Need a rental car on Grand Cayman?

[scubazlot]

Hey all,

As explained in some previous posts, and everyone was very helpful, I am taking my first trip to GC over Christmas/New Years.

I am staying at the Westin, and probably diving with Red Sail as they are on-site. We may do 1 day of diving at the Sunset House, that is still TBD.

Is there a need for a rental car for the week trip? A quick check on expedia shows an economy sized car from Budget (on-site at the airport) is $310. Seems a bit steep, but again, I do not have much basis of comparison.

Anyone have thoughts on if a rental car is needed, or if there are better options price-wise on the island? How much is taxi fare to some of the usual visitor-type spots on the island? If we want to venture off to other hotels/restaurants on SMB, is it possible to walk between properties in the evening?

Any info is appreciated,

Thanks,
Eric

[anzac65]

If you contact Marshall's car hire at the airport they would do a compact for closer to $200 US.

If you like to look around a bit you would definitely find a car a benefit. There's a lot more to the island than just 7-mile beach; personally I'd not want to be without a car.

You can walk to plenty of other places from the Westin although it is positioned towards the north end of 7-mile beach. I guess it depends on your idea of a "walk".

Hope this helps a bit.

[Drew Sailbum]

I don't know that $200 is realistic for Christmas/New Years time frame. Certainly you can check around with other agencies, but that is premiuim peak time.

Keep in minda that there are many condos and relatively few hotels actually on Seven Mile Beach. From the Westin you can easily walk to the Ritz Carlton, but other hotels on the bach would be a bit of a hike. Across the road is Eats Cafe which is a good spot, particularly for breakfast at a reasonable price.

You can dive with Red Sail at the hotel or most other companies will pick you up by van if you wold prefer.

[anzac65]

I don't know that $200 is realistic for Christmas/New Years time frame. Certainly you can check around with other agencies, but that is premiuim peak time.

Keep in minda that there are many condos and relatively few hotels actually on Seven Mile Beach. From the Westin you can easily walk to the Ritz Carlton, but other hotels on the bach would be a bit of a hike. Across the road is Eats Cafe which is a good spot, particularly for breakfast at a reasonable price.

You can dive with Red Sail at the hotel or most other companies will pick you up by van if you wold prefer.

Oh thanks Drew. Good info. I wasn't thinking about seasonal prices.

[sixgears]

Seems to be the high season rush is on during that time as prices and availability looks to be at a premium. Try Andy's - I heard that a few on here have had great luck with them. I already checked with Hertz whom I rented with this past August and they don't even have any cars available. I would book now or as early as possible if you really plan on getting a car.

IMHO having a car on the island is a necessity as it does not confine you to any one place. As mentioned above there are other things to see and be in besides SMB. One of my favorites is the East End of the island. Diving there in that area is also very good.

[Damselfish]

We always get a car and would no matter where we're staying. Sometimes we've used Avis, and sometimes Andy's - which does seem to be a good outfit.

[scubazlot]

hey all,
thanks for the ideas and suggestions.

someone asked what is a "walk" to us? Well, we live in NYC, and routinely will walk 20-30 minutes for food/drinks etc if it is a nice evening out, and we feel safe in the area. So I do not mind a little walk from the Westin to another place for a meal. But it appears that most people think a rental car is the best bet, so I am going to look up some of the local ones that were suggested and see if they are better than Avis and some of the larger ones.


Thanks again! I am sure as my trip approaches I'll have more questions.

[diversteve]

We stayed a little south of the Westin in a condo a couple years ago. Thought we'd save by not renting a car since we were boat-diving daily. After the 2nd day we rented one from Andy's. Just to take advantage of some of the shore diving since it's spread all over the island.

From the Westin it's a pretty good drive north to either Turtle Reef or Lighthouse Point, an equally long drive south to Sunset House and if you want to dive Cheeseburger Reef or Eden Rock, both are in town. As are some restaurants and most of the shopping. And at least a 45 min. drive out to the East End from the Westin, that would likely cost $100 or so via cab.

We took a cab from SMB to Sunset House and back our first day - I think it was like $17-18 one way - basically $20 with tip. So a car would've been cheaper.

Andy's will pick you up also if you decide not to get one on arrival.

Personally I'd reconsider Red Sail also. We saw one of their boats drop about 40 divers on a divesite one day. And I've read that they limit your dives by using AL-72's exclusively. Just about any of the recommended diveops that you can read about here on SB will pick you up at the Westin for free. There's a fleet of vans going up and down SMB daily picking up divers.

[Damselfish]

agree with all that. Actually, the first time we were on GC we stayed at Sunset house, didn't start with a car and got one a couple days later. Another time we were hanging out with some new divers at Cobalt Coast there for their first time. They didn't have a car and sure enough, rented one after a few days. Different locations than SMB, but it's just the sort of place having a car is both handy and easy.

And Red Sail does not have the greatest rep. Some people do have good experiences. I think those people tend to be new divers who don't know the difference yet, and who are lucky to dive with them when they don't happen to be crowded. And they are impressed by the big shiny boat and service (which you'll get from lots of ops. )

[scubazlot]

Well I guess I am hijacking my own thread, so it is allowed :-)

I have read the feedback on here re: Red Sail and the cattle boat diving and short dive times. But as Damsel noticed, for rookie divers it is probably ok.

Well I am not too shy to admit it, I have 9 dives under my belt - 7 at a quarry and 2 ocean dives with Sandals (hearing a thud from the group )

So long story short, I will not be stopped with the short bottom times; if I get 35 minutes out of a tank that is a good dive for me. This is my first real true diving trip to a dive location (Sandals was St Lucia which was just ok for diving) so maybe future trips I'll want a smaller operation with less people, etc.

But I am not too worried about shortened bottom times, and I am staying at the Westin. So as long as Red Sail is deemed a safe and reliable operation (which from reviews it seems to be) then I think it hits the spot for me.

Back to the regularly scheduled thread:
1) What side of the road do they drive on in GC?
2) Easy to find places to fill up with gas if need be?
3) parking easy to find at the shopping areas, restaurants, etc? It is vacation after all, I do not want to drive around for 15 minutes finding parking!