No convertibles available from any of the big rental firms. I spent a big chunk of yesterday searching on Google.
Road Tripping in the USA!
- Thread starter [TW]Fox
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No convertibles available from any of the big rental firms. I spent a big chunk of yesterday searching on Google.
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
The problem that you have is that you are presumably trying to one-way the car from Chicago to California. Rental firms do not want Illinois plated cars going all the way to California, so they'll put various measures in place to discourage it - mostly by restricting the available classes and adding significant one-way fees to the cost of the rental.
I never really get the whole Route 66 thing - as well as coming up against this significant one-way issue by doing 'Route 66' (Which hasn't really existed for half a century anyway) in its entirety you spend 50% of your trip in the middle of flat plains giving you less time to focus on the other 50% which is absolutely epic.
A better idea would be to fly into Chicago, spend some time there, and then fly on to somewhere like Denver and pick up the trip properly from there. From Denver to the West Coast there is almost no section of the country which isn't mind blowing in terms of scenery and interest. You might still come up against a one-way issue though.
I never really get the whole Route 66 thing - as well as coming up against this significant one-way issue by doing 'Route 66' (Which hasn't really existed for half a century anyway) in its entirety you spend 50% of your trip in the middle of flat plains giving you less time to focus on the other 50% which is absolutely epic.
A better idea would be to fly into Chicago, spend some time there, and then fly on to somewhere like Denver and pick up the trip properly from there. From Denver to the West Coast there is almost no section of the country which isn't mind blowing in terms of scenery and interest. You might still come up against a one-way issue though.
I wasn't aware the first half is so dull, thanks for the warning. I also wasn't aware that searching for one-way rentals restricted the available classes - I thought they would just add a one-way fee. Now that I search for return-to-pickup rentals, there do seem to be more options available.
My return flight is from Los Angeles. So now I'm considering flying Chicago -> Nashville (for the solar eclipse), then Nashville to LA. Pick up a car from LA, drive in a vaguely Denverish direction, then swing back via the Grand Canyon and San Francisco in a big figure-8.
My return flight is from Los Angeles. So now I'm considering flying Chicago -> Nashville (for the solar eclipse), then Nashville to LA. Pick up a car from LA, drive in a vaguely Denverish direction, then swing back via the Grand Canyon and San Francisco in a big figure-8.
Did this trip in September
We did 2 nights in monterey/carmel (1 night would probably be enough, but we wanted to do whale watching. Then a further 2 nights along the PCH (Pismo Beach and then Oxnard). 3 night is a minimum I'd say. The 17 mile drive in Monterey Carmel is spectacular, take your time. After Pismo Beach I found the PCH or highway 1, not the great and instead headed onto the 101 to get to LA quicker so we could spend the day there.
We also did the south rim following Fox's advice. Took a 30 minute flight from Vegas to Grand Canyon, then straight onto a helicopter tour over the south rim (worth every penny), then we took a bus into the park, and to some famous lodges, and a walk along the south rim.
We easily fitted 2 large holdalls into the bag of a mustang, so I'm sure you'll be fine with whatever you pick. If I got again, I'd be looking into premium/luxury class. Not that Mustang was bad at all, in fact it ate up the miles nicely, and I never felt tired. However road noise and wind noise was a little annoying.
Got a similar trip coming up next year for our honeymoon (well, it's what we plan on doing anyway).
01 - Los Angeles
02 - Los Angeles
03 - Los Angeles
04 - Santa Barbara
05 - Monterey
06 - Yosemite
07 - Yosemite
08 - San Francisco
09 - San Francisco
10 - San Francisco
11 - Las Vegas
12 - Las Vegas
13 - Las Vegas
14 - Las Vegas
15 - Las Vegas
Probably only going to get a car for the LA to SF part as we will get flights from SF to Vegas.
Just reading that parking can be quite costly in SF - would I be best off ditching the car in central SF rather than keeping it with us till we get to the airport? Do hotels charge a lot for parking? Unsure it would get a lot of use once we are in SF as we will be walking around mostly I think.
Still unsure about how many days to spend going up the PCH and in Yosemite. Anyone with any advice would be appreciated. Definitely want the 5 nights in Vegas at the end. Something me and the Mrs have been wanting to do together for a while - i've been before but she hasn't so will be doing the usual Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, see a show, do some clubbing and check out the discount malls!
01 - Los Angeles
02 - Los Angeles
03 - Los Angeles
04 - Santa Barbara
05 - Monterey
06 - Yosemite
07 - Yosemite
08 - San Francisco
09 - San Francisco
10 - San Francisco
11 - Las Vegas
12 - Las Vegas
13 - Las Vegas
14 - Las Vegas
15 - Las Vegas
Probably only going to get a car for the LA to SF part as we will get flights from SF to Vegas.
Just reading that parking can be quite costly in SF - would I be best off ditching the car in central SF rather than keeping it with us till we get to the airport? Do hotels charge a lot for parking? Unsure it would get a lot of use once we are in SF as we will be walking around mostly I think.
Still unsure about how many days to spend going up the PCH and in Yosemite. Anyone with any advice would be appreciated. Definitely want the 5 nights in Vegas at the end. Something me and the Mrs have been wanting to do together for a while - i've been before but she hasn't so will be doing the usual Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, see a show, do some clubbing and check out the discount malls!
What a strange way to do that route. Why are you driving from Monterey to Yosemite then right back out to San Fran and then to Las Vegas (which will take you directly through Yosemite again). It looks like you are adding an additional 10 hours or so of (rather boring) driving for no reason?
You'd be much better off going Monterey -> SF -> Yosemite -> Las Vegas
All explained in his post.
Just re-read it and missed the flights bit.
It's a real shame as there are no one way fees with cars from CA to Vegas and the drive through Yosemite and Death Valley is unbelievably good.
I can't imagine flying from SF to LV would work out cheaper than driving and once you factor in airport time and the additional driving he's already doing it'll probably take the same amount of time.
Off to Vegas for my 30th next month 
We are planning on spending a day or two visiting The Hoover Dam and some other bits and would like to hire a car. Would love a V8 of some sort but not fussed about what.
Any recommendations on car and best place to book?
We are planning on spending a day or two visiting The Hoover Dam and some other bits and would like to hire a car. Would love a V8 of some sort but not fussed about what.Any recommendations on car and best place to book?
Off to Vegas for my 30th next month
Any recommendations on car and best place to book?
Try the following sites;
https://www.uscarhire.com/
http://www.rentalcars.com/en/
https://www.virginholidays.co.uk/travel-extras/car-hire
Whatever you do make sure you book as a UK customer via a UK site (so don't book on a US site quoting in $) - this is because using a UK broker you'll get a much better deal and all the required insurances chucked in.
You'll struggle to specify a V8 from any car rental firm without paying a crazy amount. The 'best' thing to do generally is to book a standard convertible class with someone like Alamo or National. This will basically get you a Mustang (V6 or Ecoboost) or Camero (V6). Generally these are about £30-£35 a day. If you specifically wanted a V8 Mustang as an example I'd expect to pay about 4x-5x this much and for the type of driving you'll do it's not going to be worth the extra.
Hoover Dam - I visited this and wouldn't say you needed more than a couple of hours at most,
No, not really unless you are going in July or something.
30 quid a day used to be reasonable but with the devaluation of sterling that's probably closer to 40 now.
Soldato
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I paid £40 a day last month after cash back in las vegas for a pick up at hotel and drop at mccarren. I missed out on the convertible mustang thing when I was there in 2008 so I sorted that out off the back of a work trip. Only a V6 but entertaining enough, bonnet appears made of plastic the amount it flexes about!
I think its possibly a bit dearer as we are only getting it for a few days. When i run the quote for >week it works out around £40 after cashback. I ended up paying £55 a day for 3 days so not too bad.
The holiday was a surprise 30th present from my girlfriend. Fly out on 20th Feb for 5 nights staying at the Cosmopolitan. Can't wait. 
The holiday was a surprise 30th present from my girlfriend.
Fly out on 20th Feb for 5 nights staying at the Cosmopolitan. Can't wait. We decided to drive to the south rim and stop overnight. Was an enjoyable experience if you have the time.
- Stopped at a highly recommended Diner in Boulder City where a friend had proposed to his wife a few years back (Southwest Diner)
- Went to the Hoover Dam
- Drove right down the to the water at Lake Mead
- Saw the fish off the pier on Lake Mead
-Got to see the train that goes to/from the south rim
-Got up early and went out our chosen vantage point on the first bus to see the sun rise over the grand canyon (although it was rather cold!!)
Keeping it fairly car themed:
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