anchorage rental car

[DaveandDiane]

We are looking into getting a rental car in Anchorage this June for four days. We will have a day and a half in Anchorage, then are driving to Denali for 2 days, then back to Anchorage. There are so many rental car places, does anyone have any recommendations for someone that you have used in Anchorage. We will need a place that will allow us to return it around 8pm, because we plan on spending the morning in Denali before driving back to Anchorage on the last day.

[mapleleaves]

Most of the major vendors are in Anchorage ... Budget, Hertz, Enterprise, Thrifty, etc. You're very late with this so go with the best deal you can find. Enterprise usually has good prices but at this late date, check everyone. Make a reservation for the best deal you can find then keep checking around ... rental prices fluctuate frequently.

 

As for the timing, most companies have a key slot for after-hours drop off. You aren't there for the final inspection tho, if that's a concern.

[KAYEF]

I try to use private companies as I usually find them less expensive (off airport).

I picked up my car about the time you want to check yours in, so I know they stay late, but I canNOT remember the name of the company and I'm not home where my info. is. I found them online, though.

When we checked it back in a few days later, about 11 a.m. they took us to the airport and we walked in, checked into the bus taking us down to Whittier, and less than five minutes later they called for boarding.

We had spent a few days on the Kenai Peninsula so had no need to take a train to Whittier. The bus even stopped for a rest at a pretty park (?) where we viewed salmon in the creek, etc.

[Carol & Jim]

I just reserved with Enterprise but used their off airport site. It is about $300 less expensive to use the off airport pickup. For airport pickup, full size car is $638, at their off site it's $339, big difference. They say they have shuttles to pick you up but not sure if they can pick up at airport, might call them and ask. We're staying at a hotel close by and they have a shuttle.

[DaveandDiane]

Thank you for your responses. We are staying at the Hilton Garden Inn and they have a 24 hour on demand shuttle, so I am not worried about getting a car at the airport. I was originally looking at Avis because we have the toursaver book. However it looks like Dollar or Thrifty would save us quite a bit of money.

[thinfool]

Have you looked at your situation with Kayak.com?

[DaveandDiane]

Have you looked at your situation with Kayak.com?

 

I did look at Kayak, and they have the same prices as the car companies sites for our situation. I reserved with Dollar today on their site.

[frugaltravel]

I just reserved with Enterprise but used their off airport site. It is about $300 less expensive to use the off airport pickup. For airport pickup, full size car is $638, at their off site it's $339, big difference. They say they have shuttles to pick you up but not sure if they can pick up at airport, might call them and ask. We're staying at a hotel close by and they have a shuttle.

 

It is pretty clear from Enterprise's policies that they won't/can't pick up at the airport and bring you to off-airport locations. At most airports that is prohibited by the car rental companies' contracts with the airport. Picking up at the airport and bringing you off-airport would then require the companies to charge you most of the airport fees that you are trying to avoid.

[mapsmith]

You might want to adjust your plans a little. Alaska.org says that the distance from Denali National Park to Anchorage (not the airport just the city) is five hours. Having done it a couple of times, I agree. Allowing for traffic, bears, tourists etc, can add an additional hour. So spending the morning in Denali, then driving to the airport, while possible, probably is not realistic, unless you are just visiting the Visitor Center at the entrance to the park.

[olemissreb]

i booked through Avis and picked up & dropped off at their downtown location. Saved us about $100 or so I think. We got the biggest savings using my husband's Avis Wizard number. Because he almost exclusively rents from Avis when traveling, we saved about $300 using his Wizard number. We rented an SUV and though the girl at the Avis office said that we could use the TourSaver coupon, when we dropped it off, they told us that is was only for a full size car. Oh well - we had lots of room for everything. The Hilton Garden Inn van will be able to take you to the Log Cabin visitor center and there is an Avis office just a couple blocks away. We stayed at the Embassy Suites and they share the van with the HGI and this is what we did. Super easy.

[DaveandDiane]

We will actually be spending two full days in Denali, then the last morning we will have time to do a short hike, or spend a couple of hours seeing something that we missed the other two days, then drive back to Anchorage that afternoon.

[rjeffler]

If you are a Costco member, check them for prices as well. I had reservations for Hertz in Anchorage and kept checking prices. I was able to get it quite a bit cheaper through Costco and Dollar.

[fleckle]

We also saved hundreds of dollars by getting our rental car at an off-airport location in Anchorage. It was one of the major rental car companies (don't recall which one - we go back and forth between them) and we were able to drop off the car at their airport location afterwards at no extra charge.

 

It is well worth a few minutes to take a taxi from the airport or train station to an off-site location to pick up the car if it saves you a bundle.

 

Whenever we will be driving long distances in a rental car, we prefer to rent from a major rental car company that also has locations along the route we will be traveling.

 

That way, in case you should encounter car trouble of any kind they quickly bring you out a replacement vehicle and you continue on your way.

Nobody wants to waste any precious vacation time hanging around a repair shop somewhere out in the boondocks waiting for someone to diagnose and fix the problem.

 

[frugaltravel]

Whenever we will be driving long distances in a rental car, we prefer to rent from a major rental car company that also has locations along the route we will be traveling.

 

That way, in case you should encounter car trouble of any kind they quickly bring you out a replacement vehicle and you continue on your way.

Nobody wants to waste any precious vacation time hanging around a repair shop somewhere out in the boondocks waiting for someone to diagnose and fix the problem.

 

Well, the only offices for most major car rental companies in southcentral Alaska are Anchorage and Juneau. Of course Seward (Hertz) and Whittier (Avis) are the exceptions. But one must expect to be "in the boondocks" in Alaska if their car breaks down, far from the rental company's offices.

[Budget Queen]

 

Whenever we will be driving long distances in a rental car, we prefer to rent from a major rental car company that also has locations along the route we will be traveling.

 

That way, in case you should encounter car trouble of any kind they quickly bring you out a replacement vehicle and you continue on your way.

Nobody wants to waste any precious vacation time hanging around a repair shop somewhere out in the boondocks waiting for someone to diagnose and fix the problem.

 

This isn't going to work for most places in Alaska. Would only be a good point if, you aren't leaving Anchorage, which the OP is. There is no way, "quickly" is going to be accurate, if you are stuck miles away.

[Northern Aurora]

Well, the only offices for most major car rental companies in southcentral Alaska are Anchorage and Juneau. Of course Seward (Hertz) and Whittier (Avis) are the exceptions. But one must expect to be "in the boondocks" in Alaska if their car breaks down, far from the rental company's offices.

 

Well, Juneau is not located in southcentral Alaska. Juneau is in southeast Alaska, which is located far from southcentral.

[fleckle]

Well, the only offices for most major car rental companies in southcentral Alaska are Anchorage and Juneau. Of course Seward (Hertz) and Whittier (Avis) are the exceptions. But one must expect to be "in the boondocks" in Alaska if their car breaks down, far from the rental company's offices.

Hertz has car rentals at Anchorage, Fairbanks, Homer and Seward.

Avis at Anchorage, Fairbanks, Kenai, Kodiak, Whittier.

 

We also learned that major rental car companies contract with car dealers and garages at intermediate locations to provide replacement vehicles for their customers when necessary, so the replacement vehicle they bring out to you does not always come from their own rental locations.

 

[VermeulT]

We also saved hundreds of dollars by getting our rental car at an off-airport location in Anchorage. It was one of the major rental car companies (don't recall which one - we go back and forth between them) and we were able to drop off the car at their airport location afterwards at no extra charge.

 

The pricing I've seen indicates it's cheaper AT the airport than picking up off site. Plus priceline etc won't let you bid on off airport locations.:(

[2278]

Try A1.

 

We were there a couple of weeks ago and needed transportation to Whittier for a tour in Prince William Sound. Finding a vehicle with the Fur Rondy and the Iditarod that weekend was a challenge.

 

The maintenance guy at our hotel suggested A1. They came and picked us up. When we were finished, they had us give the keys to the front desk and they picked it up the next day.

[Budget Queen]

Hertz has car rentals at Anchorage, Fairbanks, Homer and Seward.

Avis at Anchorage, Fairbanks, Kenai, Kodiak, Whittier.

 

We also learned that major rental car companies contract with car dealers and garages at intermediate locations to provide replacement vehicles for their customers when necessary, so the replacement vehicle they bring out to you does not always come from their own rental locations.

 

 

Have you been to mainland Alaska and rented cars?

Edited March 27, 2014 by Budget Queen