VEHICLE RENTALS

On the larger islands, you will find many North American car rental agencies such as Hertz, Avis, Budget and Thriftys. They offer a large range of vehicles from small economy cars through to jeeps, luxury cars and vans.

Vehicles are easily rented using your credit card and you can book online directly with the rental car company or on one of the internet travel websites such as Expedia or Travelocity. If you are booking online try to allow an extra day or so for the booking to be confirmed in the Nassau or Freeport offices.

Most of the agencies have depots at the airports and several have offices downtown and at other popular tourist locations as well.

Remember that you will be driving on the left hand side of the road which can be confusing at times, especially when approaching your first roundabout or traffic circle. You can book a standard North American car with right hand drive or a vehicle with the European left hand drive.

There are usually scooter rentals available in the larger centers which are an inexpensive mode of travel. Be very careful though – they can be tricky to operate and traffic can be extremely busy at times.

You may wish to check with your insurance carrier or credit card company to ensure that you are covered on rentals outside North America. If not, you will have to get insurance from the rental agency at an additional cost.

On the out or “family” island, most of the car rental operations are small family or individual owned businesses. They will be much more casual than in North America and you may not have to complete any documentation at all. Most of these small operators do not accept credit cards but will accept US dollars or travelers checks. US cash is on par with Bahamian and is readily accepted throughout the islands.

On these smaller islands, expect the cars to be older but well-maintained models. These vehicles normally carry just public liability/public damage (plpd) insurance and you will be liable for any damage that you do to your own rental vehicle. It’s almost impossible to get temporary insurance for a rental vehicle on these islands so make sure you have good travel medical coverage to cover any personal injuries. Luckily, the traffic is light on most of these islands as compared to Nassau, Freeport and North American cities and accidents are uncommon.

You should try to make your rental arrangements before your arrival and the rental car operator will meet you at the airport with your vehicle. Make sure to obtain detailed driving directions to your rental property before your arrival as many of the out islands are short on road signage.

Car Rental - Grand Bahama

Car Rental - Nassau & New Providence

Car Rental - Family Islands

Andros

Abaco

Cat Island

Crooked Island

Eleuthera

Exuma

Long Island