FlyMeToTheLooneyBin

Another option is, take cab to/from airport and hotel. Only OP goes to rent and drop off car.

Move luggage and kids as little as possible.

cblaisd

Good point.

tentseller

This was my plan back when my kids were 7 and 2; two decades ago.

Arrive, check into airport with complimentary shuttle. Relax after flying.

Day two am: Ma and kids sleep in or relax with morning cartoons/comp breakfast. Pa go pick up minivan rental at off airport site nearby, come back and load up the minivan.

"On the Road Again"

Day before departure: Check into same hotel, go return minivan.
Morning of departure: Shuttle to airport.

Back then the minivan rentals were doubled at an airport location with limited milages.

Definitely: "Move luggage and kids as little as possible." +100000

IMHO your wife's concern is your getting van while leaving her to deal with watching 11 pieces of luggage and two young children. It will put her at ease if that is done in the safety and confine of a hotel room instead of at the airport or curbside.

Ancien Maestro

I'll check into shuttles and cabs to the hotel from the Airport..

July 27th we are at Fairmont Newport Beach.. August 7th Fairmont Miramar Hotel and Bungalows..

Any neighborhood car rental places around there?

And take a cab to the airport 4 or 5 am in the morning?

Strategies?

I'm for saving $$$, don't get me wrong.. but 4 or 5 am in the morning doing cab shuffling from off site neighborhood may not be the strongest strategy.. We have enough trouble trying to keep organized our luggage and having both kids hanging onto us.. Especially after Disneyland.

azepine00

Not to drift OT but assuming two kids sharing a small suitcase, what on earth do you pack to have 10 pieces of luggage between you and your spouse (especially for summer in california)???

FlyMeToTheLooneyBin

It's not a problem. I've done it several times. Just make sure you call early enough because they may take longer to get to you.

cblaisd

Both the Avis and Hertz websites allow you to search by address....

?? Get number of cab company. Call it.

I had the same thought. We'll presume there's one car seat and one stroller? One suitcase per person still totals six pieces of luggage. (I have made a move across an ocean with 2 suitcases per person which had enough clothes in them to get us by for six weeks until the moving container arrived)

Ancien Maestro

My wife is a bit of a pack rat.. so we've got the following (based on our MCO Christmas Break Trip 3 weeks, and Spring Break 3 1/2 weeks this year)..

3 checked suit cases
1 car seat checked
1 car seat carry on
3 small carry ons
1 Diaper Bag
1 Purse
1 Stroller
Edit: One Computer Bag with Laptop


Thanks.. with 11 pieces of luggage, wife and 2 kids?.. or close?


Lol! Call it..

3 checked suit cases
1 car seat checked
1 car seat carry on
3 small carry ons
1 Diaper Bag
1 Purse
1 Stroller
Edit: One computer bag with laptop

FlyMeToTheLooneyBin

Oh. No... I meant I've called cabs before for pickups around 4am. Call ahead of time because there aren't many cabs roaming around the streets at that hour and it may take a while for them to dispatch one to you, but I suppose traffic will be lighter.

I don't have 11 pieces of luggage. I travel light.

mlshanks

I'd check that you *can not* return your off-airport rental at the airport location. Most of the major car rental firms in LA w/ both airport and neighborhood locations allow drop-offs at LAX or BUR (where most cars are needed) for the same price as returning it at the neighborhood rental location. I know that most of the neighborhood locations exchange cars w/ the airport locations if they are lacking some particular size or specialty vehicle for local rentals. I also know that I've occasionally used the neighborhood rentals as an alternative to public transit or shared vans....and dropped at the airport w/ no drop-off fee.

cblaisd

So which is it? I'm confused.

This remains the best idea, imo.

In one of the quirks of the Avis system, there are no minivans available for a one way trip picking up at the Manchester location and dropping at LAX. (There are minivans available if picking up/dropping off at Manchester). However, there are standard SUVs available for $687 for picking up at Manchester, dropping at LAX.

Ancien Maestro

Sorry.. I guess when I checked my itinerary it was indeed 4 am on an offsite drop off to give enough time to get to the airport for a 7 am flight to YYC


Quickly checking a couple days ago.. some decent rates at LAX on the code you provided.^

The main difference is Airport taxes and fees.

Haven't had time to check with the Mrs.. with the route she wants to go.. she was humming and hawing.. just closed a Commercial Property purchase at work.. lots of due diligence, back and forth with agents, mortgage lender, etc.. will get my head out of the paper work to dig further and clarify with the rental..

Thanks for all of the feedback thus far.. considering the different angles. This would be the first time we've done an offsite rental.. and we vacation two or three times a year for the past 8 years as a family.. and prior when I was single, I rented modestly always from an airport..

Grabbing a cab would be a good idea too.. going to and from the hotel..

The only thing is 5 year old and 1 year old.. its probably legislated to have car seats in California.. almost certain..

So its the process of installing, removing.. two car seats and packing in 12 pieces of luggage into the back of a cab.. and I'm certain the 12 pieces won't fit into a trunk.. so for sure a minivan cab..

So does the cab run up time while we install, and deinstall car seats and loading and unloading luggage.. It usually takes me about 15 minutes to pack everything including seating, and deinstalling and unloading would take another 15 minutes..

AutoSlash

Ancien Maestro, I hate to see you and your family inconvenienced and have to pay more for your rental than you need to. I took the liberty of checking rates on your rental with AutoSlash. I found that we should be able to get your rate under $700 for your preferred dates/times for a minivan at LAX.

Go ahead and book with AutoSlash at the regular rate (which is quite a bit higher). As per our standard procedure, within 24 hours we'll work to apply coupons and/or discount codes to your rental, and we'll automatically lower your rate. You can change or cancel at any time, so not much downside to going with this approach.

Hope this helps!

Ancien Maestro

Thanks a Million..

Good reference and referral for you if this works..

So I'll book with a preferred rental vehicle company.. and you'll look after it?

So should I PM you with the information once I book?

Thanks again.. keeping my fingers that this'll work..

AutoSlash

Happy to help. No need to PM me as what we're doing for you is the same as we'd do for anyone. Our standard practice is to drop our client's rates as low as possible. I just did some pre-checking in terms of what sort of discounts should be available for your rental.

If for some reason you don't see the rate drop as expected within 24 hours, then please do PM me your AutoSlash Trip ID and I'll follow-up.