So.. we have 3 sits lined up for late November through mid January in California USA. That is great and we were very happy with the way that fell into place.
Next step we start looking at rental vehicles and that is where the problem is .
We live on the east coast, so driving our own vehicle 3000 miles across the country is less than ideal. We are finding Renting vehicle at the cheapest price we can find is likely gonna be $2500.00- 3000.00đ for the time span which is about 2 months. Obviously we are looking to find ways to reduce this cost either go car less for several days or find a better deal.
As noted live on the East coast of USA, we are thinking maybe in the future we need to just stick to East coast sits so we can bring our own vehicle.
Any feedback, ideas or other resources is appreciated.
Also, confine your rentals to when you actually need them. Like cluster your distance travel, and use ride shares and grocery deliveries in combo with car rentals.
Plus, check with some rental agencies for âdead heading.â Sometimes they need cars moved from one location to another and there might be discounts if youâre able to do that.
You can maybe get creative. Like I once had to cover about two hoursâ distance between sits. Instead of the usual possibilities, I joined a sightseeing tour and just didnât take the return leg of the tour. That meant I spent a bit more, but got a bunch of sightseeing done en route to my next sit.
I was watching a YouTube video of a channel I follow. Her and her sister with their entire family all vacationed in Hawaii. When the sister and her family arrived they did not reserve a rental car ahead of time and none available on arrival. What they did was rent a U-Haul cargo van for $19.00 a day. I thought this was so creative and smart. They kept it a week for $19.00 a day. Itâs drives like a passenger van so no learning curve needed.
This works for short distances and if you can find parking. The $19 is the base rental and they charge per mile on top of that. They also can be hard to park, depending on where you are. Like in dense cities and parking garages, that can be problematic â theyâre too tall for many garages.
In our country thereâs lots of facebook-groups where rental car agencies look for drivers that can relocate their vehicles. Usually they can drive for free, for distances more difficult to do they sometimes even cover gas - as their alternative could be to pay for transport of the car. To make this work it would often be distances where they canât easily get paid. For instance Route 66 - the agency could easily have a customer rent it to San Fransisco, but could be less likely to do a rental for the return.
Some long term rentals can be negotiated. I know several that has done this successfully for AirBnBs. Asked for an offer for a long term price. Iâve also done it recently. This could be a mutual win (depending on car/ location) as youâd have one/ the same driver (-s) for the whole period and an income for all days (for instance in locations where some cars would otherwise been «in» for periods of time.)
I know people also sometimes find it a better deal to buy a car and sell it again at the end of the journey. As in the Route 66-example, it could be especially so in locations with a market for certain vehicles - or buy the car of someone who travelled «the other way», and vice versa. For instance buy a convertible at the east coast when winter comes - drive it to California and sell it there. For a chain of car dealers it could even be an option to buy back when you buy it.
I hunt for deals through Costco and AAA, or try to use airline miles. Often the rental agencyâs site has good offers for different trip lengths. The second driver fee always trips us up, so look for someone who includes them (Avis does, I think). If you have a credit card with good rental car coverage, like Chase Sapphire, do not buy the rental agencyâs coverage. Will any of the HOâs where youâre sitting allow use of their car?
Most parts of California donât have great/convenient public transportation and rental cars are expensive here, but accommodations are too, so what youâre saving by doing THS is worth noting. And having your own car may make your life way easier, depending where you are. We have sitter friends whoâve been sitting around this area (Northern Ca) for the last year without a car and they manage, but with some rough travel days lugging their stuff on and off buses, and some expense and scrambling to get where they need to be. You could look up public transportation where youâll be and see if itâs doable, maybe with Ubers here and there.
I recently did a three-week stint in California and found that in most locations, I did not need a car. Near the cities I did just fine with public transit and Lyft (do be careful on the BART at night, especially in Oakland - pays to ask your hosts where is safe and where is not). Having a car can be quite stressful - for the few days I did have a car, I spent more on parking than I did on food!
Example: I stayed in one delightful home about an hour outside of San Francisco. I could walk or Lyft to the BART station, which cost about $10 if I did Lyft, and once in town I just hopped a bus to whatever restaurant I was going to. Google Maps is fantastic for step-by-step instructions on how to use public transit.
This is true for Washington DC also. California is one of the few states in the US that actually has a functioning public transit system.
I would say the San Francisco and Oakland Bay Areas have a functioning (if sometimes sketchy) public transit system, and LA and San Diego have existing but limited public transit. But CA is huge and much is rural, options are extremely limited outside urban areas. Iâve lived in CA my entire life, north and south, and have never been able to rely on public transit. Where I live now there are no buses or taxis and the nearest train or bus station is a 25 minute drive. Lyft drivers lose cell service about five minutes from my tiny town and end up driving around our four little streets looking for their passenger
The Pacific Surfliner train between the SD and LA is a nice ride so you could be okay with no car for some of the trip. SD and LA are both huge, pretty car-dependent counties so it really depends where you are.
Look into zipcar.com and its competitors. In areas where theyâre available, these car share arrangements can save quite a lot over having a vehicle available in the driveway.
Very familiar with Palm Springs and Palm Desert. They have buses that run but once an hour. You would just get the bus schedule. Lots of homeless in Palm Springs who are usually the only ones that use the city bus. Southern California is a car area. All locals have cars. Palm Springs is a tourist town so lots of Ubers. Donât have to wait long at all. Easy to get to San Diego from there by Greyhound bus or Flixbus ( not sure that is what they call it) or plane.
Almost my exact itinerary! In Palm Desert, it really depends on what you want to do. If youâre a âhang around the houseâ type, you can probably get by with just Lyft. Lots is walkable, and if you do want to do some touristy things you can book tours. DEFINITELY do the aerial tramway in Palm Springs - it is magical (bring a sweater/coat - it gets downright cold up there) The Salton Sea is definitely worth a visit too, and Iâm guessing it would be challenging to take a package tour to get there. If you take a car, be aware that cell service can be nonexistent and breaking down can be life-threatening, so be sure to tell a friend your precise itinerary and have them send help if you donât check in by a certain time. (Have LOTS of water in your car; biggest threat is dehydration).
San Diego - I was staying right downtown and didnât need a car at all. I took the trolley to a few places and Lyft to others. And I had groceries delivered from Amazon.
LA though - LA youâre probably going to need a car.
Keep in mind that if you start without a car and change your mind, you can always call Enterprise or similar car rental companies that will come pick you up. In the US people tend to think of car rental companies as only being at the airports, but often there are branches in town too.
Ah, not the part of CA Iâm most familiar with. But youâve gotten some good input from those who are. And to add to kittysitterâs reply, Enterprise has weekend specials in many areas.
.
