Really expensive Car Rentals??

We have cruised out of Florida for over 10 years now. We have 4 kids so our usual method of transportation to the cruise port is to fly into a florida airport (cheapest flight versus closest airport) the day before and then we just rent a mini-van and dive to the port area. We stay overnight at a hotel and then drive to the port and drop off the car rental.

We have done this many times and then we usually reverse the process on the way back. Our car rental costs have always been between $50 and $80....depending on discounts.

WHat I am finding this year for our cruise in February 2016 is that rental prices are crazy expensive....even more so for a mini-van. I have seen rates as high as $400 for 1 day to rent in Cape Canaveral and drop in Tampa at the airport. we have rented vans for an entire week for less than this??

Last year I paid $55 plus taxes for AVIS one day rental between Fort Meyers and Miami.

Does anyone know why the rates are so high? After looking and looking I have two reservations but they are both over $150.

Todd

Well, it goes without saying that February is high season. There could be something happening the day/week you are in town.

Let me say that we have found great rates with the "big box store" ;) - if you are a member, you might try them. Outstanding pricing.

Book something now and then keep shopping -- prices will drop between now and Feb.

If you're a member of Costco...try pricing thru them...we've gotten great rates.

Are you there when Daytona 500 is on? We went to Disney last year during that and everything was higher because of demand

Do you have airline miles you're willing to part with?

I just ran into the same problem trying to book a car in Miami for one night Dec 27-28...all the rental companies quoted at least $200 for a compact for one day! And anything larger was even more. Even through Costco.

I've got a bunch of American Airlines miles, so I clicked over to their AAdvantage program and was able to book a luxury car from Hertz for 9100 miles and no cash. So there's another option if it might work for you.

I have made a few bookings but I just can't get over the huge increase over previous years. I know we usually travel in January but we have gone over into February a few times as well.

I have tried CostCo and even some of the bigger car rental companies with my corporate discount which usually is pretty good.

Daytona runs events all through January and February but the big races are the last week or so of February.

All these things could be contributing...so hopefully as we get closer I will be able to find a better deal.

You might find some discount codes on some of the WDW forums - mousesavers, allears, etc.

We are cruising in March and are finding them to be higher as well. We were able to rent a 12 passenger van for $138 for the trip from Orlando to POM on the way down. It jumped to $375 for the return trip a week later. We decided to get two small SUV's for $95 each. We found that mini vans were double. I'll keep checking for lower prices until we leave.