Pre cruise rental car question Lax to Port of LA

[P.A.]

So we'll be flying into LAX or BUR (May) and wanting to spend a few days in the Studio City area. We have a airbnb we like there. But checking rental car prices it looks like we would have to pay a drop charge to return car near the Port of LA area. Has anyone done this that might have some insight on how to get by cheaper? We would be picking up on a Wed and returning on Saturday.

 

Any suggestions will be appreciated.😃

[Splinter]

Rent your car at LAX (more options than Burbank).  Return it to the airport site, take the rental car shuttle back to the airport and then take a shared shuttle or Uber/Lyft from the airport to the pier. If you do Uber/Lyft, you might actually get them to pick you up at the rental car site. It will save you a lot of money.

[P.A.]

29 minutes ago, Splinter said:

Rent your car at LAX (more options than Burbank).  Return it to the airport site, take the rental car shuttle back to the airport and then take a shared shuttle or Uber/Lyft from the airport to the pier. If you do Uber/Lyft, you might actually get them to pick you up at the rental car site. It will save you a lot of money.

Thanks for the suggestion. How much time should we plan for this?

[Splinter]

On 12/22/2019 at 6:48 PM, P.A. said:

Thanks for the suggestion. How much time should we plan for this?

Depending upon day of the week and time of day, an Uber/Lyft should get you from LAX (or an LAX rental car location) to the San Pedro cruise pier in about 30 minutes

[Pearl64]

We did this a couple of weeks ago. We rented from Enterprise at LAX and dropped the car off at Enterprise in  San Pedro. They shuttled us to the port. Easy peasy and I questioned about a drop off fee. There was none. I even called ahead of time to ask. Trust me when I say this is the easiest way . The only glitch would be if it is a Sunday and Enterprise is closed.

[P.A.]

1 hour ago, Pearl64 said:

We did this a couple of weeks ago. We rented from Enterprise at LAX and dropped the car off at Enterprise in  San Pedro. They shuttled us to the port. Easy peasy and I questioned about a drop off fee. There was none. I even called ahead of time to ask. Trust me when I say this is the easiest way . The only glitch would be if it is a Sunday and Enterprise is closed.

 

Thanks for the info. This is encouraging. Did you book online and did you use any special codes?

[Pearl64]

I did book online but I also called the local numbers for Enterprise. By the way,Enterprise at LAX and San Pedro were very courteous and helpful. It was the easiest car rental ever. I didn’t use any special code but I did sign up for their free rewards account. It was free but do it before you book. The price was much better. Good luck.

[P.A.]

5 minutes ago, Pearl64 said:

I did book online but I also called the local numbers for Enterprise. By the way,Enterprise at LAX and San Pedro were very courteous and helpful. It was the easiest car rental ever. I didn’t use any special code but I did sign up for their free rewards account. It was free but do it before you book. The price was much better. Good luck.

 

Awesome! Thank you for all the info.

 

[Pearl64]

P.A.,

 

One item about returning the car on a Saturday—Enterprise closes at 1 pm on Saturdays. Though we did not use them, Hertz in San Pedro is across the street. But, we were very happy with Enterprise.

[P.A.]

43 minutes ago, Pearl64 said:

P.A.,

 

One item about returning the car on a Saturday—Enterprise closes at 1 pm on Saturdays. Though we did not use them, Hertz in San Pedro is across the street. But, we were very happy with Enterprise.

Good to know. I know it's early yet since we aren't going til May...but I'm getting a rate of $177 for only a 3 day rental small car..LAX pu returning to San Pedro. So that is high right now!

[Pearl64]

Try looking at an SVU. We had a Rogue and never had to fill the tank. We have found sometimes SVUs are cheaper to rent for some reason. Short term rentals are always pricey. It was cheaper to drop off back at LAX but oh the hassle. I understand about keeping costs low but trust me when I say you will be happy to return to San Pedro. By the time you get transportation to the port you won’t save that much. You can always cancel if you find something cheaper. I did not see cheaper prices for paying upfront. Good luck.

[VideoTech]

I would NOT fly to LAX if your intended destination is in Studio City. Burbank airport is much closer to Studio City and will save you a lot of driving time. Burbank airport is so easy to use, and it has all the major car rental companies in a central garage that's just a short walk from the terminal. I will always opt for BUR when flying into LA with business in downtown..it's a great airport.

 

What I would suggest is: Fly into and rent your car at Burbank. Then return it to LAX, as LAX is closer to the port. Depending on who you rent from and your status with them, there may be no extra charge at all to do this. As is suggested above, arrange to have your Uber to the port pick you up at the rental parking lot for whichever company you use. Uber/Lyft pickups from LAX are no longer as easy as they used to be, and there's no reason to add the extra two bus rides (rental lot to terminal, then terminal back to the new Uber lot) if you don't have to.