Why you won’t find a car rental company in Bermuda…
Looking for a Bermuda car rental company is a endless quest since they aren’t any on the islands!
Tourists/visitors are not allowed to hire cars on the islands, or even drive them, with Bermuda driving licences being issued only to Bermudians and residents.
The most popular way to travel for tourists is to rent a scooter or moped, or you can use buses and taxis.
There are a few reasons why you can’t find a rental car in Bermuda.
First, you have to consider the size of the island and the number of inhabitants: 60,000 residents for only 21 square meters does not leave a great deal of space for vehicles. In fact, Bermuda has the highest density of vehicles per square meters in the world with close to 50,000 cars, motorcycles, buses, taxis and trucks!
If you add to this the more or less 600,000 tourists who visit Bermuda each year, you can easily imagine the chaos this would generate. It would also be physically impossible to create any more parking spaces and the pollution ensuing would probably ruin this paradisal setting, its pink sand beaches and crystal clear water.
The fact that, as a British overseas territory, Bermuda has adopted the British convention to drive on the hand left side of the road could cause a few problems too. Tourists from the US and Canada – which constitute the majority of Bermuda visitors – might find hard to get used to it, especially as roads are mostly narrow and winding.
There are plenty of alternatives to go around the island and you will quickly realise that in Bermuda, car rental would be totally unnecessary. Motor scooters or moped are by far the favourite form of transportation and you can find shops to rent them pretty much at every street corners. While you don’t need a licence to drive them, scooter safety is a primary concern in Bermuda. Some scooter rental companies such as Elbow Beach Cycles put a very strong emphasis on it and will give you all necessary training so that you feel completely confident while you drive. Of course, helmets have to be worn at all times and the speed limit (22 mph; 35kmh for all vehicles) respected.
If you would rather have driving-free vacations and only to worry about what activity you are going to do next, then buses, taxis and ferries are perfect for you. The Bermuda public transport system has 11 bus lines covering most of the island and ferries offer a great view of the shores. You can hire taxis by the mile, hour or day, and taxis drivers are usually trained guides who will help you make the most of your time.
But nothing beats touring Bermuda on electric scooter!
And we should know! So feel free to get in touch with us at Elbow Beach if you need to rent a scooter for the day, the week or however long you need it for.
Tags: Things To Do In Bermuda
