Dohlice

Hello! We will be flying into Vegas, picking up a car and going straight to Utah. We will be ending our trip with a weekend in Vegas and flying back out of there. I've read some posts that say it can be tricky or time consuming to return the car on the way out. We have a 7am departure on a Sunday morning and will definitely not be bright eyed and bushy tailed! How annoying will it be to return the car at that hour? We won't be using it much (probably not at all) while we are on the strip Thursday night to Sunday morning). Would it make sense to either return it when we get back to Vegas on Thursday and take a cab to the airport on Sunday am? Or to pick up the car at a location on the strip (we would have to take a cab from airport when we arrive but then be able to drop it off easier when we get back). Or suck it up and do what we have to do at that hideous hour on Sunday am? Thanks! I haven't picked a rental company yet either, so I'm open to hassle-free suggestions.

mrwunrfl

I'd return it on Thursday night if not using it after that because you will have to pay 2+ days (probably 3 days' charge) to keep it until Sunday morning.

Pick it up at the airport and then return it at the hotel on Thu. Then taxi to the airport on Sunday. Taxi fare is only around $15 from some places on the Strip. That's certainly less than a day's rental. Wouldn't mind a (reasonable) charge for dropping it at the hotel because of the convenience, but there may be none.

Actually, pickup/dropoff at the hotel might be best.

stumpworks73

I agree with wnurfl that you probably won't need the car once you are on the strip. However, if you are going to Hoover Dam or Lake Las Vegas and need the car, an early Sunday return should not be inconvenient. Although the rental locations are not at the terminal, they are less than one mile. Allow 15 or 20 minutes before you want to check in.

mahoneycutt

We did your trip in June and did what mrwunrfl recommended (return the car early and take a taxi to/from the hotel). A couple of tips:

1. Taxes and fees - not much you can do about it but we got a great deal on a car ($200 for a SUV for eight days) but the taxes and feeds added another $100. The new rental center is nice but 50% tax rate is steep.

2. Gas - we returned the car on a Friday afternoon so the traffic near the airport was a little heavy
I didn't spend a lot of time looking for a gas station and decided to not fill up the car. It had over 3/4 of a tank so how much could it cost to have Avis fill it up? Lesson learned

Mike Honeycutt

tracys2cents

Often, a weekly rate works out cheaper than a 4-day-rate, so don't just book the car for 7 days and return it after 4...you could get hit with an "early return" penalty!

Lake Mead, Hoover Dam, Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire....you might indeed want to use the car on those last few days anyway, so just do a trial run one afternoon over to the airport car return, you'll see how easy it is and you won't be in a panic on departure morning.

Dohlice

Thanks so much for all your advice. I don't know why it didn't occur to me to see if I could pick up at airport and return on the strip or at hotel. I'm not sure it will save money to return it early but I want it to be as convenient as possible. I'm not a morning person as it is and I don't want to be wandering around with the car that morning! I don't mind paying for a cab to the airport if it will keep us from missing our flight. We're definitely spending all of our remaining time in Vegas (it's my birthday!) and doing all of the other stuff before so I know we won't be needing it.