One way car hire from San Francisco

[kirkdalewdw]

make sure at the rent desk in SFO they don't try and add on a one way fee as your in the same state... they did to some foreigners next to me who had poor English as I was trying to get them to decline it

[400ixl]

Originally Posted by Doris1971

Thank you so much. Yea, we are looking at the Pacific coast highway from SF to Lv.

Any ideas for itinerary would be greatly appreciated. We are Florida bunnies but this is our 30th wedding anniversary bucket list so want to make the most of it. Got 3 weeks off from beginning of November 20.

Thanks in advance for any help
Doris1971

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What sort of things do you like doing and who will be in your group?

This will heavily influence places like LA. This is a massive urban sprawl and unlike anything you will have come across in Florida. Universal is on the North Eastern side of LA close to the Hollywood area. This is an hour away from the coastal side of LA where you will find the likes of Santa Monica, Marina Del Ray and Venice Beach. It is also 90 minutes North of Anaheim which is where you will find Disney (to the South East of LA).

This means that it makes more sense to do a 2 location stop for LA and for how long in each location depends on what you want to do.

Disneyland California is more like DLP than Disneyworld, so can be crammed into a couple of days, 3-4 for a more relaxing visit or 5-7 at snail pace. Different people like different speeds.

San Fran most people go for 3-4 nights
Yosemite is usually a 2-3 night stop depending on how much time you want so spend doing walks etc.
Drive down the PCH can vary. You could crack on from Yosemite or San Fran early and then only need the one night in Monterrey if all you want to do is the basics. If you want to do more then probably 2 nights. You will then most likely want to to another night in the way down as LA in one go will be a very long day.
Getting from LA to LV most people go the I5 route where it takes 4-5 hours. Personally I'd suggest up to Olancha, then into DV and spend a night in the park. Then go to LV the next day.

LV is also a very personal taste for length of stay. Some say 2 nights is enough, others 5 is good. It is worth thinking about whether you plan to do the Gran Canyon on this trip as well. Grand Canyon South is the one you will have seen in the movies etc. This is 5 hours drive from LV, would really suggest an overnight stop to see the dawn / dusk. There is GC West which is smaller but still spectacular. Its 3 hours drive, but can also be done in a helicopter (south is not possible in a helicopter without driving or flying there first as it is too far).

Lots to think about and everyone's plan needs to take into consideration their individual group and timeline. You will otherwise get the same plan thrown at you from people that they did.

Tell us more about what you want to do.

[400ixl]

Originally Posted by kirkdalewdw

make sure at the rent desk in SFO they don't try and add on a one way fee as your in the same state... they did to some foreigners next to me who had poor English as I was trying to get them to decline it

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San Fran and LV aren't in the same state, but most rental companies do count California, Nevada and Utah as a single rental zone.

So make sure that there is no one way rental fee in your booking and be prepared to point it out. Never actually had the issue of anyone trying to add it in all the US rentals I have done. I have found some at booking time have it added and drop that as an option if it is.

[Doris1971]

Wow, thanks for all the info, loads to think about.

It’s just the 2 of us, going for our 30th wedding anniversary. Depending on what dates we can get the reward seats, looking at being there at least 17 nights.

Definitely want to do Grand Canyon helicopter tour
Death Valley park - going in November, what will the weather be like?
Possibly catch part of Route 66
More universal studios kind of people
Maybe a beach
Possibly 5 nights at least in Vegas

Any ideas on hotels to stay at along th way would also be welcome.

Thanks in advance
Doris1971

[jdouds]

Hi again , Vegas have a look at the signature suits, first class and we hired via home away or Airbnb. Yosemite we stayed at the blue butterfly bb beside the entrance at el
Portal, also popular is the Yosemite view lodge also at el portal, for PCH Monterey we used Airbnb and stayed in some great places which where much cheaper than hotels.san Fran also used Airbnb on chestnut st with free of street parking.

[Buzz242]

We've done a couple of one way trips in California and don't recall paying an extra fee.

[cornishfrogboy]

I pretty much always pick up and drop in different locations. Here are some more recent ones..

31/03/17 Pick up Pensacola Int. Budget car hire Chevrolet Cruze.
Drop at Daytona Beach on 14/04/17 . £332.06

31/03/18 pick up Howard St, San Francisco. Budget car hire RAV4. Drop at LAX on 11/04/18 £273.47

24/07/19 pick up Dayton Ohio. Budget car hire Hyundai Elantra Drop at Cincinatti Int (in Kentucky) on 27/07/19 £158.70

29/07/19 pick up Holiday Inn Universal Studios FL. Budget car hire Jeep. Drop at MIA int on 08/08/19. £305.05

02/04/20 pick up SFO Cal . Hertz Jetta or similar. Drop at San Luis Obispo regional airport on 07/04/20. £240.39

07/04/20 pick up Tacoma Int, Seattle . Alamo Focus or similar. Drop at Vancouver Int (Canada) on 10/04/20 . £162.52 plus drop fee payable at time of $125.

Not the exact permutations that you require, but hopefully helpful as all are pick up with a drop at a different point, some in a different state or in one case, Country.. I research at length before booking anything.