Hiring A Driver

[louise]

Hi everyone
I was wondering if anyone had hired a driver/taxi for the day and if so what sort of price it would be? I was hoping it might be cheaper than the tours as they work out so expensive when there are 3-4 of you. I'm a little bit reluctant to hire a car as I'm not that confident a driver.
Many thanks
Louise

[PaulMakin]

cant give you an idea of price i'm afraid but you could check with your accommodation provider for recommendations if staying in a larger establishment - they will have links with local services who will be reliable

edit - just checked with some visiting acquaintances and not as cost effective as you might think. They did a whole day island tour, at a weekend, with a local tour guide. Brand new air-con SUV, knowledgeable polite and helpful driver etc etc - US$100 per person. This was however, tailor made to their own itinerary - i'd expect that you should be able find this type of tour for less

[louise]

Thanks Paul, that sort of price does make hiring a car seem more desirable!! Hopefully if I only drive in daylight it wont be too bad. The taxis and tours seem to be so expensive, I guess they are aimed at the cruise ships?
We definitely want to go up to Speyside as we are divers, do you know if any of the dive operators up there arrange transport, or do most people just hire a car?
Many thanks
Louise

[PaulMakin]

Hi Louise

for context, which area are you staying and when are you coming ?

Dive operators are fewer and farther between now. Concentrated in the South but the diving is consistently superior in the North (Speyside etc).

I say concentrated but by that i mean count on less than the fingers of one hand.

Seas today are very high with offshore swells and chop in the Sth. The bottom is very stirred up all along the Caribbean side and the hazardous seas alert that should have ended at midnight our time should really have been extended. As always, all water related activities are weather dependent and our seas are very dynamic, often changing completely overnight.

I think one outfit is still putting together personalised dive tours - out of Speyside mainly. Shops in the Sth will dive wherever but it is a bit of trek - there's a land transfer which can take 90 minutes each way sometimes. So an investment in terms of time as well as money. Options are open regarding the transfer - some customers drive themselves and make a mini tour on the way back, others come with.

this is my field so i will refrain from mentioning specific operators but i will report back to you on here. It will likely be at the weekend owing to my schedule over the next few days.

driving is more of an art than a skill here and, if i'm honest, i dont drive very far after darkness falls !!!!

[louise]

Thanks Paul, really appreciate all your responses - it's so good to have some local knowledge. We are going to be staying in Crown Point at the beginning of April for 8 days. We will definitely try some dives at Crown Point (my daughter will also do DSD in the lagoon hopefully) but it would be ashame to come all the way to Tobago and not dive the north!!