North America > 🇵🇲St Pierre and Miquelon

Should You Hire a Car in St Pierre and Miquelon? This can be broken down into two similar questions - do you need a car in St Pierre and Miquelon (in other words, will your holiday be ruined without one), and is it worth hiring a car in St Pierre and Miquelon - i.e. is a car better value than using public transport? We'll weigh up both questions and give you a response generated by Chat GPT, together with our own curated opinion before finally giving a yes or no verdict at the end.

Most visitors spend their time in St Pierre, the compact island-town where everything sits within walking distance 🚶‍♂️🌊. Because of that, you don’t really need a car unless you specifically want to explore Miquelon–Langlade — and even then, rentals are limited.

🚶‍♂️ Getting Around St Pierre (No Car Needed)

St Pierre is small, charming, and very walkable. You can cover:

The harbourfront
The cathedral
Local museums
Cafés, bakeries, and the artisan shops
Coastal viewpoints

…all on foot with no trouble at all 🌤️.

Taxis exist but aren’t essential unless you have mobility issues.

🚗 Car Rental — What Actually Exists

You can rent a car on St Pierre, but:

The supply is small
Prices are higher than mainland North America
Cars often book out in high season
There’s not much road mileage to enjoy on St Pierre itself

👉 If your trip is only on St Pierre, car hire is usually unnecessary.
A day or two of walking and guided tours covers almost everything.

What About Miquelon–Langlade?

This is where a car can become genuinely useful 🚙🌲.

Miquelon–Langlade is:

Much larger
Wild and sparsely populated
Home to long beaches, lagoons, wildlife, and windswept scenery

If you take the ferry from St Pierre to Miquelon, you can:

Hire a car locally (availability varies and often must be arranged in advance)
Book a guided excursion, which many travellers prefer
Explore on foot near the settlement, though distances are huge

👉 If exploring Miquelon–Langlade is the highlight of your trip, a car becomes handy — but only for that island.

⛴️ Ferries & Practicality

A ferry links St Pierre and Miquelon. It’s reliable but weather-dependent 🌬️🌊.

Note:

You cannot take a vehicle on the ferry as a visitor
Rental cars generally cannot travel between islands
So you would need to rent separately on Miquelon if you want wheels there

✈️ Access from Canada

Flights from St John’s, Halifax, and Montréal (seasonal) bring you in ✈️.
If you come by the ferry from Fortune, Newfoundland, you’ll arrive in St Pierre and still won’t need a car on that island.

⭐ Verdict — Should You Rent a Car in St Pierre & Miquelon?

👍 YES — rent a car if:

Your focus is Miquelon–Langlade
You want to visit remote beaches or nature areas
You’ve already booked your rental in advance
You like combining hiking with driving

👎 NO — skip the car if:

You’re staying only in St Pierre
You enjoy walking, cafés, scenery, and a slower pace
You prefer guided tours
You’re visiting briefly on a ferry or short flight

🌴 Overall:

For St Pierre, walking wins.
For Miquelon–Langlade, a car can transform your trip.
Most visitors don’t rent a car — but the adventurous ones might 🚙✨.