Whether you are staying for long in New Caledonia or only stopping over from a cruise stop, we have done THE best activity you can do during a day in the capital. Noumea is really a beautiful and unique small city. It is situated at the southern end of the largest island of New Caledonia which is named Grand Terre. Noumea is the major port the country and is the capital, the obvious put stop for cruise ships.
Luckily, Noumea is near a few gorgeous beaches and sights nearby including Amedee Island, Baie des Citrons (Lemon Bay) and Ile aux Canards (Duck Island).
Instead of getting a rental car or taxi around to visit Noumea, we decided it would be a good idea to get an electric cute Moke style car from Noumea Beach Cat to see the capital all by ourselves. The service can provide you with a GPS which is a tablet with Maps.me with exact pins of the best spots to see around town!
If you are doing a cruise, Noumea Beach Cars is located right outside the cruise terminal. Note that they only have electric bikes and Nos-Moke’s which have a range of 80-100km’s. This is not a good option if you want to do a road trip far out of Noumea. It is although absolutely perfect to see all the sights of Noumea!
Requirements to rent a car in Noumea
For the Noumea Beach cars, only a drivers license is required. You don’t really need an international driving permit. If you are planning to get an actual car with another rental company, then it is highly recommended as the Australian Automobile Association states that an international driving permit is required for Australian’s driving in New Caledonia. If you are not Australian, then, to be honest, you don’t really need to think about it!
Driving in New Caledonia
You drive on the right side of the road in New Caledonia, which is for Australians and New Zealanders, the opposite side of the road! The road rules are pretty much similar like anywhere in the world. We drove without an International Driver’s permit but don’t forget that New Caledonia is primarily French hence if you want to be on the safe side, you then better make sure you have your international drivers permit with a French translation.
- Have you been to any of the Pacific Islands? What have you heard about visiting here? If you’ve gone here or live in Noumea, we would love to know what are your must-see sights for a day road trip!
- Read more tips we wrote about New Caledonia here.
- Don’t forget to book your travel insurance before travelling.
- If you don’t have your flights, check out ways to book the cheapest fares here, but if planning and booking your trip is a hassle, let us help! Contact us now.
