

Just curious from those who have rented on their own how safe the roads are? We have been in Cozumel and Nassau and I would never consider trying to drive in either of those places! They were insane! Just wondering how it was in Grand Cayman?

[MamaParrotHead]

Athough we didn't rent our own, we did drive them. The road system was adequate and in decent condition. I remember there being some round-abouts and funky places to yield, but nothing I wouldn't tackle on my own if I wanted to.

[TurtleTagger]

The road conditions are as good as those in the US or Canada (paved, no pot holes, lane markings, traffic lights and signs, police and speed traps:eek:). You do drive on the left and there are a few round-a-bouts when heading east out of George Town. If you cannot manage a round-a-bout, you probably shouldn't be driving IMO :D. Do not have the crazy drivers like Mexico or some other islands (Grenada comes to mind). Biggest issue most North American vistors have is flipping on the windshield wipers when meaning to be using the turn signals:).

[crusinpsychRN]

I think you'll do much better on your own. The excursion with Carnival was kind of lame. Not much to see really but we did go to some remote areas requiring Jeeps. The lunch was awful. I wanted to go back to the ship but had to wait the hour and a half at the beach for a ride back with the others. Guess I could have hailed a cab...

[Julia Goolia]

Thanks, everyone. We leave two weeks today and have a jeep reserved through Cayman Auto Rentals so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes well. If not, my friends will definitely blame me. LOL

[avvdixon]

Thanks, everyone. We leave two weeks today and have a jeep reserved through Cayman Auto Rentals so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes well. If not, my friends will definitely blame me. LOL

 

 

Would love to hear what you see and do when you get back and how things went. We'll be there mid-October!!

[Julia Goolia]

Thank you to all of you who recommended that we do the jeep tour on our own. We did and it worked out great! We wanted to maximize our time out at Rum Point Beach so we simply went to Hell, the Tortuga Rum Cake Factory and then headed directly out to Rum Point Beach.

 

Driving was fine. A little busy in/around Georgetown but nothing that we couldn't handle. As someone mentioned, there are a few round-abouts that can seem a bit tricky but really not too bad once you see the flow of traffic. You do drive on the left side of the road (our jeep was left hand drive like US vehicles though.) Only had one little incident. My first right turn I wasn't paying attention and tried to stay in the right lane. The car who was already in that lane didn't like that very much though. :eek:

 

We had a little bit of an issue with the map because it's not a true street map but we managed none the less. The jeep turned out to be a very economical choice for us as all included (filling it back up with gas, etc.), it was about $25/pp for four of us. If you want to go out to Rum Point Beach, it's definitely the cheapest way to go.

 

Speaking of Rum Point Beach...it was amazing. Great food at their little cafe/snack bar. The beach was nearly empty with plenty of free beach chairs to take your choice from, etc. There were some water toys (paddle boats, etc.) that you could rent for a very reasonable fee and the people were incredibly friendly. We will definitely go back there when we next visit Grand Cayman. It was so much better than 7 mile beach (unless you enjoy the noise, crowds, etc.)

 

Hope that helps anyone considering renting their own vehicle. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to let me know.

 

By the way -- we used Cayman Auto Rental and there were great. Opened early for us and got us on our way almost as soon as we got on the island (6:30 am their time). Highly recommend their service.

[cruisemainiac]

Ditto to Rum Point. The down side it is 45 minutes from town. We've rented Jeeps in Caymen twice and necer had an issue. The drivers there are generally very law abiding (stopping for people in cross walks, obeying speed limits etc.) The round abouts are a little strange coming in from the left, you just need to concentrate a bit.

If you do a search for Grand Caymen maps you'll get a lot of info. on things to do and places to go. Three ships for the island is not many, I've been there with six and it was crazy. Have fun, watch out for too much sun.

[Julia Goolia]

Ditto to Rum Point. The down side it is 45 minutes from town. We've rented Jeeps in Caymen twice and necer had an issue. The drivers there are generally very law abiding (stopping for people in cross walks, obeying speed limits etc.) The round abouts are a little strange coming in from the left, you just need to concentrate a bit.

If you do a search for Grand Caymen maps you'll get a lot of info. on things to do and places to go. Three ships for the island is not many, I've been there with six and it was crazy. Have fun, watch out for too much sun.

 

Yeah, the 45 minutes seems like a long time, especially when you are only in port for a few hours but it is so well worth it. I think from now on whenever I go to GC (unless I'm traveling with someone who hasn't been there before) I'll just rent a car/jeep and head directly to Rum Point for the day. I've been to GC enough that I don't need to do the Georgetown thing again, etc.

 

Cayman Auto Rentals was very convenient as it is just a short walk from the pier. I will definitely use them again.