San Francisco-renting a car for a day
 

Planning a trip to San Francisco June 2015 and will rent a car for one day to drive the coast on Hwy 1. We are staying at Columbus Inn which has free parking, so it will be ok for us to have car overnight and return the next morning.

Since we will have car for 24 hrs, I would like to also drive to the Napa Valley, but wondered if this would be too much to do in one day. I had planned to drive toward Carmel area. Would it be feasible to drive to both areas in the same day?

Also, since we are staying at Columbus Inn, any recommendations on car rental agencies nearby? I haven't read great reviews on many car rental places in the area.

Thank you!

>> Would it be feasible to drive to both areas in the same day? <<

Absolutely not.

Try Enterprise -- they will come get you.

No way is it feasible to drive from SF to Carmel then to Napa and back to SF in one day and do anything other than sit in a car for hours. It takes about 2:30 just to drive to Carmel and that is if you know the way, do not pause to take in any views, and are not driving during commute times.

We use Dollar a lot for one day rentals in San Francisco. They often have City Specials that are quite reasonable.

I would look now, and reserve one that can be cancelled. Then check back weekly.

Costco also has some very good prices, if you are a member.

We usually rent from the Union Sq area but there are rental places around FW. Check both out.

I don't like Enterprise all that much; they tend to be higher priced as they seem to be used heavily by car insurance companies for daily rentals when you car is being repaired due to accidents. Also, they tend to make you wait a long time till someone can drive car over and then to drive you back when you return it. At least, that has been my experience with them [due to car accident usage].

You might be able to combine Napa with Muir Woods, but not Carmel. But even then you'd be rushed.

Or better Muir Woods and Point Reyes, and I think you might beat fog season in June.

>>Would it be feasible to drive to both areas in the same day?<<,

Double NO WAY!!!

You might have trouble with just a day trip to Carmel/Pt Lobos etc.

Stu Dudley

Yep, we are unanimous. With 1 day, pick one or the other.

agree....no way you can do that in one day. Both trips are full day events. Why not rent at SFO and save the cab fare? Depending on what time you arrive you could go directly to Carmel once you land. I've done that a few time and then made day 2 a NAPA trip.

Thank you all for your input. It's sometimes hard to look at a map and judge realistically how much you can do in a day. That's why this forum is so valuable when traveling to a new destination.

We will spend a leisurely day driving the coast only.

Are there recommended tours to the Napa Valley that anyone could suggest? We don't want to rent a car for more than one day, if possible.

Renting a car for 2 days would cost you considerably less than taking a tour of the Napa Valley.