Phoenix car rental - off airport

[DaveNV]

I know we've discussed the higher prices charged to pick up a rental car at the Phoenix Airport. I don't recall whether we ever said which non-airport location in the Phoenix area has the best pricing. Does anyone know?

I'm exploring the idea of a Utah and Arizona one-way road trip for late Spring 2017, and looking at where and how to work the rental car I'll need to have. I have friends who live in Phoenix, so transportation from the airport to a car rental lot away from the airport (or the other way around) will be easy.

Dave

 

[Passepartout]

Dave, it's been some time but we have used a Budget place in Tempe. It's primarily a truck rental, but they can get whatever you want, and are just open business hours. Fwiw, you can return to the airport facility. Call them if interested. It saved us substantially iirc.

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[zinger1457]

If renting one way I would check with some of the airport locations first, sometimes they offer very good discounted one way rentals, I guess too many extra cars on the lot. Had family that did that last time they visited and the one way rental cost was cheaper than their local return rate.

 

[DaveNV]

Thanks for the tips. The main places we want to visit are in southeastern Utah and northeastern Arizona, mostly national parks and monuments. (Arches, Canyonlands, Monument Valley, Canyon De Chelle, maybe Antelope Canyon. That sort of thing.) I'm looking at flying into Salt Lake City and out of Phoenix, or the other way around. Checking rental cars, I'm finding the best pricing is pick-up and return to SLC. That would require changing the itinerary of the trip, and maybe cutting out the PHX end of things. Doing it one-way, with either SLC or PHX as the pick-up or drop-off point more than than doubles the car rental cost. Airfare is basically the same whether doing a multi-city trip from Seattle, or a roundtrip in/out of SLC.

Decisions, decisions...

Dave

 

[BellaWyn]

Dang DaveNW, that is a seriously ambitious trip y'all are putting together but you picked some of the most stunningly photographic areas in the Four Corners. Have you looked into flying into SLC and then doing a puddle jumper to Durango or Farmington for car rental?

What are the most desired areas for you to visit? How much time do you want to spend in each area? You could spend a week in just Canyonlands and Arches and never want to leave.

Getting to the SE corner of Utah is not that easy. Used to live in Monticello and playing in Canyonlands and Arches was a way of life. Late spring will be lovely. Even the NEAZ stuff will still be comfortable weather for you.

If it's more economical flying through a major hub, then hitting Phx first and going north is how I would do it. No matter which direction you are still doing a LOT of driving. But it's easier getting to NE AZ from Phoenix than it is to SE UT from SLC. Have made the SLC to Moab trip more times than I want to admit and, while admittedly biased, it's not my favorite area of Utah to visit. The LaSal Mtn area is "meh" compared to the stunning beauty of the Uintah Primative farther north.

Not sure how you are thinking of looping in Antelope Canyon (so worth the visit though). Easiest access is through Page. Traversing the Dine' Reservation area has gotten a lot more friendly in the last 15 years but the road infrastuctures are still a challenge. Tuba City and Chinle have grown up a lot but getting to Page from Chinle you will for sure have to backtrack, not loop.

Did't stick to your original question of car rental out of Phoenix. Nertz. . Got distracted with the trip itself. Have been and played in all the locations you mentioned. Before you decide on rentals check the tax rates for car rentals out of both airports (SLC / PHX). Both are high. My DD always rents in SLC from non-airport locations in downtown SL when she goes north. Renting off-site in Phx is always cheaper, but Tempe seems a little far. There rental sites closer in downtown Phx. Might be easier to rent from a location where your friends live if they are picking you up though.

 

[DaveNV]

Dang DaveNW, that is a seriously ambitious trip y'all are putting together but you picked some of the most stunningly photographic areas in the Four Corners. Have you looked into flying into SLC and then doing a puddle jumper to Durango or Farmington for car rental?

What are the most desired areas for you to visit? How much time do you want to spend in each area? You could spend a week in just Canyonlands and Arches and never want to leave.

Getting to the SE corner of Utah is not that easy. Used to live in Monticello and playing in Canyonlands and Arches was a way of life. Late spring will be lovely. Even the NEAZ stuff will still be comfortable weather for you.

If it's more economical flying through a major hub, then hitting Phx first and going north is how I would do it. No matter which direction you are still doing a LOT of driving. But it's easier getting to NE AZ from Phoenix than it is to SE UT from SLC. Have made the SLC to Moab trip more times than I want to admit and, while admittedly biased, it's not my favorite area of Utah to visit. The LaSal Mtn area is "meh" compared to the stunning beauty of the Uintah Primative farther north.

Not sure how you are thinking of looping in Antelope Canyon (so worth the visit though). Easiest access is through Page. Traversing the Dine' Reservation area has gotten a lot more friendly in the last 15 years but the road infrastuctures are still a challenge. Tuba City and Chinle have grown up a lot but getting to Page from Chinle you will for sure have to backtrack, not loop.

Did't stick to your original question of car rental out of Phoenix. Nertz. . Got distracted with the trip itself. Have been and played in all the locations you mentioned. Before you decide on rentals check the tax rates for car rentals out of both airports (SLC / PHX). Both are high. My DD always rents in SLC from non-airport locations in downtown SL when she goes north. Renting off-site in Phx is always cheaper, but Tempe seems a little far. There rental sites closer in downtown Phx. Might be easier to rent from a location where your friends live if they are picking you up though.

Thanks for the ideas. I've been to the SE Utah region a number of times, the last time by motorhome about 20 years ago. I know about the driving distances, but scenery out the window is part of the appeal. I'm married to a photography nut, so taking pictures along the way is how we do things. (I drive, spouse takes the pictures. Other than the gasps of "Stop! Stop the car!!" when something especially photogenic rolls by, it's generally fairly peaceful. )

We're committed to flying in/out of SLC or PHX. The idea of adding a puddle jump flight adds substantially to the flight cost. The itinerary isn't firm, hence the "that sort of thing" comment. The problem, as you point out, is that getting there isn't easy. But it is SO worth it, the effort needs to be made. I didn't mention it, but I'm looking at spending about two weeks doing this. So it's not too much driving at one time. I'm just interested in saving what I can on the rental car.

Dave

P. S. We did a trip seven years ago where we flew into Las Vegas, drove to St. George, Utah for a few days, saw Zion NP, then up to Kolob Canyon, then Bryce Canyon NP, then Kodachrome Basin, along the Hogsback over Scenic Highway 12 to the Escalante, then to Torrey, Utah, to see Capitol Reef NP, back over Hwy 12 and down through Kanab, Utah, to the North Rim of Grand Canyon NP, then back through Zion to St. George, and back to Las Vegas to fly home. We did all this in a week, and put about 1500 miles on the rental car. This was all done in early Fall, when the Aspens were changing, and the sky was filled with brilliant yellow-golden leaves. An incredible trip, by any measure, and the pictures are incredible! Here's one.

 

[LilyPond]

Have you tried checking out Priceline? You don't have to sign up to check pricing. I just did a random search of PHX to SLC one way, beginning Noon April 1 ending Noon April 15. Total cost was $995. I compared that with the round trip @ PHX and the cheapest was $646. Not sure how that compares with how you are searching but at least the one-way isn't double the round trip.
I think the one-way trip is a nice idea. I live in the Phoenix area and we started getting warm temps early last year seeing 80+ way too soon!
Have a wonderful trip!