Good Morning,
My DW and I rented a scooter in Nassau on our last cruise to escape the city area and explore. My normally reserved and cautious spouse suggested it, so I could not turn her down.
It was a wild adventure that was full of opportunities for serious injury. It was a fairly inexpensive way to see the island and we had a wonderful time stopping at small private beaches and waiting through a summer thunderstorm at the Travellers Rest Bar.
However, there is a reason that the cruise lines strongly discourage it -
I would not suggest it for anyone but motorcycle-capable, healthy consenting and completely alcohol free adults. The roads are in pretty poor condition and are crowded around Nassau area.
Driving on the "wrong side" of the road is difficult to adjust to (I never did adjust..my wifes whole job was to remind me to stay left around round abouts and look right when entering the road)
The 25 passenger busses which are the mainstay of public transit on Nassau do not appear to recognize tourists on scooters as actual vehicles on the road and pass you with very little notice or consideration for your safety.
The rental companies we looked at were run by rather wild young men who offered us several opportunities to "party" at several produce stands down the road before we got to the bike. They then tried to give us a scooter that had been in a wreck and was barely functional and we had to argue to get a better more roadworthy one.
At one point, the scooter would not start for us. The thought of watching the stern of the ship leaving nassau as we were limping back into town was not a pretty one. It started and we were fine, but the potential was clearly there.
Like most foolish and risky adventures for 45 year old people who have been married for 18 years who are off without their children, it was the high point of our adventure on that cruise. But the dangers were many and I would not suggest it to anyone as a family adventure.
Hope our tales of adventure help. I saw other tourists with rental cars out on the back roads, maybe that is an option.
