Renting a Car in Curaçao
This post is a more detailed overview of guidance on renting a car in Curaçao. To check out the main post, of how we spent a day in Curaçao, click here.
Black is research that we did prior to our trip, and pink is what we learned from our experience.
Info for getting around: https://travel.usnews.com/Curacao/Getting_Around/
- Book in advance! Booking ahead is no cheaper than booking the day-of, BUT! they tend to book up. Like we were checking in to get our vehicle, and the front desk worker shared with another lady they were sold out for the day.
- Make sure you book an automatic, if that is what you want. Dude- I almost hit "checkout" before Matt was like "Make sure that's not manual babe"....CLOSE CALL!
- Make sure you have it back by the time they close, island time! Not cruise ship time.
- Download the app "MAPS.ME: Offline Maps, GPS Nav"
- You can choose to pay for a "Tourist SIM 10GB" for $30. Basically this sim card allows your phone to work out of country. Instead of turning our "out of country roaming" on on our phones (Verizon charges $10 a day with our phone plan), we used the app Maps.ME which acts as a gps to navigate the island, without the need for cellular data or wifi. Make sure to download the map of the island ahead of time (the app gives you so many free downloads). It worked wonderfully providing turn-by-turn directions. The same dad in the car next to us planned on winging it. When we told him about the app, his response was "well the islands not THAT big is it? We won't get lost" hahah good luck buddy.
- Take pictures of the entire car, inside and out, before pickup and after drop-off. This was a no-brainer for us, as we use Turo a lot, but there was a dad picking up a car for his family the same time we were, and he saw us doing the walk around taking pics and goes "ohhh that's a good idea." hahha duh dude. Walk around the whole car, taking pics of each section of the car, with extra attention to problem areas (scratches or bumps) to show it was like that BEFORE you drove it off the lot. Take pics of the floormats, seats, odometer reading, inside of doors, etc. It's worth the time. Do the same thing when you return the car, before you pass off the keys.
SmartWheels
ContaSmart Wheels BV
Penstraat 21-A, Curacao
+5999 676 6666
We prepaid a flat-fee ($35) to be able to return our rental on whatever level of gas. This negated the need to refill it to full before returning it. If I had a do-over, I would skip this. There are gas stations around Curacao, even one across from the cruise port, on Pater Euwensweg, right across from the Mangrove Beach Corendon Resort. They take cash only (local currency (NAF) and USD accepted. Regular gas is the yellow handle.
The reason I would say refill the gas on your own, is because we drove around the island all day, and the gas gage needle BARELY dropped. Maybe worth it if you have the car a week? But we barely used anything. AND! check this out:
"Fuel has to be returned at the same level as received. If not, these are the prices per fuel gauge line excluding tax:" Economy: USD $15.00
We didn't even hit one fuel gauge line, so we could have gotten away with paying a fee of $15 instead of $35. Im a penny pincher when it comes to stuff like this, but if you like peace of mine, just pay the $35 flat rate.
Get the full insurance. It's worth it. You don't want to get stranded with a flat tire and miss getting back to the boat in time.
Theft Protection Reduction (TPR) = $2.50 Day CDW Zero – USD $0 financial responsibility (CDWZ) = $22.50 Day Additional Add-on & Services: 24/7 Roadside Assistance = $3.00 Day
They drive on the RIGHT side of the road, so we luckily didn't have a learning curve with this, which was nice with all the round-abouts.
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