Reducing cost of rental car from FL to S.C.? What to see along the way?
Jan 9th, 2012, 03:48 PM
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Reducing cost of rental car from FL to S.C.? What to see along the way?
We are going to be in the south for nearly 9 days in February, flying into Orlando (MCO) and out of Charleston, S.C. (CHS). I just looked up the prices of rental cars picking up in MCO and dropping off in CHS and was horrifed to see that they were all around $1,000 for an economy car. (I checked Expedia, Travelocity, and through Costco, which showed rates for Budget, Avis, Enterprise, Hertz, and National.) We will need the car every day. Does anyone have a suggestion of a less expensive option?
We are going to be at a dance workshop in Plant City, FL, for 4 days and then will have 4-1/2 days to drive to CHS. I have in mind seeing St. Augustine, Savannah, and Charleston. I heard about a good place for kakaying in NW Fla. (I need to look up the name) that's also a possibility if it's OK in Feb. I'd appreciate suggestions of other things we should try to see or do along the way and of places where we might stay.
Thanks.
We are going to be at a dance workshop in Plant City, FL, for 4 days and then will have 4-1/2 days to drive to CHS. I have in mind seeing St. Augustine, Savannah, and Charleston. I heard about a good place for kakaying in NW Fla. (I need to look up the name) that's also a possibility if it's OK in Feb. I'd appreciate suggestions of other things we should try to see or do along the way and of places where we might stay.
Thanks.
Jan 9th, 2012, 03:57 PM
#2
Two adults on the #98 Silver Meteor (Amtrak) have a $98 fare.
The train leaves Orlando about 1:30 PM every day and arrives in Charleston about 9:30PM. Rent a car the next day in Charleston for whatever you didn't see in the first part of your trip.
Avoid drop off fees whenever you can.
The train leaves Orlando about 1:30 PM every day and arrives in Charleston about 9:30PM. Rent a car the next day in Charleston for whatever you didn't see in the first part of your trip.
Avoid drop off fees whenever you can.
Jan 9th, 2012, 04:49 PM
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Try pricing out the car rental as 2 separate transactions. One rental from MCO for the 4 days in Plant City, returning to MCO, and another picking up from MCO and dropping off at CHS. Might be cheaper to split it up and have a 5 day one-way rental rather than a 9 day one-way rental.
St. Augustine to Orlando is about 2 hours, same for Charleston to Savannah. You might want to take tomfuller's advice and take the train between Orlando and Charleston - do St. Augustine and Savannah as day trips rather than doing a one-way car rental.
St. Augustine to Orlando is about 2 hours, same for Charleston to Savannah. You might want to take tomfuller's advice and take the train between Orlando and Charleston - do St. Augustine and Savannah as day trips rather than doing a one-way car rental.
Jan 9th, 2012, 08:02 PM
#8
Many car rental places are franchises that own or lease their cars. If their car is not returned to them they have to send an employee to wherever you dropped it off to drive it back. This costs them a lot and the car is not there for them to rent.
There are times of year when more rental cars are needed in Florida and the rental companies will give a very cheap rate to people in the Northeast just to get them to Florida.
There are times of year when more rental cars are needed in Florida and the rental companies will give a very cheap rate to people in the Northeast just to get them to Florida.
Jan 9th, 2012, 09:34 PM
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Thanks for the suggestion of the train, which hadn't crossed my mind.
Current thought:
Rent car in Orlando, use it for Plant City and St. Augustine (is there anything worthwile to see there?) and then drop it off in Jacksonville and take train from Jacksonville to Savsnnah the evening of Jan. 15 (5:05 pm - 7:32 pm; $30 each).
Spend nights of Jan. 15 and 16 in Savannah. Can one see the major sights on foot or with public transporation, or should we rent a car while there?
Morning of Jan. 17, take train from Savannah to Charleston (8:20 am - 10:00 am; $24 each). Can one see the major sights on foot or with public transporation, or should we rent a car while there?
Are the train stations in Jacksonville, Savannah, and Charleston conveniently located?
Current thought:
Rent car in Orlando, use it for Plant City and St. Augustine (is there anything worthwile to see there?) and then drop it off in Jacksonville and take train from Jacksonville to Savsnnah the evening of Jan. 15 (5:05 pm - 7:32 pm; $30 each).
Spend nights of Jan. 15 and 16 in Savannah. Can one see the major sights on foot or with public transporation, or should we rent a car while there?
Morning of Jan. 17, take train from Savannah to Charleston (8:20 am - 10:00 am; $24 each). Can one see the major sights on foot or with public transporation, or should we rent a car while there?
Are the train stations in Jacksonville, Savannah, and Charleston conveniently located?
Jan 10th, 2012, 07:53 AM
#10
Go to the Amtrak website and decide for yourself. http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/Conten...mtrak/HomePage
The same #98 Silver Meteor train has stops in Orlando, Jacksonville Savannah and Charleston ending in Washington DC.
You will have to check to see if the station is close enough to what you want to see or you may have to take a taxi.
Click on "Stations" and you can pull up a Google map of the station location.
The same #98 Silver Meteor train has stops in Orlando, Jacksonville Savannah and Charleston ending in Washington DC.
You will have to check to see if the station is close enough to what you want to see or you may have to take a taxi.
Click on "Stations" and you can pull up a Google map of the station location.
Jan 10th, 2012, 08:08 AM
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The one in Charleston is not. You can spend your time enjoying the Historic District without a car. If you want to visit the beaches or plantations you'll need a car. Enterprise will deliver one to you at your hotel.
Jan 10th, 2012, 09:51 AM
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I will continue to do more research, but perhaps the best plan would be to take the Silver Meteor from Jacksonville to Charleston (5:08 pm - 9:32 PM) and then rent a car and drive to Savannah (even though that's retracing steps). Cost would be $455 for car rental in FL (MCO-JAX), $98 total for train, and $150 for car rental in CHS.
So far I've done this with dropoff at JAX airport and pickup at CHS airport. I'll explore some in-city options. Do any of you know if there are car rental offices in Jacksonville or Charleston near the train stations? However, we will probably get to Charleston too late to pick up a car in any place other than the airport. Perhaps we can explore the historic district our first day and get by without a car, and then pick one up for explorations further afield. Husband, who's a golfer, might be interested in going to Augusta.
So far I've done this with dropoff at JAX airport and pickup at CHS airport. I'll explore some in-city options. Do any of you know if there are car rental offices in Jacksonville or Charleston near the train stations? However, we will probably get to Charleston too late to pick up a car in any place other than the airport. Perhaps we can explore the historic district our first day and get by without a car, and then pick one up for explorations further afield. Husband, who's a golfer, might be interested in going to Augusta.
Jan 10th, 2012, 10:53 AM
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I live in Jacksonville and have a condo in St. Aug.
Take Tomfullers advice and take the train from Orlando to Charleston. Don't bother with spending any time in Jacksonville, but don't miss Saint Augustine. It is a wonderful city.I would do a 2 or 3 day trip from Orlando to Saint Aug. Drive back to Orlando and take the train to Charleston and see all of the sites there. Do another overnight stay in Savannah with a different car rental to be returned in Charleston. All 3 cities are rich with historical culture. All 3 cities are definitely walkable. All 3 cities are packed with fun stuff to do! The city of Jacksonville is loaded with traffic at rush hour and there is really nothing to do in the city. If you want to go to the beach, do it in Saint Augustine because you will have to drive to find a beach from Savannah (Tybee)or Charleston. In St. Aug., A1A has plenty of beach parking and good eats. I suggest Sunset Grill on A1A. There is the public pier right on the same block. I hope this helps.
Take Tomfullers advice and take the train from Orlando to Charleston. Don't bother with spending any time in Jacksonville, but don't miss Saint Augustine. It is a wonderful city.I would do a 2 or 3 day trip from Orlando to Saint Aug. Drive back to Orlando and take the train to Charleston and see all of the sites there. Do another overnight stay in Savannah with a different car rental to be returned in Charleston. All 3 cities are rich with historical culture. All 3 cities are definitely walkable. All 3 cities are packed with fun stuff to do! The city of Jacksonville is loaded with traffic at rush hour and there is really nothing to do in the city. If you want to go to the beach, do it in Saint Augustine because you will have to drive to find a beach from Savannah (Tybee)or Charleston. In St. Aug., A1A has plenty of beach parking and good eats. I suggest Sunset Grill on A1A. There is the public pier right on the same block. I hope this helps.
Jan 10th, 2012, 11:37 AM
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Thanks very much, Whitepaper. If we go back to Orlando to take the train, it will take time (122 mi. from St. Augustine) and we'd need to be there ealier to catch the train. (Train leaves Orlando at 1:30 pm and Jacksonville at 5:08 pm.) Is Jacksonville such a zoo that it's not reasonable to try to drop off rental car and catch the train there?
Another possibility is Palatka. It's 29 mi. from St. Augustine, and train leaves there at 3:24 pm. However, it appears that we'd have to rent car from Hertz to drop off there, and Hertz is expensive.
Are you suggesting renting the other car in Charleston?
Would it be reasonable to try to stay in Charleston the rest of the time and do Savannah as a day trip, so we don't have to keep changing lodging?
I'm not interested in beaches per se, but would be interested in some kayaking with birdwatching. I heard Cedar Keys was nice. Is there anything similar in your area?
We'd still be interested in having a car the entire time (MCO-CHS) if we can find a way to reduce the cost, though the train might be fun too.
Another possibility is Palatka. It's 29 mi. from St. Augustine, and train leaves there at 3:24 pm. However, it appears that we'd have to rent car from Hertz to drop off there, and Hertz is expensive.
Are you suggesting renting the other car in Charleston?
Would it be reasonable to try to stay in Charleston the rest of the time and do Savannah as a day trip, so we don't have to keep changing lodging?
I'm not interested in beaches per se, but would be interested in some kayaking with birdwatching. I heard Cedar Keys was nice. Is there anything similar in your area?
We'd still be interested in having a car the entire time (MCO-CHS) if we can find a way to reduce the cost, though the train might be fun too.
Jan 10th, 2012, 12:48 PM
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Not sure if Feb 14 evening works as the date for you to be in Jacksonville.....but I found 4 day rental with Dollar at $231 from Orlando to Jacksonville, then pickup 5 day rental from Avis (compact 4 door) at JAX airport and it's $270.69
Grand total $502
For Dollar click on the "city special" after plugging in your dates and times.
For Avis, use Discount AWD (K817625)(airline frequent flyer discount) and MUWA033 (the $30 coupon on the avis website.) Note that the total with Avis comes to 300 but they don't refund the 30 coupon until you return the car, so it will be $270 grand total. Also, Avis is a prepaid rate, you can cancel for a refund but $10 cancellation fee).
Grand total $502
For Dollar click on the "city special" after plugging in your dates and times.
For Avis, use Discount AWD (K817625)(airline frequent flyer discount) and MUWA033 (the $30 coupon on the avis website.) Note that the total with Avis comes to 300 but they don't refund the 30 coupon until you return the car, so it will be $270 grand total. Also, Avis is a prepaid rate, you can cancel for a refund but $10 cancellation fee).
Jan 10th, 2012, 01:00 PM
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Thanks so much, tracys2cents. We can't leave Plant City till late Feb 14 or early Feb. 15. I'll explore variants of what you suggest. If we don't take the train, there is no reason why we'd need to go to Jacksonville. Are there any other places where we might switch from one rental car to the other with similar results?
Jan 10th, 2012, 01:18 PM
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The traffic in Jacksonville is avoidable. Weekends its a breeze. If you leave St. Aug on a weekday at 2 pm you should be able to get thru it fine.
Yes, I was suggesting another car rental in Charleston. One for Orlando/ St. Aug Trip and take the train from Orlando to Charleston. Rent another car in Charleston and do the 110 mile drive to Savannah since you will be flying out of Charleston to your home.
It will be about a 6 hr drive from St. Aug to Charleston. Approx a 3 hr drive from St. Aug to Savannah.
Yes..no need for a hotel in Savannah ..don't miss it though..go early and park..get a map and do the historical district. Don't waste time standing in line to eat at Paula Deans,its way over rated. There is good food on every corner.
Funny you ask about kayaking. I have never done it and a friend of mine just booked us for a guided tour this Sunday.
I can let you know how that all goes on Monday. I have never been to Cedar Key but..heard that it is lovely.
St Augustine A1A is bordered on both sides by water. On one side is the Atlantic ocean..on the other side is the Interacoastal Waterway. This is where the kayaking will most likely be for us in the Mantanzas River Inlet area about 6 miles south of St.Aug. and North of Marine Land.. Near Crescent Beach.
As far as I can see. Just keep digging for a cheaper car rental. To be free of a schedule could be money well spent on the car since there is so much to see in St. Aug./ Savannah and Charleston in 4.5 days!
Idea..Check out Drive Time car rentals??
Yes, I was suggesting another car rental in Charleston. One for Orlando/ St. Aug Trip and take the train from Orlando to Charleston. Rent another car in Charleston and do the 110 mile drive to Savannah since you will be flying out of Charleston to your home.
It will be about a 6 hr drive from St. Aug to Charleston. Approx a 3 hr drive from St. Aug to Savannah.
Yes..no need for a hotel in Savannah ..don't miss it though..go early and park..get a map and do the historical district. Don't waste time standing in line to eat at Paula Deans,its way over rated. There is good food on every corner.
Funny you ask about kayaking. I have never done it and a friend of mine just booked us for a guided tour this Sunday.
I can let you know how that all goes on Monday. I have never been to Cedar Key but..heard that it is lovely.
St Augustine A1A is bordered on both sides by water. On one side is the Atlantic ocean..on the other side is the Interacoastal Waterway. This is where the kayaking will most likely be for us in the Mantanzas River Inlet area about 6 miles south of St.Aug. and North of Marine Land.. Near Crescent Beach.
As far as I can see. Just keep digging for a cheaper car rental. To be free of a schedule could be money well spent on the car since there is so much to see in St. Aug./ Savannah and Charleston in 4.5 days!
Idea..Check out Drive Time car rentals??
