The JellyCarts Blog

Rules, parking, pricing, and local news for anyone driving a street-legal LSV on Carolina Beach and Kure Beach.

Guide

The Top 18 Things to Do on Pleasure Island, Ranked

Every stop ranked and mapped, with hours checked for 2026: the boardwalk fireworks, Britt's, the flytraps, Fort Fisher, the ferry that takes carts for $3 — and the one that's closed until 2028.

Pricing

Buying vs. Renting an LSV: The Five-Year Number

A new street-legal LSV starts near $14,299. One week a year with us is $660 all-in. The five-year math, the costs nobody budgets, and where the two lines cross.

Parking

A Live Parking Map for Carolina Beach

How many spaces are free right now in all 24 town lots, which ones take an LSV pass, and where to charge overnight.

Guide

An Airbnb Host's Guide to Offering a Golf Cart on Pleasure Island

Airbnb's host liability insurance excludes autos, Carolina Beach won't issue a golf cart permit to anyone new, and you can't collect a deposit off-platform. What to check before you buy a cart for your rental.

Pricing

Golf Cart vs. a Second Rental Car for a Beach Week

A visitor parking pass costs $100 for one week. The annual LSV pass costs $100 for a year. What a second car really costs once state tax, airport fees, and parking are counted.

Guide

The Best Things to Do on Pleasure Island by Golf Cart

The boardwalk, Fort Fisher, the ferry, and the street-end beach accesses — plus the three places everyone plans around that you cannot legally reach in an LSV.

Guide

13 Mistakes First-Time Golf Cart Renters Make

Read this first. Dow Road, the bridge, the residential parking trap, the five lots no pass covers, heat and range, insurance, child seats — and the quirk that makes five nights cost more than seven.

Rules

Where You Can and Cannot Drive an LSV — With Actual Routes

Dow Road is off-limits and you can't legally cross Snow's Cut Bridge. The 35 mph rule, real routes and distances to Kure Beach and Fort Fisher, and where carts are banned outright.

Safety

Car Seats, Seat Belts, and Kids on a Street-Legal LSV

What NC law actually requires, why the golf cart exemption doesn't reach an LSV, the town rule that bans child seats in rear-facing rows, and the injury data behind all of it.

Parking

Parking a Golf Cart or LSV on Carolina Beach and Kure Beach

Two towns, two entirely separate parking programs. 2026 rates and seasons, the $100 LSV pass vs. the closed golf cart permit, which lots it covers — and the five it doesn't.

Pricing

Weekly vs. Nightly: Where the Break Actually Is on a Beach Week

Real rates, real math. Where free delivery kicks in, and the point where booking the full week costs less than booking the nights you actually need.

Logistics

Free Delivery vs. Pickup: How It Works, and What Delivery Day Looks Like

Three nights or more gets free island-wide delivery and pickup. Shorter rentals are pickup at the staging area. Here's why, and the whole delivery-day sequence.

Rentals

Early Bird and Night Owl: The Half-Day Rentals Most People Don't Know Exist

$77 for a sunrise morning or an evening on the boardwalk. How each half-day slot works, when you can pick one up, and why they book out first.

Policy

Flat Tire, Dead Battery, Locked Out: What the Road Service Plan Covers

What the mandatory $10/day plan actually covers, what it explicitly is not (it is not insurance), and why we priced it into every quote instead of selling it at the counter.

Fleet

200Ah, 80+ Miles: Why Range Is the Spec That Actually Ruins Trips

Twice the pack of a typical rental. What really drains a battery, why the industry left lead-acid behind, and which specs matter on a family rental (and which don't).

Booking

How to Book, Cancel, or Change a Reservation

Nothing is charged until we confirm availability, deposits are authorization holds we never capture, and cancelling is free 72+ hours out. The whole process, plainly.

Planning

Winter Long-Term Rentals: Why Summer Doesn't Work, and Winter Does

Month-to-month runs once the beach season ends, quoted for your dates. The supply math behind why long-term only works once the beach season ends.

Planning

'Tis the Season: How to Rent a Golf Cart Cheap This Winter

Thanksgiving through Valentine's Day sits inside one lease window. The cheap way to do the holidays — and the premier play if you own a vacation home or Airbnb.

Weddings

The Wedding Planner: Carolina Beach

The last piece of every beach wedding plan: getting kids and elderly guests where they need to go, on your timeline, without a scene.

Local news

Golf Cart Taxis: A Fight That's Already Happened on Pleasure Island

Golf cart taxi services have already been fought over and approved in both Carolina Beach and Kure Beach. Here's what actually happened, sourced and dated.

Safety

Why We Don't Run Rear-Facing Third-Row Seating

Six-passenger 4+2 carts add a rear-facing bench for extra capacity. Here's the documented ejection-injury research behind that seating position.

Rules

Golf Cart Age Restrictions in Carolina Beach: Who Can Rent, and Who Should

North Carolina's legal minimum to drive an LSV is 16. JellyCarts rents to drivers 21+. Here's why those two numbers are different on purpose.

Industry

Is That “New” Golf Cart Actually a Rental?

Dealerships that also rent often finance inventory with floorplan loans, then rotate rental-worn units back into retail sale. Here's what to ask before you buy.

Regulations

2028 Is Coming for Gas Golf Carts on Carolina Beach — Here's What Actually Changes

Carolina Beach's conventional golf cart permits stop renewing on January 1, 2028. Here's exactly what the ordinance says, who it affects, and why LSVs aren't touched.

Explainer

LSV vs. Golf Cart: What's Actually the Difference

“Golf cart” and “LSV” get used interchangeably here, but they're legally different vehicles — and only one is street-legal after 2028.

Rules

Golf Cart Rules of the Road on Pleasure Island

Where you can legally drive, where you can't, and what the law actually requires of the driver.

Local news

The Fort Fisher Aquarium Is Closed Until Late 2028 — What That Means for Kure Beach

The NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher closed in May 2026 for a 30-month, 400,000-gallon expansion. Here's what that means for Kure Beach tourism and golf cart rental demand.

Planning

When to Book a Golf Cart Rental in Carolina Beach & Kure Beach

Prices don't change by season, but availability does. Here's how to time a booking between peak summer and the shoulder seasons.

Safety

What Happens to Your Golf Cart Rental During a Hurricane Evacuation

Hurricane season overlaps almost the entire rental season. Here's what actually happens to your booking if a storm threatens Pleasure Island.

Group bookings

Golf Carts for Weddings, Reunions, and Group Events on Pleasure Island

Multiple carts, one event, one point of contact — how group bookings work for weddings, reunions, and gatherings.

Insurance

Does My Insurance Cover a Rented Golf Cart?

Your personal auto policy probably doesn't cover a rented LSV. Here's what actually does, and what to check before you book.

Fleet Operations

The Charging Gap on Pleasure Island

LSV adoption is outrunning charging infrastructure at HOAs and rentals. Here's the gap, and how JellyCarts is closing it.

Industry

Why Dealership Side-Rentals Have Held the Golf Cart Rental Industry Back

Most golf cart “rental companies” are really dealerships renting out floor inventory on the side. Here's why that model caps the whole industry.

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Pick a pickup and return date above — we work out the best rate for you. Half-days are $77 year-round.

Advance half-days are open to everyone — any customer can book an Early Bird or Night Owl ahead, subject to availability. When carts are scarce, a date may simply be sold out.
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