Tag Archives: avis

Tortola

Woke up at the normal time but the boat was strangely quiet. Half the passengers were gone. They had to get up at 4:30am to get transferred to the airport for a 7am flight.

We decided to wait until most of the people who had deadlines were gone, so we just relaxed on board.

Around 11:30, we loaded our stuff onto the launch, said our farewells to the crew, and headed for shore.

A bit of talk with the guy at the local taxi stand determined that the Avis location we needed wasn’t as close as we thought it would be. We were told that it was walk-able, but a very long walk. A $4 cab ride, however, wasn’t unreasonable.

We got taken to a local car dealership that doubled as the Avis location. Unloaded the cab and checked into pick up the car. Not a very efficient or professional looking operation. The rental form was written out by hand. We were told to return the car with the same amount of gas that we took it out with. After we started I noticed that the tank was only half full. I had expected them to fill the tank at least.

A few items about driving in the British Virgin Islands

  1. Driving on the left had side isn’t that hard to get used to. I did it in Scotland, and then I was on the other side of the card.
  2. There are very few speed limit signs those they do have do not specify if the speed posted is in kph or mph.
  3. The car is left had drive, just like in the US, but the speedometer is scaled in kph not mph. I suspect it’s manufactured for the European market.
  4. The roads are VERY narrow and in very poor repair. The road to Hana on Maui is far better than the roads on Tortola.

We arrived at Fort Recovery and find that it’s not at all what it’s cracked up to be.

The room is fairly nice, but not $300/night nice. On Maui, during the high season, this kind of place would go for $150/night. That’s WITH an ocean view and direct access to the beach.

The beach is small and kind of dismal looking.

Wifi only works near their office, not in the room.

Had dinner at The Jolly Roger Inn which is run by a couple of guys from New York. It specialized in “Pan Asian, SOHO, and Tribeca cuisine. I didn’t even know SOHO and Tribeca were cuisines.

Finding the place was a challenge as it was at the end of a very dark and forbidding road (actually, all the roads are dark & forbidding at night). The food was pretty good, but the service was kind of slow. I suspect this is going to be a pattern.