Car hire question

[Mark C]

I am planning to travel to Tobago with my brother for a week or so in late May, probably staying at the Rex Turtle beach. However, having read the car hire guide I notice that it states that generally you need to be 25 or over to be able to hire a car, as well as the importance of being able to have access to a hire car. My problem is that despite plenty of driving experience I am only 23, so does anyone know if my relative youth(!) is going to make car hire impossible?

[Tanja Mohammed]

Hi Mark
we have checked this issue with one of our rental agents. The information received is this: it is actually the insurance companies that set the rules with age and experience for rental companies. However, there is a law which applies to all rental contracts stating that the rental of a vehicle is possible to somebody regardless of what age as long as they can produce a valid drivers permit. What happens is that you cannot get CDW coverage if you are younger than 25 years old and the excess payment in case of an accident goes up. To give you an idea: it is around TTD 10.000 (approx USD 1667). Sheppy's Car Rentals do offer rentals to younger clients. They interview the person before signing contracts and may ask for a deposit. So, it's not impossible even if you are younger than 25 years. Just make sure that you have your drivers permit on you all the time.
Hope this helps
Tanja - Yes Tourism

[Simon B]

Hi Mark
Just make sure that you have your drivers permit on you all the time.

I have a question on driving permits for driving in Tobago. I have a UK photo-card driving licence, but I have lost the paper counter-part that comes with the driving licence.
Is the photocard enough to hire a vehicle?

[Steve Wooler]

Hi Simon

Yes!