Tips On Car Rental In Anchorage

[dawn.glenn@ns.sympatico.c]

Hello,

I am in the process of renting a car for our Aug 2013 trip to Alaska. We are in need of a rental from about 3pm on Friday Aug 23 to about 9pm on Sat Aug 24. First of all, I know that I can maybe save money by renting away from the airport....but then I have to pay a taxi to get to the car rental place from the airport...so am I really saving money??? We only need a small car...found one for 119.00 away from airport or about 158.00 at the airport. In your experiences...are these prices way to high??? I've been kinda watching the prices and haven't seen much of a change....any advice would be helpful.

 

This price seems high to me as last year in Florida I rented a car for a whole week for 150.00 - however that was a good deal I found and I know the two likely cannot be compared!

 

P.S....we'll be staying at the Captain Cook Hotel so I'd like to be in walking distance of the hotel when we drop the car off.

Any help at all would be appreciated!

[trophy_23]

Check out Hertz in downtown, it was very close to the hotel. I found their rate was the best when we went, but yes overall it is one of the highest prices I have paid for a rental car for the day.

[frugaltravel]

Off-airport is not always cheaper, especially since the "bargains" for next summer at about $100/week off-airport are no longer available. You have to compare both options and decide for yourself.

[Budget Queen]

Enterprise downtown Anchorage has had the bargain rates.

 

You need to perhaps, compare them all. Rates are forever changing. Last year, I picked up an Alamo car, about a month ahead, with a rate drop and extended my trip a few days, from my orginal. Avis was the "winner" in Fairbanks and Anchorage, booked way ahead.

[dawn.glenn@ns.sympatico.c]

Thanks everyone...I know places we have visited in the past some "off airport" rental places will pick you up at the airport and take you to their rental place. Do you know if any rental places near the airport offer this?

[Budget Queen]

Thanks everyone...I know places we have visited in the past some "off airport" rental places will pick you up at the airport and take you to their rental place. Do you know if any rental places near the airport offer this?

 

Overall the "airport" rentals are at the airport. There may be a few independents, off airport that do shuttle. Listings http://www.anchorage.net None of the downtown rental offices have shuttles and none of the major companies are off airport in the airport vacinity with shuttle service that I know of??

[frugaltravel]

Most of my bargain rentals, in contrast to BQ, have been at Enterprise on E. International Blvd. But Alamo and Enterprise on-airport have sometimes had great rates too. You just have to book then keep looking.

 

Most (if not all) off-airport companies won't pick you up at the airport for various reasons. One, they don't want to poach their on-airport offices. Two, the airport will charge a commercial enterprise an airport access fee, which most refuse to pay. I have not seen any off-airport company in Anchorage willing to pick you up at the airport. A couple of them will drop you off there at the end of the rental, but that is of little value since often you can drop on-airport for no charge.

[Budget Queen]

Most of my bargain rentals, in contrast to BQ, have been at Enterprise on E. International Blvd. But Alamo and Enterprise on-airport have sometimes had great rates too. You just have to book then keep looking.

QUOTE]

 

I got the 5th Ave location for my next year's rental, 2 weeks- $200, same as the International rate. My choice was based on my lodging preference, downtown.

[Assateague Island Princes]

We too got our 2 week rental from the Enterprise location on 5th for next year as well, BQ. Watched faithfully, every single day til I saw the $99 per week special they offered (back in August, I think?) and jumped right on it. Its gone up considerably since then, so glad we booked when we did.

[vbmom87]

For the difference in price you are quoting, I would book at the airport. Like you say, cabs prices will increase the cost, plus there is the matter of convenience. Just make sure you are booking a fully cancellable reservation. Keep looking and if you see a price drop, book the better deal and cancel the more expensive reservation. I do this all the time. Lost track of how many reservations I booked and cancelled for my upcoming trip to CA. Finally got a great deal. If you are a member of Costco, I would watch them daily. The Costco prices will often be a little lower. It is a pain, but if you have the time, keep checking the prices. You just never know when you find a bargain. Sometimes those good deals only last for a very short time.

[pdmlynek]

I looked hard for a good deal on rental cars in Alaska for our trip in 2012, but unfortunately I could not find any. The cars were just very expensive in Alaska during the summer. About $400/week. Ouch!

[cruisin'mama]

Last summer I was able to get the great rate at the Enterprise (4th St at that time ) location. For next summer, I wasn't as fortunate. I started with an Avis reservation thru Costco and kept checking the prices. Now I have another reservation thru Costco, but now it is with Enterprise ( 5th St. location ). I continue to monitor the prices and will switch again if the prices come down again. Right now, the rate I have is about twice what I paid last year, but about half of the current prices.

[Budget Queen]

We too got our 2 week rental from the Enterprise location on 5th for next year as well, BQ. Watched faithfully, every single day til I saw the $99 per week special they offered (back in August, I think?) and jumped right on it. Its gone up considerably since then, so glad we booked when we did.

 

Actually those rates were available at least a month. I referred many people to them on my roll call. No body had any problem getting a car.

 

This year I had the same deal booked last fall.

[frugaltravel]

Actually those rates were available at least a month. I referred many people to them on my roll call. No body had any problem getting a car.

 

This year I had the same deal booked last fall.

 

I have been booking the $99/week Enterprise rate for at least 5 years now. It has come up faithfully every year.

[DragonOfTheSeas]

We booked a minivan from Alamo at the airport for a 2-day rental for $88. That included all taxes and fees (no insurance included--our policy covers us). Smaller cars were less price--but, we needed the room for luggage.

[thinfool]

Whatever you see, book something now.

 

Car rentals, unlike airline tickets, are not "nonrefundable". You are only making a reservation, not paying for the car.

 

If you find something at a better rate in a few weeks/months, you can cancel what you have booked...no problem.

 

Now that I have said that...there are a couple of 'pay now' offers out there that will keep your money if you try to change. They are well marked and easy to avoid.

 

When you get closer to your dates...like within 4-6 weeks of your vacation date, pricing may be better...and I would strongly recommend that you try the 'name your own price' feature at Priceline. But do this before you cancel any outstanding reservation you may have in place.

 

You can also set up a watch list on Kayak.com to alert you to any decent price drops between now and then.

[frugaltravel]

We booked a minivan from Alamo at the airport for a 2-day rental for $88. That included all taxes and fees (no insurance included--our policy covers us). Smaller cars were less price--but, we needed the room for luggage.

 

What insurance policy do you have that covers collision damage waiver, supplemental liability insurance, personal effects coverage and the various other optional insurances that rental companies typically offer? Or does your policy just cover one of those (which is my guess)?

[vbmom87]

 

When you get closer to your dates...like within 4-6 weeks of your vacation date, pricing may be better...and I would strongly recommend that you try the 'name your own price' feature at Priceline. But do this before you cancel any outstanding reservation you may have in place.

 

 

If you want to add an extra driver on your contract, Priceline/Hotwire are not always your best option. Since you don't know which rental company you will get, there is no way to know if you will be charged extra for another driver added onto the contract. If it is for one driver, then yes, Priceline can be a good option at times.

[subtchr]

We are planning to rent a car upon our arrival in Anchorage about noon on June 18, until we take the train to Seward on the morning of the 21st.

 

First of all, if I find that an off-airport rental is significantly less than an airport one, how much would a taxi be from the airport to the rental office?

 

Whether we end up renting from an airport office or downtown, I am assuming we will return the car to the rental agency the evening of the 20th, since the train leaves so early the next morning.

 

We have not decided which hotel we will use - I see that the Comfort Inn Ship Creek is recommended to be close to the train station. Do they or other hotels have shuttles from the airport? (To return to the hotel from returning the car.) Do many other hotels have shuttles to the train station?

 

Thanks for any advice - this board is great!

[Budget Queen]

We are planning to rent a car upon our arrival in Anchorage about noon on June 18, until we take the train to Seward on the morning of the 21st.

 

First of all, if I find that an off-airport rental is significantly less than an airport one, how much would a taxi be from the airport to the rental office?

 

Whether we end up renting from an airport office or downtown, I am assuming we will return the car to the rental agency the evening of the 20th, since the train leaves so early the next morning.

 

We have not decided which hotel we will use - I see that the Comfort Inn Ship Creek is recommended to be close to the train station. Do they or other hotels have shuttles from the airport? (To return to the hotel from returning the car.) Do many other hotels have shuttles to the train station?

 

Thanks for any advice - this board is great!

 

You need to verifty directly each hotel's shuttle availablity. They certainly can change, so I suggest you look at web sites and call.

 

From the airport to train station, budget around $30

[subtchr]

You need to verifty directly each hotel's shuttle availablity. They certainly can change, so I suggest you look at web sites and call.

 

From the airport to train station, budget around $30

 

Thanks again, I really appreciate your helpfulness (and patience!) with us Alaska newbies.

 

The more research I do, the more excited I am for our trip. We have an aft balcony on Radiance for the cruise, and I can't imagine not wanting to spend every minute out there or out on an upper deck. It looks SO beautiful!