Avis has some different locations so they may.

FYI - Rent using your Visa. We had a flying rock hit our jeep windshield and did a number on it. We were charged $900 for it. Since we had rented it using our Visa, Visa reimbursed us for the whole amount. GC Avis was great about sending us the necessary paperwork to get the claim processed.

Did you decline the insurance when you rented from GC Avis? I was thinking of gettin gthe full coverage for $14/day but not sure if its needed....

Andy's also has locations at the airport and also on SMB. If you us one of the booking agents (Orbitz, Expedia, etc.) you can get an idea of what rates are running with the major car companies (Thrifty, Budget, Hetrtz) and then compare it to what Avis is charging and also at Andy's. Price will of course depend on the size car you get and what extra insurance you wish to pay for .Different companies run different specials and there are usually discounts available through coupons in the Cayman Activity Guide as well as various credit cards. For example, Thrifty gives 10% off when you use you American Express card. Check with your credit card company ahead of time to see just what they do/ do not cover in the event you have a problem.

Yes, we had declined the rental insurance.

We have coverage on rentals out of the country through Visa - it's not anything I set up, it just comes with Visa (or at least the card we have).

yes, both Andy's and Cisco Avis have locations at airport and on SMB. That being said, you are staying at Courtyard Marriott which really is not within walking distance to restaurants, shops, etc. so renting for the duration of your trip might make more sense. Taxi rides can really add up!

Cost will depend on what type/size vehicle you rent, what deal is being offered, and insurance. If you do not have/use a credit card that covers international insurance, definitely get full coverage! Some VISA do, some do not...you will need to call and find out if yours does. We use an AMEX and registered for full coverage with that at a cost of $25/rental for any international destinations (with a few exceptions like Ireland, Italy) for a rental period of up to 42 days. It automatically goes into effect when using an AMEX card at time of rental.

Are there mini-buses I could take to get to shops & restaurants? Is there plenty of parking around town and restaurants/shops etc if I do decide to get a car for the week?

I would get the car for the whole week. We have always used Budget since they seemed to be the cheapest when we were there. You kind of need a car where you will be. There are only two of us and we can live with the smallest car.

Remember, you drive on the left. Our daughter had some culture shock two weeks ago when she and the boys flew into Newark on their way to our shore rental, rented a car, then had to get right into busy traffic driving on the right (like a normal person!) She did say that was a little difficult to get used to.

it really is not difficult to get used to driving on the left as long as you remind yourself to do so...perhaps not as simple for youngish inexperienced drivers who sometimes seem to assume and expect everything to be what they are accustomed to experiencing:)

yes, there are public mini buses, but they do not run on a regular schedule. pretty often during workday hours & not much after then.

it will cost about $2 CI per person each way along the SMB corridor. If going out for dinner you really would need to have your own rental or use a taxi. No problem with parking in Georgetown if you use the lot behind the shopping center located across the street from Atlantis Submarine.

it really doesn't cost that much more to have a rental for a week than for 4 days and it is well worth it in time and convenience.

I agree that the cost of a weekly rental will not be that much extra than a 4 day rental. For example Thrifty & Dollar show $209 for a week in November , including the basic fees/taxes but no extra insurance. 4 days is $130. Both rates are for an economy car. Keep in mind that if you need to take a taxi one way between you hotel and the airport, it will cost you $25-$30. Taxis are not inexpensive and can add up quickly if you end up taking them for several days to get back & forth to restaurants, etc. The mini buses are fine but can get very crowded, esepcially during rush hours. Parking most places will not be a big problem but you might want to avoid Georgetown when cruise ships are in because the traffic will be heavy with van, tours, & taxis shuttling cruise ship people to/from their various destinations. ALso pedestrian trafiic will be heavy around the downtown shops and restaurants.

RENT ! Rent for the whole time you are there, especially if you are staying up at Courtyard by Marriott - I can't remember if there was much to eat/drink/do within walking distance except for the beach. We had never been to Grand Cayman before either, and were thinking of renting for just a day or two as well, but listened to Barb and other posters when they said once you factor in the taxi from airport to hotel and then hotel back to airport, it already subtracts $50-$60 (plus tip?) off the cost of the rental. We thought it would be worth the extra cost to just have the car for a week even if we didn't use it every day (because you do save money renting at the weekly rate as opposed to daily anyway) - but we ended up using it every day and sometimes in and out of the hotel lot with it several times throughout the day and night. We saw so much of the island that we wouldn't have seen if we had only rented a car for a day or two and had to plan what we wanted to see before turning the car back in - we had the freedom to go anywhere anytime and not have to wait - parking was easy and free everywhere we went (except $2 at the airport for short-term parking when we went to check on our flights on Thursday night).

There was one afternoon/evening of almost nonstop, sometimes pelting, sometimes drizzling rain (not hurricane-related) during which it was great to be able to get around, go out to eat, and then explore some roads we wouldn't have bothered with otherwise or had time for if we had the car only for a day or so. Not having to wait for a bus or cab whenever we wanted to go somewhere outside of walking distance was awesome. One night after dinner we ended up driving all the way from Seven Mile Beach out to East End and then back around the north road in the dark - we just wanted to explore a bit and weren't ready to go inside after dinner- ended up getting back to the hotel after midnight - another thing we wouldn't have done that was a really neat experience (we ended up driving the same roads in the daylight a few days later, after we had snorkeled and swam and gotten enough sun for the day - driving and exploring was really good filler time and we wanted to see everything we could anyway).

We used Thrifty, with a discount for using an Amex card (10% less) - and we also have the Amex extended rental coverage which covers everything (personal injury, injury to others, damage/collision/theft, theft of personal property from the vehicle) for $17.95 per rental (that rate was for California residents - I think it was $24.95 otherwise) and kicks in when you use the card to pay for the rental. Pickup was fast and they had a key drop box at the airport if you have an early flight on the return (I think all the rental companies had boxes for dropping keys). The rental company you choose will issue you a Cayman Islands driver permit for $8 when you sign your rental paperwork and pick up the car.

Usually we don't rent a car on vacation and would rather walk everywhere or take the bus, but Grand Cayman Island is definitely somewhere we will always rent a car for sure - it made such a difference in our trip (already wishing for a return trip and we just returned yesterday).