Hi! I am traveling to T&C in about 5 weeks... can anyone offer any good advice on renting a car? I'm going with my boyfriend, we're both 27, very active and looking to explore the island. We're staying at RWI and expecting to walk to all the nearby beaches, restaurants, etc. but don't want to be stuck in a 2-mile radius. Should we go with a local vendor or use Hertz or Budget? Thank you!

hi jan, first i always try to rent with local companies just to support the local economy more. that said i have used scooter bobs e-mail at [email protected] and provo fun cycles e-mail at [email protected]. both provided fine service.pfc is closer to rwi. all the island rental companies are listed under transportation at www.provo.net the roads are on the rough side. driving is on the left. if you want to go to the tiki huts you will NEED a solid 4x4 and know how to drive it. otherwise a car to fit your budget will be fine. also if you go to www.villadeligera.com you will find the best map of provo available. unfortunately its too big to print the whole thing but you have time to study up. lol. have a great time.

We love to explore and almost always rent cars in the Caribbean, but we felt there was less to see on Provo, beyond Grace Bay Beach, than many other islands.

We rented for 5 days out of 8. We also used Scooter Bob's and arranged to have a 4WD on the day we drove to Malcolm's Road Beach (tiki huts). Smaller 4WD's are better for that road.

Their vehicles were pretty banged up but this seemed to be true of all rentals on Provo. Nasty potholes. Scooter's staff was very nice.

Rental rates are fairly high and it may be cheaper to take a taxi if you're only going one place on a given day. I think renting for half your stay is about right. Spend the rest on boat trips!

When you do have a car, drive through Blue Hills and stop at a conch shack (e.g. Bugaloo's).

oops, i forgot about your main question. grace bay beach is 12 miles long with cool stuff all along it, and there are several other good beaches to check out. there are great restaurants all over the island and in general alot of local stuff you'll never know about unless you drive around and find it. so yes i would say get a car for at least part of the time you are there. i believe they will rent you a car for a week and trade it for a jeep for a day if you ask.

We stayed at RWI early December and decided to rent a car. We wanted to see what the road conditions were like and waited until we arrived to rent a car. Budget didn't have any cars available so we rented from Avis. Avis is located at the airport (a short drive down a bumpy dirt road). I'm only mentioning this because if you decide to rent from Avis I just want you to know what to expect. The rate for a subcompact including tax for 8 days was $279. We used a credit card for the optional insurance. The car was small, but new. Unless you are renting from a private owner at RWI (which we did) they provide shuttle service. It may be easier for you to drop the car off at the airport vs returning the car to Avis and then going to back to the RWI and taking the shuttle. This way you can leave for the airport when you want and not when the shuttle leaves. Get to the airport earlier. They only have one security check line and the line goes out the door onto the sidewalk. Coco Bistro is a short walk away on the road that takes you to RWI. Anacaona is a very nice restaurant, great atmosphere and good, at the Grace Bay Club on the beach, a short walk from RWI. Other than these two restaurants, you will probably want a car to go to the other restaurants. You could walk to Gecko Grille and the restaurant at the golf course but they are a little further away. We walked to the Gecko Grille during the day, but at night we were more comfortable having a car.