Car Hire questions

[JCDUDE]

Hi guys

Were off to Usa in Nov for 21 days.
Landing in LA and then off to Disneyland/sandiego/San fran/Vegas/LA, so a bit of driving involved.
I'm just trying to work out if taking the car off hire for 5 days or so while we are in vegas is worth it? or just as cost effective to keep on hire?

Also heard San fran is expensive to park,that include hotel parking?

So hire for full time or take off hire?

Flying from Melbourne Australia,think when we lived in uk,we used 3000 hire for florida,but that was 7yrs ago.
Again thanks

Jase

 

[bcla]

Hi guys

Were off to Usa in Nov for 21 days.
Landing in LA and then off to Disneyland/sandiego/San fran/Vegas/LA, so a bit of driving involved.
I'm just trying to work out if taking the car off hire for 5 days or so while we are in vegas is worth it? or just as cost effective to keep on hire?

Also heard San fran is expensive to park,that include hotel parking?

So hire for full time or take off hire?

Flying from Melbourne Australia,think when we lived in uk,we used 3000 hire for florida,but that was 7yrs ago.
Again thanks

Jase

Not sure what you mean; something might be lost in the language. Are you inquiring about perhaps taking taxis? A "car hire" around here would be something like a car service (limo or "Town Car") where the entire trip has to be prearranged. Or are you talking about renting a car and dropping it off at a different location?

San Francisco is expensive to park, but there are places where parking is free. Street parking is often metered and requires payment by coin or credit card. Some inexpensive motels have free parking. Hotels that charge for parking will have in/out privileges for guests. San Francisco itself is pretty easy to get around with public transportation, although it isn't always running on schedule. I recently took my kid to SF and got around by public transportation. I noticed a lot of foreign tourists with the multi-day MUNI (San Francisco's public transportation system) passes. However - regionally it gets odd because there are many different systems that are divided into regional areas.

 

[SMD]

OP is referring to renting a car for either the length of stay, or turning their car in when in certain cities.

Keep the car in Vegas, it can be convenient if you're going to different ends of the strip or off-strip.

Yes, parking is expensive in San Fran. How long will you be there and what is on your itinerary? You may find you need a car to do some things, or you may want to plan around public transportation. I recommend pricing your rental for the length of stay and separately if you turn it in. There's no set answer as to which option will be cheaper, it can vary based on rental company and availability.

 

[usnuzuloose]

It depends if you plan on leaving the area in Las Vegas to go a long distance. If you plan on staying on the strip the hotels are free parking. Or they do have valet for a few dollars in tipping.

Riding the Duece bus can take you up and down the strip and downtown Freemont st. I don't know if the cost has gone up but I paid 7 dollars for a 24 hour pass.

Remember to wear comfortable shoes. And it is very hot in the summer months. But a lot to see and things to do. They have a huge ferris wheel that is new. You can check it out on you tube.

 

[bcla]

OK - I think I saw similar language being used before, and back then it was noted that "hire" would generally only be used in this country to describe a vehicle with a driver.

As for San Francisco itself, I believe the city could be negotiated by public transportation. Outside of San Francisco a car is almost a must unless one sticks to carefully selected locations near public transportation. When I come into San Francisco, I often use public transportation to avoid difficulties finding parking. However, I'll still need a vehicle to get to the starting point. Just last weekend it was myself and child taking the San Francisco Bay Ferry from Alameda to San Francisco. I used San Francisco's MUNI to get around town by light rail, bus, and cable car. It saves bridge toll, fuel, and parking. I can also stop at high traffic areas (such as Union Square and Fishermans Wharf) without having to worry about high parking rates. Besides that, my kid loved taking a cable car for the first time as well as the ferry.

 

[GrandBob]

I would retain the car while in Las Vegas, though you can also make a case for returning and re-renting it. The main problem is that there is normally a large penalty for returning a car in a different location than where you rented it. So you may find that starting and ending in LA, for example, and retaining the car for 3 weeks is actually cheaper than renting from LA to LV, and then again from LV to LA; even though with the latter you may only have the car for 2 weeks total.

Also, as noted, parking is generally free throughout Las Vegas. And while the casinos look close to each other, they're not. A car is very handy in Vegas.

In San Francisco, yes the parking is generally very expensive. Especially parking at a hotel. But that's only true for the main tourist areas -- downtown, Union Square, North Beach, Fisherman's Wharf, etc, where you can pay $30-$50 per night to park your car. Generally, you'll want to either stay in the middle of the action (as above) without a car; or use a car to stay slightly outside the tourist areas, where parking is frequently (not always) free at your hotel/motel. The Cow Hollow district along Lombard Street (and indeed, all of Lombard out to the Presidio) is an area of more reasonably priced accommodations, most of which have free parking. You'll most likely want to drive to the tourist areas from there (though public transport also works very well in The City); and you'll end up paying to park the car during the day in those tourist areas. So it may or may not be cheaper than staying in the tourist areas without a car.

One place worth checking out in SF is the Columbus Motor Inn. It has free parking, is not too expensive, and is in the heart of North Beach, not far from Fisherman's Wharf.

-Bob

 

[JCDUDE]

Great info guys.
Thank you

ps it's plain english and some people can read between the lines, or write a post about not understanding It.

 

[ILUVALASKA]

My son lives in San Francisco. Parking is a pain and is expensive! $30 to park near the wharf. You can utilize so many public options instead.

I also do not see the need for a car in Vegas. The traffic is so bad on the Strip that you will not go more than 10 feet in thirty minutes. We now use the bus that runs along the strip.

 

[bcla]

Great info guys.
Thank you

ps it's plain english and some people can read between the lines, or write a post about not understanding It.

It's not a phrase commonly used in the United States to describe renting a vehicle. "Hiring a car" would normally only be used to describe some sort of car/limo service with a provided driver. It's not a colloquialism that's in use in the US.

I mean - I've met people from all over the world who came learning different local slang and phrases. A high school classmate originally from Hong Kong asked for "a rubber" when he was asking for a pencil eraser. The term "a rubber" is slang for a condom so the confusion was on my part. If someone asks for clarification because they don't understand my meaning for a phrase, I typically won't take offense.

 

[JCDUDE]

It's not a phrase commonly used in the United States to describe renting a vehicle. "Hiring a car" would normally only be used to describe some sort of car/limo service with a provided driver. It's not a colloquialism that's in use in the US.

I mean - I've met people from all over the world who came learning different local slang and phrases. A high school classmate originally from Hong Kong asked for "a rubber" when he was asking for a pencil eraser. The term "a rubber" is slang for a condom so the confusion was on my part. If someone asks for clarification because they don't understand my meaning for a phrase, I typically won't take offense.

Thanks for clearing that up.

Again thanks for all the other helpful info about parking etc.
I think having the car on hire for the duration of the trip is the way to go, but keep it parked up at San Fran/ Vegas.
we like exercise, so will walk a lot, until we hit the shops, then we will need a big boot (trunk)

 

[zoicca]

Yeah, we North American's use "rent" instead of "hire".

Vegas has free parking everywhere, so no worries there.

San Francisco parking is incredibly expensive. Maybe $25 to $40 per day, but cheaper parking can be found. Hourly parking can vary from $3 to 7 per hour. Unless you're going to be travelling throughout the Bay Area, there's no need for a car in SF City. In fact, its a nuisance.

 

[bcla]

Yeah, we North American's use "rent" instead of "hire".

Vegas has free parking everywhere, so no worries there.

San Francisco parking is incredibly expensive. Maybe $25 to $40 per day, but cheaper parking can be found. Hourly parking can vary from $3 to 7 per hour. Unless you're going to be travelling throughout the Bay Area, there's no need for a car in SF City. In fact, its a nuisance.

Some relatives were vacationing in San Francisco from Southern California. They didn't drive because their kid gets carsick (and too young for Dramamine). In fact she got sick on the plane, but it was fairly short. They didn't rent a car when they got here and took public transportation and bus tours (where she still got sick). They stayed at the Grand Hyatt near Union Square, and the only parking provided by their hotel is valet parking at $62+/day with in/out privleges. I think the valet parking uses a garage across the street.

I met them for dinner after work and was hoping for a free spot on the street after 6 PM. Then I noticed that the Sutter-Stockton garage only charged $1/hr after 6 PM until 9 AM the next morning. Probably should have headed straight there instead of wasting all that time looking for street parking. That might work out if they out all day. They list a maximum $36/day rate except Sunday for $18.

http://www.sfmta.com/getting-around/parking/parking-garages/sutter-stockton-garage

I've lived in the Bay Area nearly all my life, and I always thought that was a "fun" garage. Back then they had a flat-rate for Sunday of $1.50. Street parking was (and now is after they got rid of Sunday meter hours) free, but it was a pain finding a space. They also had bright colors - one for each floor along with these circular ramps where you might corkscrew all the way down from the upper floors.

 

[CPT Tripss]

JCDUDE, here's one drive worth leaving the car park . . . http://www.sftodo.com/scenic-49-mile-drive.html