Rental car at Vero?

[SyrCinderella]

We are planning a 3 night stay at Vero Beach at the end of March, following our DD's fairy tale wedding. This is our first time visiting Vero.

Would you recommend having a rental car? We are considering having a service take us from SSR to Vero and then from Vero to Orlando airport. We thought about renting a car at the airport, but both my husband and I just had surgery and cannot lift our luggage so that option won't work well.

Do you think that a rental at Vero is a necessity or will we be fine without one?

 

[scootert]

If you plan to stay at the resort the entire time and have all your meals there, then you would not need a car. If you want to explore or have your meals off property, a car is really essential. Prior to last year, DH and I ate all our meals at the resort (breakfast & lunch in our villa - dinner at Shutter's). Last year we were very disappointed in the menu at Shutters and ate off property for every evening meal. It was much less expensive to eat off site and it was fun to check out the rest of the area. That said, if total relaxation is in order, you can do well staying onsite the entire time. Hope this helps...

 

[surfer_ed]

It might be cheaper to rent a car at WDW and then drive it to Vero and drop it off at the airport.

 

[micminnieapolis]

Vero is wonderfully quiet and probably a good place to calm down after a wedding, BUT I would never try to stay there without a car. There is nothing around it. I enjoy the property but . . . Vero Beach is a quaint town but you need a car to get there. We also tend to eat off the property even though we enjoy Shutters. I also suggest renting a car for those days, they'll take care of the luggage for you! The rental can't exceed the cost of hiring a service for a 1-11/2 hour drive in two directions and there are some scenic routes that you could venture on on your own that a service might not take.

 

[mbhoxsie]

We priced it out a few weeks ago and the cost of having a rental car for a week was actually less than hiring a service both ways..

As others have said, you could have the rental car agency or a bell hop at SSR load the luggage into the car for you, and then have the Vero bell hop remove it when you get there...

 

[SyrCinderella]

Thank you for your insight, I was a bit afraid that we might feel too stranded at Vero w/o a car, and it seems that is accurate. I almost tried to change to a resort hotel at WDW to avoid all this, but the beach really is appealing after the wedding.

I guess what I am concerned with is the luggage hastle at the airport (whenever we rent a car at the airport, we have had to lug the suitcases onto a shuttle bus, without assistance). So what I am considering now is to rent a car from either an onsite company (Alamo or National, right?) or Enterprise (who would "pick us up") and returning the car in Vero the day before we fly home. Then take the transportation service back to the airport. That way my husband would avoid trying to drive around the airport which appears very busy (and stressful), and we avoid problems with luggage on the shuttle.

Any suggestions? I think the rental might come in handy at SSR as well because if we are a long ways from the pool/carriage house area we might not want my husband to walk that far yet (he hasn't been through rehab).

Thanks again!