Rental Car or SuperShuttle from LGB to DL?

[northshoremama]

if you were traveling with a toddler and an infant, would you do super shuttle or rent a car from LGB to DL?

either way, we will have to bring 2 car seats (or at least a toddler booster seat and a car seat). i've surfed the web and so far the best price i can find is $80 total roundtrip for dh and me (kids are free) on super shuttle...so assuming i tip $5 each way...it's a total of about $90 total roundtrip for super shuttle.

...but looking at a vacation package, i could also add a intermediate size car for $90 total for 3 days! i know there there are pros and cons...and i've listed them below.

super shuttle pros:
- no fussing with driving (i've never driven in that area of california before)
- no need to buy gas
- no need to fuss with parking at the hotel

super shuttle cons:
- may have numerous stops before getting to our hotel
- may have numerous stops before going to the airport, which would mean we could be picked up hours before our flight time to accommodate other pick-ups
- will have to remove car seats from van upon arrival at hotel and then install them again when we are picked up to go to the airport

rental car pros:
- go directly to hotel
- less hassle with the car seats (we can leave car seats in the car once we install them at the airport)
- probably will be a more comfortable ride (aside from being a bit nervous about getting lost...)

rental car cons:
- will have to buy gas
- may get lost driving to/from airport from/to DL
- will have to find parking at the hotel (though the hotel we are looking at has free parking

did i miss any pros/cons for the options above? which would you do?

please note that we would more than likely not going anywhere with the car because this is short trip and i don't see myself driving around to go out to dinner or something. so the car will be parked in the parking lot the 2 1/2 days we are there...so it really is just a means of transportation to/from the airport.

 

[MemoriesintheMaking]

We are going to be flying into LGB for the first time next month, and based on things I've read, I think we will try a taxi. They should have a flat rate headed to the Disneyland area of $40, and I think our hotel has coupons to get that rate back to the airport. I've read that people have fit two adults and two kids in a cab, with one adult riding up front with the driver. The trunks are supposed to be large enough to fit a few luggage pieces.

I'm hoping this works out for us. Others might have better help for you. It is slightly intimidating flying into an unknown area, I know. However we get there, it will be great, I'm sure - it's Disneyland!!! Have a great trip!!

Michelle

 

[northshoremama]

We are going to be flying into LGB for the first time next month, and based on things I've read, I think we will try a taxi. They should have a flat rate headed to the Disneyland area of $40, and I think our hotel has coupons to get that rate back to the airport. I've read that people have fit two adults and two kids in a cab, with one adult riding up front with the driver. The trunks are supposed to be large enough to fit a few luggage pieces.

I'm hoping this works out for us. Others might have better help for you. It is slightly intimidating flying into an unknown area, I know. However we get there, it will be great, I'm sure - it's Disneyland!!! Have a great trip!!

Michelle

thanks, michelle! i told DH that we should try a taxi, too, but after watching the 'bone collector' with denzel washington, he refuses to get in a cab! i traveled a lot for my old job so riding a cab is nothing for me, but DH doesn't even want to give it a second thought...so it's either super shuttle or rent a car. we could do something like town car service, but i think that would be way more expensive than $90 roundtrip!

have fun next month!

 

[DahliaRW]

If your hotel doesn't charge for parking, do the car. It's way convenient if you end up having to do a diaper or snack run. Or if you decide to drive somewhere for dinner or something.

 

[melis79]

My DD and I are flying in to LGB in Dec for 5 days and I too contemplated the cab vs car rental.
I tried priceline name your own price the other night and got a hertz compact car for 5 days for 107 with tax. Not much more than a roundtrip cab fare for the two of us. And now I will have the car for those much needed In N Out Burger runs in the evening! And it will help with stopping to buy some groceries and water bottles on the way to the hotel. Dont have to worry about ordering from Von's.

 

[northshoremama]

My DD and I are flying in to LGB in Dec for 5 days and I too contemplated the cab vs car rental.
I tried priceline name your own price the other night and got a hertz compact car for 5 days for 107 with tax. Not much more than a roundtrip cab fare for the two of us. And now I will have the car for those much needed In N Out Burger runs in the evening! And it will help with stopping to buy some groceries and water bottles on the way to the hotel. Dont have to worry about ordering from Von's.

have you flow into LGB before? i've heard that you exit the airplane down the stairs and unto the tarmac...just wondering about your experience if you've flown into LGB before...

in-n-out?! really? where's the closest one to DL? oooh...my DH will be so happy if we could go to in-n-out for dinner one night!

 

[disneynutt1225]

I'd rent the car. We rented a car for $223 the week of August 30-September 6th. They didn't have any compact cars by the time we arrived, so we were able to get a mid-sized for the same price, and THEN because it only had 1/4 tank of gas in it, I had a $55 credit put back on my credit card. It was great!

We've taken SuperShuttle from LGB before and we vowed we would never do it again. It took us almost 2 hours to get to the Disneyland resort from the airport (driving took around 30 minutes). The driver was rude. We had to wait almost 2 hours to even get onto a shuttle from the airport because the paperwork they had printed the day we arrived said we were arriving 10 hours earlier than we really were. It was a mess.

 

[Crazy4Goofy]

Can someone tell me how the name your own price on priceline works?? I have never used it before and am very interested. DH and I are looking at taking an anniversary trip in Nov. but first I need to add up the cost up everything. The rental car is where I have been discouraged as it seemed way expensive. If we go, we would also be flying into LGB.

Thanks!!

 

[ellmnop]

Priceline -name your own price:
Just this morning, I booked a full size car through priceline for $18/day in November.
If you go to biddingfortravel.com and scroll close to the bottom, you can look at the prices people have been getting for rental cars in the LA area. Then go to priceline (using the Amazing-Bargains link on biddingfortravel if you want to support them) and use the prices you saw on BFT as a guide. Make sure that if priceline gives you prices and rental car companies up front that you click on 'Name your own price'.
I bid $15/day for a standard and was rejected. You have the option to rebid if you change something (or you can wait a few days and enter the same bid). I changed to full size and won a bid of $18/day with Hertz. I'm not sure I had the best strategy, I probably could have gotten something cheaper if I had waited until closer to the trip. But I'm pretty happy with $120, which includes all of the taxes, for 5 days.