Car rental in Jamaica?

antandbee

FI and I are planning to fly into Montego Bay for our HM in July.  I get motion sick and don't really want it to ruin our trip, or have to take pills for the whole vacay.  Does anyone know how to go about renting a car to drive ourselves in Montego?  The major rental companies I have checked don't show locations there...

AdeleDazeem

According to Expedia, Hertz, Dollar, and Alamo all have locations at/near the Montego Bay Airport in Jamaica.
http://www.expedia.com/Car-Rentals-In-Montego-Bay.d180106.Car-Rental-Guide

I'd do some research on driving in Jamaica.  From my quick searches, a lot of people say it's a bit different than driving in the US.

Good luck.

dazyabbey

I get motion sick very easy and I ended up getting a prescription for a patch that I put behind my ear. It was very small probably 1/2 inch diameter. It helped with almost everything while we were down there from the Jet Skii's. Make sure you check on the Jamaica Check Advisor forum as well. Many forum people have issues with car rentals sometimes.

cwaggoner07

FWIW I rode in an hour long shuttle from the airport in Jamaica and I was terrified the entire time, from the windy roads, to the crazy traffic and drivers.
In retrospect I probably should have had a drink on the flight.

Jells2dot0

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_car-rental-in-jamaica?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:11Discussion:a9cd66f6-3465-4532-9e9c-49a859ddef63Post:e369aa22-da87-4ea5-b48e-e091f81ab577">Re: Car rental in Jamaica?</a>:
[QUOTE]FWIW I rode in an hour long shuttle from the airport in Jamaica and I was terrified the entire time, from the windy roads, to the crazy traffic and drivers. In retrospect I probably should have had a drink on the flight.
Posted by cwaggoner07[/QUOTE]

This. I definitely think driving your own car would be worse! I do not recommend renting a car there for many reasons.

jennyjain

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_honeymoon_car-rental-in-jamaica?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:11Discussion:a9cd66f6-3465-4532-9e9c-49a859ddef63Post:e369aa22-da87-4ea5-b48e-e091f81ab577">Re: Car rental in Jamaica?</a>:
[QUOTE]FWIW I rode in an hour long shuttle from the airport in Jamaica and I was terrified the entire time, from the windy roads, to the crazy traffic and drivers. In retrospect I probably should have had a drink on the flight.
Posted by cwaggoner07[/QUOTE]

hahahahaha!!!! I'd be sure to take that advise when we go in May!

martha783

I totally DIED when I read your subject.

DON'T DO IT.

I went to Jamaica a couple years ago and due to a spiritair fiasco, was changed to a flight to Kingston but had reservations at a resort in Montego. They told me we could take a bus (12 hours and indirect route) or just rent a car and drive over (4ish hours). It was cheap, I had driven in the Cayman Islands no problem, I drive where I live in Peru where drivers are infamous, and left-side of the road didn't seem like a big deal since I had driven in Europe. Handed a key, a map, and a "good luck." It was the nearest-death experience of my life. I cannot overstate how dangerous it was. Between a sheer rock face on the left that I had to hug, and a drop-off cliff on the right, the one-laned roads that are driven 2-3 cars across, the incredible SPEED of the drivers FLYING in huge trucks around the curves and threatening to wipe us into the rock or off the volcanic cliff. My friend who was with me (and didn't drive stick, which is all the rental cars were) covered her eyes and laughed hystrically with nervousness the entire time. 7 hours into the "4 hour" drive, in the pitch black and the middle of the jungle, we got a flat tire on the terrible roads. I had to change the tire, when a truck full of completely high large men stopped to "help" and we barely escaped. It took almost 9 hours and we arrived grateful to be alive. When we explained to our resort why we were late, NO ONE could believe I had driven across the island. They all told me "Only professional drivers drive that route! Not even natives or buses can go do that!" I became a resort celebrity and many natives came to ask "Were you the girl who drove from Kingston?!" Haha, it is funny looking back but let me tell you, I have driven all over the world and Jamaica was the only place that SCARED me. Even though driving IN Montego Bay wouldn't be nearly as extreme, it's still bad. And in my experience, leaving the RESORT in Montego is a little scary. THe drug dealers are SO aggressive as they prey on tourists. The couple of times we ventured out (even as far as the 100 yards to get to the jet ski rentals) we were swarmed by a dozen people with pills and cocaine pressuring us. Never seen anything like it anywhere else. We went out to go to Margaritaville one night and the short walk we were approached every couple of yards. It was surreal. Montego was nice INSIDE the resort but did not make me want to go back because of the intense drug-dealing experience.

But whatever you do - DON'T DRIVE!