one way rental from MIA to MCO
 

Booked cruise for 12-24, also want to bring kids to Orlando for a couple of days, what's the best and cheapest way to book a rental one way from MIA to MCO? any coupon code I can use? thanks

See EZ, fox etc has really cheap day rate, but I am hesitate to book after reading all the reviews.

There's really no secret. I prefer using the priceline view so you can see them all side by side rather than in a list. One option is to use transfercarus.com. Sometimes they have great deals when the rental car companies need to move cars from one location to the other.

One thing to consider is it will likely be cheaper to book a one-way rental for only one day and then return the car and pickup another one for your time there since one-ways daily rates are often priced higher.

You could also try priceline's bidding service and hotwire's opaque booking.

What's the exact rental date?

12/31 (guessing at a logical post-cruise date), one day, one-way MIA-MCO, shows multiple "reputable" agencies with decent rates.

$120-ish all in puts you in your choice of a midsize SUV or premium car.

Of course you could go rock-bottom rates with Fox, EZ, etc. Your call. But you certainly don't have to. Alamo or Budget are pleasant enough if you're a member of their expedited renter program. (That's free, but you have to sign up in advance.)

Many coupons don't work on one-day or one-way rentals. But you can try any generic codes you have (Costco, AAA, Entertainment, various airline codes, etc.) and see if one turns up a few percent off of the basic rates.

Florida isn't cheap
Florida isn't cheap
Florida isn't cheap

No matter where you go in the state [Well, maybe GNV. But GNV has UF and....nothing else]. Everyone wants to come here (for what reason I don't know why) so prices are high on everything from drinks to rental cars. There's no way of coming here or buying anything here for cheap.

I wonder if the people on the NY forum grapple with this same problem. Yes I'd like to stay in the Ritz Carlton in Times Square for under $200 at the height of the fast season and...

I'm sorry I couldn't find gentler words.

-LPDAL

Try
http://www.autoslash.com & http://http://www.carrentalsavers.com/ and be sure to get a SunPass (toll transponder) for Miami-Dade county and parts of Broward (Ft. Lauderdale area) County. With all-electronic tolling in these areas, you will need one on your car. Shop around as prices vary.

Regarding Orlando during Christmas week, be aware that it is the absolute busiest time of the year. You may want to make your hotel reservations now.

Despite the claim, there are certainly times when travel in Florida is quite affordable. For example, I just booked a midsize one-way rent from FLL to Orlando for $10.07 plus taxes/fees. That was the basic rate on Alamo...no special codes required.

That said, Orlando Vic is the bearer of bad news. Due to the huge number of folks that want to come enjoy our state in late December, the likelihood of finding a deal is low.

Be sure to look for rental car locations away from MCO. I rent a lot of one-way car rentals between Fort Lauderdale and Orlando. In Orlando, there are many rental car offices in the Disney and Universal attractions area. If your plan is to spend all of your Orlando time at theme parks, it might make sense to do a one-day rental between MIA and a local rental office. Then, take a towncar/shared-van ride to MCO on your departure date.

I've actually found that what is called our "slow season" is rapidly shrinking. Instead, we're almost going to a year-round fast season, which is living hell for people like me who drive to MIA (the airport) from downtown Fort Lauderdale every day....We locals have quite a love-hate relationship with tourists...

In any event, when booking hotels and rental cars -- it is often not mentioned that a good way to save money is to book nearby cities' accommodations instead of in the heart of Disney and then complaining about prices (:rolleyes:). For MCO, these alts would be ISM, MLB, SFB, and DAB.

-LPDAL