Hello >> We are thinking of flying into Fort Myers, Florida.Dec. 29 Car rentals are "huge amounts" during Christmas Holiday time .
Is there any other place to look for a car rental that would be more economical than the airport car rentals? Thanks ! Ilonka

Hertz has a couple of "local" locations in Fort Myers but the closest one is probably a 10- 15 minute ride from the airport. It would save you at least $100 on a weekly rental compared to the airport prices. You could RETURN the car to the airport location on the day you leave at no extra charge I think.

Have you checked with Enterprise? Sometimes they tend to be cheaper than the others.

call Dollar rental and tell them you are a frequent flyer with Southwest and last year I was able to get a $ 175/ week rate plus taxes whixh is good for an economy size car

Bid on Priceline or Hotwire.

What does priceline do in the case of a hurricane? I know that anything you bid on is a done deal, but has anyone had any experience with cancellations due to weather? I'd imagine the hurricane would have to hit on the day-of-your-arrival before Priceline would even begin to talk to you.

clarkgriswold, Airlines got pretty lenient if there was a hurricane threatening and I believe Priceline followed suit, at least with hotels, and probably with cars.

In the case of the airline, penalties were lifted for travel in the general vicinity of a possible hit (the entire state for each of the storms this summer) for several days around expected landfall.

We had a trip planned when Ivan was anticipated straffing the Gulf coast. We would not have been able to leave, but 4 days out from landfall, the airlines announced that penlaties had been lifted for flights all around FL, so we could change our plans if necessary. As it turned out...he just missed, so we flew as scheduled, the day he passed by, still well out in he Gulf.

If you are staying in a coastal hotel that is possibly in the line of fire, they will have to evacuate anyway, letting you out of a PCLN deal. Hotels will be happy not to have you as one of the guests they must move.

We had to evacuate for Charley and moved everyone to Orlando, which, as it happened, got hit when the storm took a sudden unexpected path. We lost our electricity for 40 hours with Frances, so had to move everyone again.

This season was a fluke, hopefully never to be repeated, but everyone, hotels, airlines, and probably car rentals, created an entirely different set of rules for no-shows during these periods.

You might want to also try Expedia.com for better rental rates. Also, check on mousesavers.com (under transportation)or rentalcodes.com for discount rental codes for various car rental companies. Rates often change, so check back periodically.

Rent a car from Dec 29 until Jan 2 at the high holiday price. Then rent another car from Jan 2 until you leave at a lower rate. You may have to go back to the rental agency to make the change but you will also save a lot of money. I'm renting from Dec 23 until Jan 10. By getting it broken up on January 2nd I'm saving $250 since I'm not paying for the entire period at the inflated holiday price.