Car rental or Auto Train?

[la79al]

This has probably been asked a million times. Of course I am having problems with search. Here's the thing. As of today, a standard size rental will cost us $344.70. Gas will be around $260. There may be some kind of parking fee as well since we will have to drive to pick the car up. Autotrain would cost us $640 plus around $45 in gas to get to and from the stations. The car would not really be convenient as we would be picking it up an hour south of our house, but the train would require taking the kids out of a day of summer camp, which I'm not sure how happy their mother will be about doing. What are your thoughts and opinions?

 

[Henlady]

We have traveled via the Autotrain many times and for us, it definately beats the hassle/stress of driving. Granted, the train is occasionally late, and many find that to be a great determent, but we aren't on a set time schedule, so if its late, its no big deal. Also consider that your meals are included in your AutoTrain fare. If you drive, you'll be shelling out some bucks for food also.

There is currently a kids ride free(a limit of 2 kids free) on the Autotrain deal for the summer, so you may want to check that out, and also there is a 20% discount with the Orlando Magic Card off the rider portion only of the fare. Don't know if you can combine the 2 discounts, but its worth a try.

Good luck.