Rental car question

[jamaicajeanne]

Bnewb,
There are now 2 posts on TA regarding the denial of a rental car...one is the experience AFTER landing and being informed that they are not allowed to rent a car.

This is what visitjamaica now says for Cat 2 visitors...
This measure applies only for tourist visitors who are staying in the “resilient corridor” designated for tourism purposes. Under this measure, persons are required to remain at their hotel/resort within the corridor for the duration of their stay. They may, however, leave the hotel/resort to visit any tourist attraction, that is certified by the Jamaica Tourist Board to be a COVID-19 Resilient licensed tourist attraction located within the resilient corridor. The list of such attractions is available on the visitjamaica.com website. All travel to and from the attraction must be on transportation licensed under the Tourist Board Act.

From the FAQ section on visitjamaica.com..
• Can I leave my hotel if I am staying along the Resilient Corridor?
o If you are a visitor staying along the Resilient Corridor you will be under the Stay
in Zone order. This means you will be allowed to leave your hotel/resort to visit
approved COVID-19 Resilient attraction. A full list of COVID-19 Resilient
attractions can be found at
http://www.visitjamaica.com/travelau...tion/#Approved
o All travel to and from the attraction must be on transportation licensed under
the Tourist Board Act.

From a thread on TA....
2. Re: Covid requirements and experience
Nov 18, 2020, 9:17 PM
I just arrived in Jamaica today, and found it to be a terrible experience. We got our tests, completed our travel authorization, checked with our airbnb that they were in the resilient corridor, etc. No one ever checked our Covid results except the gate agent in SFO. In Montego Bay, we were corralled into a tiny area with far too many people crammed in. There was plenty of hand sanitizer, but no social distancing. Our health agent told us that our airbnb wasn't on the "list" and that we would not be able to rent our car that we already paid for, and if we did pay the $300 taxi fare for one of the companies they force you into (but they don't tell you until you commit!), we wouldn't be allowed to leave the house at all, not even to get groceries. We said in that case we will just fly back to America, and they said no you can't do that because there are no flights today and you can't stay in the airport. It was a terrible experience of rules that no one understands. A different airport agent said you're allowed to go to the grocery or pharmacy once a day. After several hours of being in limbo, we just said "Okay yes" and were allowed to leave the airport. We didn't know how to get to our original airbnb, so we accepted the offer of one of the many oppressive drivers who come at you as you leave the airport, and just booked a new place in Montego Bay. We're probably going to lose the $1000 we spent on our rental car and airbnb. The rules are so unclear and not standardly enforced.

We went to Tahiti in August. Everything was so well-organized, the people were so friendly, it was beautiful, and the vibes were all positive. I do not recommend traveling to Jamaica at this time.

From another thread....
FYI - no rental cars are allowed for category 2 travellers
Nov 17, 2020, 2:27 PM
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Hello All, I know I asked tens of questions and had very great discussions but I just got this bad news from the "Visit Jamaica". I am not sure if they are considered official but I'd think they are.

I asked if I can drive rental car to approved attractions / beaches / or anywhere else. They answer was a No. Can't even go anywhere outside the property without an authorized taxi. I think this is just a money grabbing technique to recover from the downtime. Sad but true! I am re-evaluating and 90% in favor of cancelling Jamaica after this news.

The response was as below which honestly don't make sense to me. Because of below reasons:

1. Driving a rental car is much safer for everyone. Much safer than taking tours and shuttles no matter how approved / authorized they are.

2. This means, category 2 is not allowed to go to any beach front if it is NOT within their accommodation. So no walking miles on the beach is allowed.

3. This also means, Category 2 is not allowed to walk to a restaurant or a super market even if it is 100 meters away. They will need to take an authorized taxi.

4. Basically this means you are trapped. Something Belize tried to do but failed to attract tourists then eventually removed it.

"Under the current Covid-19 measures;

All visitors to Jamaica are required to quarantine for 14 days, this include residents and non-residents, except for Business travellers and Category 2 travellers: Non-residents who would be staying within the resilient corridor. They would be able to utilize all the resources that the hotel/resort provides, visit any approved attractions within the corridor using transportation licensed under the Tourist Board Act. This may be done for the entire duration of their stay.

You are required to use Tourist Board licensed transportation to move around within the resilient corridor, so to answer your question, no rental cars are allowed for category 2 travellers."