When should you rent a car, and when should you skip one? It really depends on where you are traveling to and what you plan on doing there. For instance, if you plan to visit San Fransisco, Boston, New Orleans or New York, "forget about it!" Because parking spaces in these cities are in such high demand, that you will have a very difficult time finding a lot. And even If you can find an allusive spot, you will end up paying an outrageous amount of money for it. Even your own hotel will charge you at least $50 a day to park. So how can you avoid these fee's? First, book a hotel in a centralized location. This way you can either walk to all of the major attractions or use public transportation for a small amount of money to get around. Each of these cities has an excellent and even iconic mode of transportation. How incredible is it to say that you have traveled on New York City's subway system or on a cable car in San Fransisco. Now if you want to travel outside of one of these cities for a day trip, then rent a car for just a day, this can minimize your costs or better yet, hook up with a guided tour.
Taking a guided tour, is a great way to see sites outside of a city, without providing your own means of transportation. For example, a group tour is an excellent way to take in the wine country of Sonoma, which is just outside of San Fransisco. Most group tours to Sonoma, will pick you up at your hotel, take you to several wineries and usually provide you with a meal or two. This may cost a bit, around $130 per person, but it is still less than renting a car, paying for parking, gas, etc... It also allows you an opportunity to enjoy those amazing wineries without the need of a designated driver.
Now, if you are traveling to cities like Phoenix, Denver, Memphis, Atlanta, and Charleston, than definitely rent a car. These cities are spread out with sites that are significantly far apart. Oh, and as an added bonus, the parking is relatively cheap in these cities, around $10 a day or less. Thus, a rental car is by far the best way to tackle them.
Thus, when considering to get a rental car, you need to consider your itinerary. Are you going to travel a considerable distances or walk to the sites and restaurants you are planning on seeing? Also, how accessible is parking going to be? Can you find a lot and if so, how much will it set you back? This should help you to determine if a rental car is cost affective or not.
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In big cities like San Francisco or New York you don't need a car to visit the main attractions, but if you travel to small countries that don't have subway for example, it's not that easy without a car.
ReplyDeleteWhen I went to Brasov, I had to rent a car because the main attraction there is at approximately 10 miles from the center of the town.
So yes, it depends where you go but you should have a good plan before leaving, not when you arrive there.
First of all, thank you for your comments. I completly agree with you, if you are heading to a place where the sites are really spread out than you just don't have much of a choice. The last time I went to Oahu, I had to bite the bullet and pay for a rental car. My hotel was only a block away from Waikiki beach, so there was no problem hanging out at the beach and we were on a bus line for Pearl Harbor, China Town, and The Bishops Museum. The problem arrived when we wanted to see The North Shore, The Pali Lookout and this amazing Buddist Temple on the east side of the island. So we booked a car for only a day and saved ourselves a fortune on rental and parking fees. So you have to plan ahead, this way you can decide just how much you truly are going to use that rental car for and if it is cost effective to keep it for the whole trip or do you just need it for the day, like in my case.
DeleteNice:) A good plan can reflect on your budget:) It's true that unpredictable things can happen but it's recommended to at least try avoiding them:)
DeleteWords of wisdom! Typically, I do a ton of research for the trips I take. I believe that the more energy you put into planning, the smoother your trip will be. Thanks for the wonderful comments!
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