Aircraft rental in Florida (or Bahamas)

Pilots Paradise in Sebastian are a popular choice and setup for foreign pilots to do exactly this sort of trip.
Owned and managed by Brits.

I rented with Atlas Aviation in Tampa a beautiful C177 RG (new cockpit with G500) and flew down to St. Maarten though Bahamas and Turks And Caicos (last May).
Totally recommend it. Rental price is good and the airplane is fantastic. I should be able to post some photos in a topic in a near future (as soon i have some free time).

Go for it!

We did this at the beginning of this year, here’s a trip report: https://www.euroga.org/forums/trips-airports/10994-bahamarama-trip-report#post_218868

We rented with St. Pete Air at Albert Whitted airfield. Organization was smooth and friendly, rates very good, airplane condition (PA28) decent, but not impeccable. The airfield is very scenic.

As far as I know and remember you need an IFR rating and currency for most FBO/s. Whether an EASA IR is accepted I can’t say. Patrick (above) may be able to confirm as his trip isn’t that long ago.

@AJ: In Atlas Aviation they did not require the IFR for both the C177 crew and the SR22 crew.

I have also rented the exact aircraft as Patrick did from St Pete Air at Albert Whitted (on the West Coast, St Petersburg just south of Tampa). Write-up here. They were very professional and easy to deal with, although I did have to insist on borrowing life jackets and did not have a liferaft for our flight around Everglades and to the Keys. They did not require IFR, but I have added my EASA IR to my FAA piggyback licence and I did benefit from using that twice when there were a few clouds in the sky.

They are used to tourists – they joked that Germans typically want the best on offer (G1000, Cirrus etc.) while Brits typically look for the cheapest option ;)