Renting a passenger van or bus question

[Dianardz]

I am sailing out of New Orleans with a group of about 10-12 people. Airfare is too much for all of us so we plan to go on the bus or drive. Does anyone know if there is a bus company from Dallas to New Orleans? or Does anyone know if I can rent a 12 passenger van, drop it off at the airport in New Orleans, and then rent it to come back? I don't want to pay rental charges for a passenger van to sit at the pier. Any advise?

[cnorris]

I'm interested in this answer also. We have a group of 16 that will coming from Abilene to New Orleans and would like to rent a small bus instead of taking individual cars.

[Dianardz]

Hi CNorris, I hope we can get some advise. I think I posted my heading wrong. I did not mean I would rent a bus, there is not that many of us. What I meant to say was I need suggestions on getting names of bus lines that travel from Dallas to New Orleans (other than with Greyhound) so we can price buying a bus ticket or renting a 12 passenger van. Air and trane would cost us more than $1,400.00 (ouch)

[Dianardz]

Hi CNorris, I hope we can get some advise. I think I posted my heading wrong. I did not mean I would rent a bus, there is not that many of us. What I meant to say was I need suggestions on getting names of bus lines that travel from Dallas to New Orleans (other than with Greyhound) so we can price buying a bus ticket or renting a 12 passenger van. Air and trane would cost us more than $1,400.00 (ouch) - I hope there is anyone out there that can give us some ideas.

[MississippiMom]

I'm not in Texas, so I certainly don't know what is available where you are at, but I do have some recommendations.

 

There are places that specialize in "party bus" type rentals for parties - bachelor and bachelorette come to mind. Contact them and see how much they might charge you for a rental that might accommodate your party. Those same companies might even be willing to refer you over to someone else that can help you. I know that we also have places that only rent full-size vans and trucks, and they aren't the nationwide places like Budget, Avis, etc., so you wouldn't be able to drop it off anywhere in N.O.

 

When we rented a van to drive to N.O., it was cheaper to pay to park it at the pier, than to pay the drop-off fees. Unless you luck out and someone is just desperate to get some cars to N.O., I doubt that you are going to be able to afford the one-way rentals.

 

Are there any casino charters from Dallas to New Orleans? I know they have a Harrah's casino there. I think it might be worth talking to a local T.A. to see if they know, or just contact the Harrah's in N.O. and see what they can do for you.

 

I wish you luck!

[Dianardz]

Thank you, your reply is very helpful.

[Quench]

I went with a Limousine company in my area they had a 10 passenger van with driver.

[cnorris]

Airfare is out of the question for us. We don't want to rent a van and have to pay for it just setting there for the week. Also, I would hate to rent it, turn it in, and hope we can get it when we return so we could get home. That would not be good! lol

 

Thanks for the info. I will check with our travel agent and see if he has any information for us. Otherwise, we will just caravan with 4 cars.

 

Dianardz, I will see what I can find out and report back here. Maybe the info can help you too. We will heading to New Orleans August 7th. If you are still in Dallas, I will wave as we are passing through!!

[MississippiMom]

Airfare is out of the question for us. We don't want to rent a van and have to pay for it just setting there for the week. Also, I would hate to rent it, turn it in, and hope we can get it when we return so we could get home. That would not be good! lol

 

Thanks for the info. I will check with our travel agent and see if he has any information for us. Otherwise, we will just caravan with 4 cars.

 

With gas prices as high as they are right now, I would highly recommend that you make a spreadsheet on your options. As crazy as it might sound, driving four cars and then paying to park four cars, may wind up being more expensive than renting one larger vehicle that can accommodate all of you. (Even if you have to pay for parking it.)

 

I have no idea if any of the rental discounts will help you or not, but if you haven't already checked them out, try all the links on the following site - www dot mousesavers dot com/rentalcar dot html (I sure hope I disguised that enough for it to be posted.)

[cnorris]

With gas prices as high as they are right now, I would highly recommend that you make a spreadsheet on your options. As crazy as it might sound, driving four cars and then paying to park four cars, may wind up being more expensive than renting one larger vehicle that can accommodate all of you. (Even if you have to pay for parking it.)

 

I have no idea if any of the rental discounts will help you or not, but if you haven't already checked them out, try all the links on the following site - www dot mousesavers dot com/rentalcar dot html (I sure hope I disguised that enough for it to be posted.)

 

MississippiMom, I appreciate all of your help!

 

I have compared renting a passenger van larger enough for all of us, taking 4 vehicles we already own but have to pay for gas, and then airfare. Surprisingly the airfare is the best option. There is a current price of $146 before taxes from our hometown to New Orleans. Could not believe it! The way gas prices are, this option is much cheaper. Also we were able to get a hotel in New Orleans with free parking during the cruise. That alone would have saved us big bucks if we took our own cars.

 

So flying it is!

[nothomeonacruise]

Hiring a limo company or a driver is a good idea. We have one who takes us to the pier and then picks us up at the appointed time.

[Dianardz]

I'd appreciate your info...have a great time

[NYCFOD]

Did a quick online quote at www.charterbusamerica.com and got a result of $5800 for 12 people, which is $484 per person. I'm sure if you look around there'll be a bus line that has a scheduled service between Dallas and New Orleans.

[NYCFOD]

I don't know why you don't want to travel on Greyhound, but their one way 14 day advance purchase fare is $51, so assuming a round trip with 14 day advance purchase of $102 that would be a bargain.

[DukeBDFan4Ever]

Sounds like you may have decided to fly now but....thought I'd post this anyway. We are traveling from NC to FL and looked into renting a van in NC dropping it in FL and then picking it back up after the cruise and returning it to NC. We found out it was cheaper to keep it the whole week even though we weren't using it. I guess the rental company charges a fee for dropping it and they couldn't guarantee that it would be available when we got back. Good luck.

[MississippiMom]

I have compared renting a passenger van larger enough for all of us, taking 4 vehicles we already own but have to pay for gas, and then airfare. Surprisingly the airfare is the best option. There is a current price of $146 before taxes from our hometown to New Orleans. Could not believe it! The way gas prices are, this option is much cheaper. Also we were able to get a hotel in New Orleans with free parking during the cruise. That alone would have saved us big bucks if we took our own cars.

 

So flying it is!

 

Who would have guessed that you would have wound up flying? What a deal!

 

Have a fantastic vacation. :cool:

[Dianardz]

I may just end up going on Greyhound or I might wait for Southwest fares to come out for the month of January. Thanks for your input.