Car Rental - San Francisco
 

Coming to S.F. on Friday for 2 nights, then picking up a rental car downtown and driving to Half Moon Bay Sunday for meetings Monday & Tuesday. Staying at the Doubletree S.F. Airport Tuesday night. Our flight out is early Wed. morning (7:30 a.m.) so we thought it might be easier to drop off the rental car the night before and not have to get up so early the next morning. We would then take the hotel shuttle bus to the airport Wed. morning.
I'm concerned about the logistics of all this. Once we drop the car off, do we have to take the rental car shuttle bus to the airport and hook up with the Doubletree shuttle bus to take us to the hotel? Or can we catch a taxi from the car rental area? I've been there many times and actually never seen taxis around there. Are they even allowed there?
Has anyone ever done this before? How did it work out for you?

It's a quick car-return system, just do it early Wednesday morning. They'll get you right to the airport.

I can't answer your particular question, but my feeling is that it is better to get rid of the car the night before and not have to worry about it in the morning when you have to catch an early flight.

I believe that there is a monorail from the rental area (many rental companies) to the airport (takes a few minutes), and a hotel shuttle from the airport to the hotel.

You can drop off your luggage at the hotel the night before, then return the car, then have a good night's rest with one less worry. ((y))

You are correct that you can't catch a cab from the rental car building. You'll need to take the monorail to the terminal and take your hotel's shuttle from there. It is a bit of a pain, but it's a little better now that they have the monorail running rather than the old, crowded busses.

Thanks everyone for the help. I haven't been to S.F. since last October so didn't know about the monorail. Last time I was there it was buses to and from the car rental area. In addition to the extra hassle in the morning, it costs $13 a night for parking at the hotel. So I think we'll probably take the car back the night before.

I dfon't think the rental agencies have shuttle buses anymore as there are no rental agencies in the terminal anymore. The rental car terminal is reached by the monorail. There you will find all the rental agencies. As far as the taxi issue, I'm not sure if you can catch one at the rental terminal or not.