I have rented often at Denver, and it absolutely depends on SO many things--it is when the Stock Sho

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I have been looking for a the last couple months at car rentals at the Denver airport--they are between $500-$600 for the week, arriving July 23rd. I remember I had trouble renting a car the last time we visited. There are over $200 in airport fees and taxes there.
One option vacation travel mart would be to get a cab to a hotel or intown location and pick up a car there. You can play around with the major rental agencies websites to see costs when picking up at various locations. It may be a pricey cab ride, but has to be less than the $200+ you would be saving.
Or even better, take the RTD bus to the Market Street Station downtown and use one of the rental agencies near the 16th St. Mall (I'm pretty sure there's an Enterprise down there, maybe an Avis too). It's only $10 cash one-way, the bus stop is right outside baggage claim and they have a convenient schedule. Look at www.rtd-denver.com and click on RTD System Info - skyRide.
Did you try Hotwire rather than Priceline? I like them better for car rentals. Though I agree, Denver is expensive and even on Hotwire I don't find what I'd normally consider vacation travel mart bargains. If you want to pick up downtown using the bus, Hotwire will let you return to the airport for no extra charge, in my experience.
I did use the Budget code listed above but have a car rented at the Quebec St. location for $301.80--no vacation travel mart extra charge for spouse to be added as an additional driver. I can return it to the airport. It is a $50 cab ride. I know there are shuttles to several hotels on Quebec St. but don't know if that is a possible option.
RTD has a skyRide bus line to Stapleton, which is close to Quebec - might be walkable, but would definitely be a much less expensive cabride. Both the AB and the AS lines go there. Check out the websit I recommended above for more details.
I just rented a car at the Denver Airport and drove to Colorado Springs. I went through breezenet.com and the rates were unbelievable. We paid a total of $141 for a week including taxes and fees. We only needed the car for 5 days but weekly rental worked out cheaper. We didn't take out extra insurance. We opted to go with a car through Dollar and we had booked a mid-size. When we got there, they upgraded us to a Kia Advantage SUV which is nice and roomy. I also waited until just a couple of days before we left as I find I get a better rate when I leave it until last minute. Hope this helps.
I too just rented on Quebec St (Avis) and am returning and DEN--it's easy for me, though, because I'm being picked up at the airport by a friend who I'm staying with, before my husband flies in and we start our vacation, and Quebec is only a mile from her house. vacation travel mart But it would have been worth cabbing there, because I'm paying only $239 for a 9 day rental. I just kept checking and checking Hotwire and finally they had a great rate through Avis, and since they show you the agency when you do one way rentals, I just went to Avis to book it directly, and Avis was even cheaper.
We rented a car at DEN in early June. Also saw high rates. We needed a specific size car so couldnt go through Priceline. Found a great deal on Denver.com website. Rented through Budget for nine days for only $249 total! What a great deal. We asked for a Ford Explorer for all of us and luggage space and ended up with a brand new Yukon, which was great! We were very happy! And lucky!
Budget sent me an email today and is offering a standard car at the airport for our 8 day visit for $319 including tax. It is a Hot Deal BCDU030154 They also are accepting my Entertainment Book coupon. I hope this helps some other traveller vacation travel mart who needs a car at the Denver vacation travel mart airport.
vacation travel mart I kept bidding on Priceline but my $30/day bid kept getting rejected--bid last night again. This rate comes to less than $30/day. Maybe I will try bidding less in a couple vacation travel mart days. We arrive in Denver on Friday morning.
Of course vacation travel mart for the train, you have to spend more money to get INTO Denver, I assume, so it really isn't $43. And of course there is the overnight hotel room to get out the next morning. I think this is not "economical", is it? ;o)
haha... funny this old thread is something I've been wondering about myself now anyway. It sure caught my eye. Thought about asking the exact same question, but we decided we need to stick with renting from the airport vacation travel mart to save time.
I have 2 reservations with Thrifty for 17(!) days. A full size car for $395 and a minivan for $585. Both good deals and we'll probably stick with the minivan for the space, but that $395/full-size is sooo tempting. Glad I was persistent vacation travel mart in looking. Now rates are over $3,000!
I have rented often at Denver, and it absolutely depends on SO many things--it is when the Stock Show is in town, ski season,etc. If you start early enough, there are usually good enough rates from the airport, even with their surcharges. But if people are willing to put up with going miles away, then that is always a possibility also.
I know this is an old thread but I'm going throw this out there anyway. I always try to point out that going downtown is usually much cheaper than renting at the airport. For a few days, not a big deal but the longer your rental, the more it's worth it to go downtown.
I'm going in August - renting vacation travel mart from Budget for 9 days. At their downtown location, my total is 396.52 for an economy car. The current price at the airport for the same car, same timeframe is 807.01. A week ago it was just under 700 I believe. That's a huge savings and all I need to do is ride the Skyride bus for $11, takes about 45 minutes vacation travel mart to the downtown bus center and then it's a 4.5 block walk to Budget on Broadway.
I know alot of people say it's too much work to carry all your bags and it's just too much hassle. I would agree for a short trip, but I've never understood how taking an extra 45 minutes to get a car and carrying your bags 4.5 blocks is too much work to save hundred of dollars. To each their own I guess.
I'd agree with that math, but would ask, where do you return? If you are going to the mountains,the Quebec Ave. locations or one in Lakewood would be better. BUT returning it is the proof of the pudding to me.
I always return my rental to the airport. Its booked as a one-way, no dropoff fee. I have only used the downtown location as the pickup location because it was the closest to a Skyride dropoff point that I could find. Not sure how far the other agencies are from a skyride stop.
Hmmm, maybe if you're stuck renting last minute or something and don't have time to watch prices fluctuate, that is an option. But for your exact same price ($395) for your 9 day/economy, I have a full-size car rented for 17 days from the airport. ($107 a week. I saw economy car for $70 at one point!)
vacation travel mart And of course each situation is different, but personally I think hauling kids and luggage an hour out of the way (plus the Skyride busfare you mention for everyone) isn't always worth it. Again, just depends vacation travel mart on the traveler(s) and the situation!
I just got my $395 full size rental for 17 days down to $350! Devner prices have been outrageous vacation travel mart the past month or so, but Tuesday night the price of the full size cars dropped for a few hours! And Alamo has a generous discount just for being a member. ($25 off this rental!)
When I book offsite, I save a huge amount. vacation travel mart When I call to ask if I can return to the airport, they charge huge fees. Does this mean I have to shuttle both ways to avoid the fees, or simply vacation travel mart return to the airport and hope they don't charge? Has anyone had experience avoiding fees when returning cars to the airport?
This is again an OLD OLD thread, so be sure someone has done it recently. As I said 3 years ago, people report returning at the airport with no penalty. And how will you "shuttle" if it isn't downtown.
I almost did that last summer, had a car booked vacation travel mart as a one-way rental from downtown location, returning to the airport with no drop-off. But I rebooked shortly before my trip when I found a good deal at the airport location.