Car Hire Florida - Newbie

[Emmsy]

Hi,
me and the girlfriend have booked flights and accomodation for 14 nights in florida starting 6th nov.
we are going to fly into orlando airport and fly back to uk via miami airport. we aim to pick up and drop off the car at the airports.
we will be stopping at international drive, naples and the keys before heading to miami for the flight home.
we dont need a big car and are not fussed about luxuries.

is there a problem not having the same pick up / dropoff point?
what would be best company to use as we both wish to drive (both age 29+)?
which option suits us best, gold or platinum?
are there any hidden charges we will get stung for on our travels?

thanks
Stu

[wrpac00]

Have you tried getting a quote from this site http://www.villasflorida.com/car_hire.aspx

Its about £250 for a compact 4 dr, there should be no problem with the different pick up and drop off points. Take the Gold option and you will have nothing else to pay.

[roger]

There is no charge for the 1-way rental. We use 3 main suppliers (Dollar, Alamo and Budget). They are all very good, and depending on the type of car you would like, some have better options than others. We have a lot of useful information at www.uscarhire.co.uk

[Emmsy]

thanks both,
we will be looking for a 2 or 4 door economy car.
only thing is that we both want to drive, and im unsure which is financially the best option, gold or silver. i have no idea what the price of fuel is stateside. stu

[roger]

This page should help: http://www.uscarhire.co.uk/HireTypes.aspx

[andrewmckay5]

Stu,

Just as an aside you will be doing "a lot" of driving to visit all the places you mention.I would get a bigger rather than smaller car just to make the drives a bit more comfortable.

andrew

[wrpac00]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Emmsy
thanks both,
we will be looking for a 2 or 4 door economy car.
only thing is that we both want to drive, and im unsure which is financially the best option, gold or silver. i have no idea what the price of fuel is stateside. stu
[/quote]

If your going for 2 weeks and possibly even 3 weeks it works out cheaper to get the Gold option as you will pay about $5 a gallon for them to refill the car.

More than 3 weeks it isn't worth getting the Gold option.

[ellie]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

I think you would be very wise to book a reasonably large car as you are obviously going to do quite a lot of miles, and even though roads are good in Florida, a little extra comfort won't come amiss. Even an Intermediate will be more comfortable than a Compact, and sometimes there are special offers on which will give you a larger car for the same price. The small extra cost will be well worthwhile for the comfort you will get.

Hope you have a great time, and you can get no better car hire than from www.uscarhire.co.uk. They really ARE the best.
[8D]

[Emmsy]

Thanks,

so looks like gold is my best option then, and least i know i wont incur any other charges.

im not too fussed about the car size, i drove halfway across australia and then both islands in new zealand in a toyota yaris :)
strangely over there it was a case of you buy with a full tank and you return with a full tank so didnt have choices to make.

Stu

[Jacob_crackers]

I'm a complete newbie and i'm heading out with my family in the new year. Just a quick question, that I'm sure has been answered many times before but here goes anyway: is it advisable to book car hire from the UK prior to arrival? or is it easier to just arrange it when you arrive?

I've checked with a number of sites already [website link edited] and uscarhire.co.uk, but do you get a cheaper deal booking direct with them when you arrive

thanks

[blott]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Jacob_crackers
I'm a complete newbie and i'm heading out with my family in the new year. Just a quick question, that I'm sure has been answered many times before but here goes anyway: is it advisable to book car hire from the UK prior to arrival? or is it easier to just arrange it when you arrive?

I've checked with a number of sites already [website link edited] and uscarhire.co.uk, but do you get a cheaper deal booking direct with them when you arrive

thanks[/quote]No, quite the reverse in fact. It's much more expensive booking direct with a car rental company as, on top of the rental charge go loads of taxes, insurances, etc, etc which can add up to a sizeable sum (we paid £500 extra once on a 'free' car that came with our flights with Virgin - never made that mistake again!).

With www.uscarhire.co.uk you get everything pre-paid like taxes, insurance, etc so there are no surprises when you pick up your car, particularly if you go for the Gold option.

Since our one 'mistake' we've always used uscarhire as their prices are very competitive and they provide excellent customer service - you can't get better anywhere!

[Fourdents]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Jacob_crackers
I'm a complete newbie and i'm heading out with my family in the new year. Just a quick question, that I'm sure has been answered many times before but here goes anyway: is it advisable to book car hire from the UK prior to arrival? or is it easier to just arrange it when you arrive?

I've checked with a number of sites already [website link edited] and uscarhire.co.uk, but do you get a cheaper deal booking direct with them when you arrive

thanks
[/quote]

I agree best to book from the UK and if you book through here you can be assured of good customer service and you have all hire docs sent to you by e-mail to print off and keep. Also you have all the correct insurances too so don't let any "keen" rental car desk clerks try to sell you extras.

Worth note.
Remember to keep ALL the car Docs with you when out and about - driving licence, photocopy of passport too.