Renting a large SUV for a road trip

[parmtoo]

Hello all,
We are a family of 6, (two in carseats), and are considering driving to WDW in March. We would need to rent a vehicle large enough to hold the family and all of our luggage.
Anyone have experience in this situation? Are there hidden cost?

 

[tikkipoo]

Last June we rented a Suburban with Budget for 9 days for about $1000 There were 7 of us - 4 adults, 2 teens and a child. We fit our lugguge, bags and body board with no issues. Budget allows for an extra driver and there were no hidden costs. It was a wonder vehicle and got better gas milage than our home vehicle that is much smaller.

 

[parmtoo]

Thank you for the info. I've been researching and it looks as though we can rent one for about $750 for the time we need it. That's a lot better than the $2000 + for airline tickets. Thanks again!

 

[tikkipoo]

Have a great road trip!

 

[Propro]

Have you checked out a minivan? A Toyota Sienna, Chrysler Town And Country or Dodge Caravan are pretty common to rent. They have 6 or 7 seats and plenty of additional room for luggage. It would certainly get better gas mileage than a Suburban and they're very easy to drive.

 

[francie57]

We rented a vehicle for a trip out of state years ago and there were no hidden costs. Just make sure that there is no problem with taking the vehicle so far since some companies used to have travel restrictions.

 

[parmtoo]

Thanks for the info. I'll be checking for restrictions as far as mileage.

 

[dvcterry]

between a minivan a Yukon ran about $1000 but figure in the gas. brought gps from home. they will offer you additional insurance which you can decline or find out the extra cost per day if you want it. but gas prices and tolls. that can add up.

 

[parmtoo]

Gas prices and rolls will be a bit pricey, but flying out of Syracuse is ridiculous. There are 6 of us and as of now that could add up to nearly $3000. If airfare comes down, of course we will fly, but as of now we will take our chances will gas prices

 

[tikkipoo]

What DH and I did was before the trip, we went to the airport and looked through all the vehicles in the fleet to decide what would fit us. The suburban type vehicles worked best for comfort and storage. If your airport is not that far, maybe you should try that. The staff didn't seem to mind us looking around after we told them what we were doing. They would actually help offer some suggestions.

By the way, the suburban was not difficult to drive, in case that was a deciding factor. I usually drive a small saturn and I had no problems backing up or parking in a lot space.

 

[formill]

The last time we drove our own van- which was not great on gas we spent $1200 on gas, hotels (2 nights each way) and food-this was about 6 years ago. We have since decided unless we are retired or have a lot of time for driving and not wasting vacation days on the road we will fly. This year Christmas time 6 people we have flights from Buffalo to MCO for about $300 per person return. The biggest hidden cost might be in if you hit a major snow storm on the way down and have to stop? The drive down is okay.......coming home not so fun!

 

[Betty Rohrer]

the one thing i would add is if you are not used to driving a large SUV, i would rent before your trip. practice parking and backing out of parking places. also making right and left turns esp on smaller streets. these do take some getting used to doing.