Transportation dilemma – What would you do?

[Jobelle]

We are planning for a beach day for our trip in mid-June. One option, of course, is to rent a vehicle for our entire trip (5 nights) but other than the beach day and to/from the airport (likely SNA, flights not yet booked) the car won't be needed. It seems like a lot to pay for the hotel parking and car rental fee for it to mostly just sit in the lot.

So, if we don't rent a car and use shuttles to/from the airport what are our best options for getting to and from the beach? We have 1 carseat kid and 1 booster kid which complicates things and we'd prefer to not bring our own car seats with us if we can avoid it.

Single day car rental for the beach day? Is that likely cheaper than hiring a car service?

I'm just looking for various options and ideas. We'll balance out cost and convenience when we make our final decision.

 

[monkeypat83]

I would think taking a shuttle to and from the airport and then renting a car for one day would be your best option but you would need to cost it out. I went to Disneyland with my sister and my 3 year old last week and my sister wanted to go visit a friend on our arrival day while my daughter and I played at the pool/did Downtown Disney though we did bring a car seat with us. The rental car for the day was $53. I know you can rent car seats for about $15 each though I have never done it. My sister dropped us off at the hotel and then went to visit her friend and then dropped the car back at the airport and took a Lyft to the hotel that evening. You could have an adult in your party take a Lyft to the airport, get the car w/ car seats in it and then pick up the rest of the party for the day and then at the end of the day drop off the family at the hotel and then return the car and Lyft back to the hotel.

 

[foolish_mortals]

If you’re not picky about which beach you can take the Metrolink train from Anaheim to San Clemente or Oceanside (service to Oceanside is currently suspended but should be up by next month)

https://metrolinktrains.com/explore...est-beaches-in-socal-to-visit-with-metrolink/

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

If you’re not picky about which beach you can take the Metrolink train from Anaheim to San Clemente or Oceanside (service to Oceanside is currently suspended but should be up by next month)

https://metrolinktrains.com/explore...est-beaches-in-socal-to-visit-with-metrolink/

I live in San Clemente and the train drops you off right at the pier. It’s small and laid-back here. But taking the train will likely cost more than renting a car for the day. The train has gotten expensive!

 

[foolish_mortals]

I live in San Clemente and the train drops you off right at the pier. It’s small and laid-back here. But taking the train will likely cost more than renting a car for the day. The train has gotten expensive!

So true, we used to take it to San Clemente pier from Riverside to avoid dealing with parking and it was pretty pricey back then, I was hoping that picking it up in Anaheim wouldn’t be too bad but man have those prices gone up. On the plus side it’s $10 for adults and kids under 17 ride free on weekends.

 

[Jobelle]

I would think taking a shuttle to and from the airport and then renting a car for one day would be your best option but you would need to cost it out. I went to Disneyland with my sister and my 3 year old last week and my sister wanted to go visit a friend on our arrival day while my daughter and I played at the pool/did Downtown Disney though we did bring a car seat with us. The rental car for the day was $53. I know you can rent car seats for about $15 each though I have never done it. My sister dropped us off at the hotel and then went to visit her friend and then dropped the car back at the airport and took a Lyft to the hotel that evening. You could have an adult in your party take a Lyft to the airport, get the car w/ car seats in it and then pick up the rest of the party for the day and then at the end of the day drop off the family at the hotel and then return the car and Lyft back to the hotel.

You would suggest renting from the airport instead of one of the places in the Disneyland area? It looks like Alamo, National, and Enterprise all have locations close to DL.

 

[lalasmama]

You would suggest renting from the airport instead of one of the places in the Disneyland area? It looks like Alamo, National, and Enterprise all have locations close to DL.

I would heavily advise *against* renting at the airport-- the prices are generally higher for rentals originating at airports. There are several car rental places near DL. They will still be spendier than at some other places because they know they have a fairly "captive" audience but likely better prices than heading to LGB/SNA to get it.

 

[bcla]

I would heavily advise *against* renting at the airport-- the prices are generally higher for rentals originating at airports. There are several car rental places near DL. They will still be spendier than at some other places because they know they have a fairly "captive" audience but likely better prices than heading to LGB/SNA to get it.

Depends on the airport. Airport prices are often far more competitive, but then one gets hit with airport car rental fees. Not sure about now. I remember once I had a weekly rental at SNA for $72. But with taxes and fees it was something like $115.

But for the OP there are lots of beaches and I'd think the bus may not be that bad although somewhat of a long trip. Maybe Seal Beach or Long Beach. OCTA 50 goes almost to the beach and there are then local buses that can take one to Seal Beach or Long Beach City Beach.

 

[felice]

You might also possibly want to think about hiring a car from a non-Disney outlet as well as a non-airport outlet - to get the best deal. We have recently used the Priceline app to get an amazing deal on our rental car during our current visit to Southern California. Insurance is not much more but do also consider (if you haven't already) getting your collision damage waiver deal from elsewhere too, rather than paying the rental garage's rates.