Anyone with car rental experience in Tortola?

[Wefewee]

Our group of four will be doing the beach thing in Tortola. Looks like the return cab charges will total about $50.

To add flexibility to our day there I was wondering if any CC member has rented a car in Tortola, what they paid and what company?

I checked with Hertz; their quote for the day is over $100.

Thanks for your help if you can!

[weloverunning]

Funny you should ask. :eek: It was pouring when we walked down the pier in November from the Pearl. We stood under an awning of a car rental place right at the pier(jeeps) for a 1/2 hour before we decided to just go ahead and rent a car there and get sightseeing. Hubby agreed to price including insurance and signed the paper work (without reading it I must say). Well, to say the least..the roads in Tortola are nothing but pot holes. We drove to the beaches on the other side of the island. We were heading along the shoreline when a sightseeing tour bus was coming from the opposite direction in the middle of the street (obviously to avoid his pot holes) Well, hubby moved further over and hit a pot hole which sliced the side wall of the rear tire. We stopped (it happened to be in front of a bar) to change the tire. NO JACK, NO TIRE IRON. Went into the bar for help. The bartender let me use his cell phone to call company. Meanwhile, a guy at the bar came out, got his jack, and help change the tire in ten minutes flat.:D Anyway, we got back to the office and the guy had a fit that we ruined his tire. He said it would have been better if we hit the tour bus because he could have played with the numbers. To make it short, we had to pay for the tire (since tires are not covered) and reading the paperwork there is a $2000 deductible on their insurance.:eek: I had to admit the tires looked brand new. I had him call the company he bought the tires from the previous week and on speaker phone the tire guy told me how much they cost each. ($106) We agreed on that amount after a LOT of arguing. You may want to rethink renting a car in Tortola. A couple of days later we rented a car in St. Lucia (yes, we are nuts) and didn't have any problems at all. Don't be stupid like us. Read the papers before you sign and then decide whether it is worth it.

P.S. We had a great time in Tortola, We found a great beach and rented surfboards across the street and had a blast!

[cmztravelers]

We rented a car in Tortola on Feb. 27th and it was great. I don't know what roads the guy in the previous post were on but we encountered none of that. Yes, the roads are narrow and steep so you should not rent if you are a nervous driver in unfamiliar territory. And I agree that the large "taxis" tend to hog the road but as long as you are aware of it, you'll be fine. We managed without any problems. We drove up to SkyWorld and then on to Cane Garden Bay. On the way back we took the loop that takes us near Sage Mountain Park. It's a great way to go at your own pace and take some time to see the sights along the way. We rented with International Car Rentals and I communicated with them via e-mail prior to our rental. Sharlan was always very responsive and answered all of my questions within 24 - 32 hours. It cost us $57.00 for a four door car with air conditioning and that included insurance with a $700.00 deductible. We had 2 men over 6' tall in the front seats and 2 women in the back, along with all of our beach gear in the hatchback and we were comfortable for the short distances that we traveled.

[jollycruise]

DH and I rented a car in Tortola and it was the best day of our cruise! We had so much fun driving all over and stopping when we wanted. The roads were fine. Winding and steep but fine. Beautiful views. Yes you need to watch for tour buses as the roads are narrow but really no big deal there. We ran into more goats and chickens than tour buses. We ended up at Brewers Bay and really enjoyed it. Very quite. It's where the locals go to escape the crowded cruise ship beaches. I will go find our rental car papers in the basement and post that info once I find it. We were just walking around and came across the rental agency and decided that's what we wanted to do. Best decision!

[jollycruise]

Ok, here's the info from the rental car company we used in Tortola:

 

Aaron Jeep, Car & Scooter Rentals

(284) 494-8917

(284) 494-8918 - fax

 

We rented a Suzuki Jimny for the day for $62.50 and it was worth every penny!:D

 

I hope you have a wonderful time on your cruise.

[Wefewee]

You know, I think that this Cruise Critic thing just might catch on!

Thanks to jollycruise, cmztravelers and rbpcouple for taking the time for thoughtfully writing back to me!