We are arriving at San Francisco airport and we are planning to drive right to Santa Ana for one night to visit wine country. Then we will stay in downtown San Francisco for several nights. Is it possible to rent car at airport and return car downtown by the end of the next business day? We only want rental for night. Can you supply us with names! Or phone numbers! We are having a hard time getting information regarding rentals. It seems like a hassle to return car at the airport, then have to travel back downtown. Trying to make it easy. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Last item to plan for our trip. Looking forward to our visit. Any interesting places in Santa Ana -restaurants (breakfast) or sites!

Are you sure about driving to Santa Ana from Sf airport for ONLY one night, no less. That a 400 mile drive that will take at least 7 hours. If Santa Ana is where you want to go, then I would fly directly into Orange County Airport which is located in Santa Ana.

Well - obviously you aren't driving to Santa Ana for wineries - so is it Santa Rosa or Sonoma - or possibly Santa Clara?

Just WHERE are you going . . . . . .

Certainly not Santa Ana.
Most rental agencies charge a fee for drop-off at location different from origination. I've occasionally had National (1800CARRENT) waive the fee.

Another option would be to take BART from SFO downtown, then use one of the handy rental agencies there to pick up and return your car.

Hi Sasha,
I recently rented a car (through Dollar Rental)in downtown San Francisco to drive to LA...and then I returned the car at the San Francisco airport when I returned from LA. It was very easy...and also quick to rent the car--since I booked it in advance. I booked it online through the Dollar Rental website. I cannot recall the exact location of the Dollar Rental location, but they are all listed on the website--there is one right downtown in San Fran (in the heart of the shopping district--Union Square). I'm sure you can rent the car at the airport and drop it off in San Fran the next day...or whenever you would like to return it. Its very simple...check out the site.

In May, we flew into SF, and stayed at the Sheraton at Fisherman's Wharf. We picked up a car right there from Budget when we went to the wine country for a few days and returned the car to the airport. It was very easy, no extra charge for picking it up at one place and dropping at another.

Try the budget.com site