Turks and Caicos: Does it have to be a jeep?
 

Hello!

I am headed to Provos in a week and a half. Very exciting!

We're still on the fence as to whether we should rent a car.

I did a search on Orbitz and got these figures:

An economy car for 5 days through Budget will cost $250 ($49 per day).
An SUV will cost $640/$130 a day through Hertz.
There is also a listing for an "all-terrain" vehicle for a total of $424/$85 a day. What makes that different from an SUV?

I'm considering just renting a jeep for one day verses renting an economy car for the week. I don't think we can afford for the jeep for the whole week. Any advice?

We're staying at the Sibonne if that matters...

Try renting from Grace bay car rentals its much cheaper
www.gracebaycarrentals.com

the only time you will need a jeep is if you drive out to malcolm road beach. the rest of the island is better in a car. so i would suggest you rent the car and trade for the jeep/suv/all-terrain for just one day if you decide to drive out to malcolms.
and no i don't know what that means. all-terrain ususally refers to a 4-wheeler. can't think of anyplace on provo you'd be allowed to use one though so ???

There is no need to rent a jeep for your stay on Provo. The roads are fine. We rented a car for 4 days while we were there with no problems. The Budget rates sound reasonable.

Fraggle, we rented from rentabuggy and was very reasonable for a small Suzuki 2-dr 4wd. The only time we needed it is when we went exploring up to Malcomn's Beach and environs. The ruts in the dirt/gravel road could eat a small car, at the time. They may have grated it by now but doubt it.

Our friends use the Gheko but really say its undependable on its schedule so if you are really flexible it should work fine.

If it were in my budget, I would definitely rent a vehicle. Lots to explore on the island besides beautiful Grace Bay.

We stayed at the Sibbone in May, 06. We really enjoyed the hotel and the location. We did not rent a car because we didn't want to incur the additional expense. In hindsight I wished we would have. However, the Sibonne is in easy walking distance to the Ports of Call and Salt Mills. We took taxis and did the Gecko twice. The highest taxi rate we paid was from Turtle Cove, which was $12.00. For our budget, it was fine, but we would have liked to had a car in order to explore the Island a little more.

thanks for the replies--- it sounds like we don't need a four wheel drive after all. We were not planning on serious off-roading but we would like to go to the conch farm, etc.

Since we have very little experience going to the Caribbean it's hard to really imagine how big the island is. I'll definitely want to explore but my beau is definitely a lounge on the beach kind of guy. We rented a car in Miami and literally drove it twice.. Totally different place but still..

Well, thanks for the advice. I will go price out a car.

Should I go for something better than an "economy car". Does economy have a different definition there? My guy is tall so I'm guessing that's not the way to go.

you will have no problem getting to the conch farm. the road is paved most of the way out now or maybe it's finished.
the island is 38 square miles. just my guess here but maybe 2 miles across at widest point and say 25 miles long. from malcolm road beach(west end) to leeward marina (east end) might take about 60-90 mins with no stops - most of this time spent on the rutted malcolm beach road . conch farm about 20 mins from resort area. chalk sound about 20 mins from resort area. here's a good map: http://www.aquamarinebeachhouses.com/map.htm
now about the tall guy. this may create an issue. the little cars are in fact very little. when you call the island i would mention his height and see what they suggest...

We're going, too and I wasn't planning on renting a car - but now I'm not so sure! Is it possible to just rent a car for a day or two when we are there? I don't want to plan things out to the nth degree, so if we spontaneously want to rent, is it possible, providing there are cars available? Or is it something you need to set up in advance before you travel over?

If you are not going on a school vacation week you should be able to rent as needed when you get there.

saltys, one or 2 days is plenty imo. I would rent for a day and keep it if needed.