Hello Diane,

Yes rent a car, its fine. The rental car agency will give you a road/island map and several of the tourist booklets have ok maps in them as well.

You can visit attractions, shopping, beaches on your own. Observe caution when visiting isolated beaches; I could list them all but in realitiy its quite unlikely you would find those that I would list unless someone showed you the road or you got wayyyy lost. In any case Lindquist is easier to find and an off the beaten path beach and not a good idea to visit alone on a weekday; on the weekends there are people there so its ok. Other quiet beaches like Hull Bay and Dorothea are fine. And all the other beaches Magens Bay, Sapphire, Secret Harbor, Emerald, Morningstar or fine for a solo traveler.

As for theives on the beaches; not a good idea to leave items exposed if you are leaving them (carmeras, walkmen, sunglasses), stick them in your beach bag or put something over them. Its not a problem here but it can happen and does. Same goes for your rental car, don't leave items exposed that might tempt a desperate person; cover them, put them in the trunk.

Some good inexpensive restaurants.... What do you consider inexpensive? And what type of food?

--Islander