Jeep Rental vs Excursion?

[ShellDil]

Hi!

We're in port from 7 am - 4 pm, on a Sunday in November. I'm trying to decide if it's worth it to rent a jeep, which would be from about 8 am - 3 pm or of we should just find a tour that appeals to us. I've been to Aruba before and done one of the self drive in a Jeep, caravan style, tours which I loved. But I'm not seeing quite what I'm looking for through a tour. I'd prefer a Jeep to an UTV and most of the tours are UTV or ATV, or they aren't self drive type. I feel somewhat confident that I could get us to where we want to go on our own, but does anyone have any thoughts on having it for only about 6 - 6 1/2 hours is enough time?

Also I've gotten quotes from Jays which includes everything except CDW and also from Royal Car Rentals Aruba which doesn't include taxes or CDW. Pricing is about the same, but Royal isn't available until 8:30 and Jays will have a car at the port for us at 8:00. Does anyone have any feedback on either of those companies for Jeep Rentals? They are the only two I've seen who will be at the port, and I can book in advance. I'd prefer a rental with pick up and drop off at the port, especially for returning it, since we need to be back on board by 3 - 3:30 I'm thinking. 

Thank you so much!

[imlulu]

Curious as well with same issue in finding an appealing excursion. 

[alwalaska]

On our first trip to Aruba we did a small group tour that gave us a nice overview, but I can't remember the company name.

 

On our second trip, we used Around Aruba and did the UTV tour and really enjoyed every part of it. 

 

This time, I'm thinking about renting a jeep and trying to do it on our own, but having a hard time finding reviews and good info about using it off-roads in the National Park.   Both my credit card and travel insurance for rental cars have exclusions for jeep and or going off-road. 

[alwalaska]

On 10/2/2023 at 1:51 PM, ShellDil said:

Hi!

We're in port from 7 am - 4 pm, on a Sunday in November. I'm trying to decide if it's worth it to rent a jeep, which would be from about 8 am - 3 pm or of we should just find a tour that appeals to us. I've been to Aruba before and done one of the self drive in a Jeep, caravan style, tours which I loved. But I'm not seeing quite what I'm looking for through a tour. I'd prefer a Jeep to an UTV and most of the tours are UTV or ATV, or they aren't self drive type. I feel somewhat confident that I could get us to where we want to go on our own, but does anyone have any thoughts on having it for only about 6 - 6 1/2 hours is enough time?

Also I've gotten quotes from Jays which includes everything except CDW and also from Royal Car Rentals Aruba which doesn't include taxes or CDW. Pricing is about the same, but Royal isn't available until 8:30 and Jays will have a car at the port for us at 8:00. Does anyone have any feedback on either of those companies for Jeep Rentals? They are the only two I've seen who will be at the port, and I can book in advance. I'd prefer a rental with pick up and drop off at the port, especially for returning it, since we need to be back on board by 3 - 3:30 I'm thinking. 

Thank you so much!

Oh and I forgot before https://jeeparuba.com/ will have the jeep at the port and includes "limited insurance" but I haven't found anything else about them yet, other than they reply to emails quickly.

 

[luckyinpa]

i explored jeep rentals to go through the park and near the pool and as people have said , offroading  is excluded. i wrote to one place and got the reply below.  It seems like everyone just takes a risk when renting a jeep to go off road. has anyone ever heard of anyone being held responsible for damaging a jeep in the park. the roads are killer for sure near the pool.

 

Thank you for contacting us at Top Drive.

We are happy to assist you!

 

Yes, all our jeeps are fully equipped to be driven around the Arikok National Park and the Natural Pool. 

However, driving offroad is still on your own risk since there’s no insurance on the island that covers offroad driving.

 

Should you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

Kind Regards,

[alwalaska]

On 8/31/2024 at 5:05 PM, luckyinpa said:

i explored jeep rentals to go through the park and near the pool and as people have said , offroading  is excluded. i wrote to one place and got the reply below.  It seems like everyone just takes a risk when renting a jeep to go off road. has anyone ever heard of anyone being held responsible for damaging a jeep in the park. the roads are killer for sure near the pool.

 

Thank you for contacting us at Top Drive.

We are happy to assist you!

 

Yes, all our jeeps are fully equipped to be driven around the Arikok National Park and the Natural Pool. 

However, driving offroad is still on your own risk since there’s no insurance on the island that covers offroad driving.

 

Should you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

Kind Regards,

We're doing it in Feb and taking the risk, but we will drive very slowly and just take the risk.  In all the reviews I read, I didn't hear of anyone being charged for damages, but I did hear about someone getting stuck with a flat tire. I need to make a note to myself to make sure that our jeep has a working spare and a means to change the tire if necessary.  The person complaining about getting stuck did not complain about being charged.