 Poster: A snowHead
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I am looking at planning a trip to the states in Feb., is it best to hire a car or get an airport transfer?
If I do get a car what are the main problems that I should be aware of when driving to resorts in the States?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Where are you going?
Drive on the other side of the road! 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Jut wanted some general advice as looking at 3 or 4 places, as I know it is a lot of hassle in France and there are lots of hidden extras, wanted to see what the score was in the US.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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jtobin03, It really does depend on where you are thinking of going and how you think your holiday will be. In lots of areas you will need a car to get around, but it really does depend on what you mean to do.
As for car rental, there shouldn't really be hidden extras - what problems have you had before?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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There are pros and cons to both - shuttle & car.
If you are going to the Salt Lake City/Utah area - many of the resorts are fairly close to the airport, so shuttle may be worth it - especially Park City area, since it is very close and they have decent tranportation within the ski reposrt are.
However in Colorado, most of the ski areas are about 2-3 hours drive from the Denver airport and shuttles are expensive, sometimes having the car is easier. Breckenridge area, I would say no car. However my experience with Aspen and the surrounds, I would say have a car. Vail, once again, depending on where you decide to stay - within the village or on the outskirts or Avon area. Me personally - renting a vehicle is best choice in Colorado, since shuttles are $$. However you need to make sure you have parking where you are staying.
Knowing which resorts are of interest is helpful.
As for hiddens - none really. They just really push the insurance stuff...however most of that can be covered with your credit card. Extras would be - ski racks, returning car with no gas ($$$), No special emergency kits/vests are necessary (like in Austria or Germany). I find renting a car here in the US twice as easy than in Europe.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| jtobin03 wrote: |
If I do get a car what are the main problems that I should be aware of when driving to resorts in the States? |
You will need to be back at the airport about an hour earlier than with a shuttle. Plan for traffic snarlups, especially when returning to Denver on I-70.
Hire cars generally do not have snow tires.
Hire cars generally do not allow you to put chains on tires.
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No such thing as generic advice - some places you may be fine with a transfer shuttle and local ski buses, others every long trudge in the cold to the nearest convenience store for basic provisions will eat into your soul. Budget for taxis and dial in food if you don't have a car or aren't in an Intrawest type resort.
Book an all in with a consolidator like Holiday autos etc and just decline evrything they try to upsell you at the desk.
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dont pay for the pre-fill on juice, tell them you'll fill it up before you drop it back (though that aint really US specific i guess). The drop off on the way home can take a while as there never seems to be enough agents scanning the beep-beeps back in - not talking hours here but you could be waiting around 10 or 15 mins so factor it in - also the transfer to terminal - on site rentals or off-site rentals - again, nothing really US-specific about that
don't park against the traffic
turn right on a red light (not in all States)
I always hire a car in US, though fair dues 90% of trips are with work so different story really
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| jtobin03 wrote: |
| I am looking at planning a trip to the states in Feb., is it best to hire a car or get an airport transfer? |
You need to be more specific than "the states".
What's "best" for resort A can be the worst for resort B...
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I've hired cars in the US quite a lot. I've had one bad experience.
We hired a mustang for our honeymoon tour of California through an agent so we had a voucher for the budget rental place in LAX. The website said we would be able to add drivers locally for an additional charge - happy days. Although the additional driver was under 25 (website did say that this was possible - I did my research)
Anyhoo. We spent an hour arguing with the person in the rental place when she said we were not able to add a driver. We had a 2000 mile plus itinerary to drive, not having additional drivers on the policy was not an option. So we found another company and returned the car the next day. The person we tried to return the car to said that we were allowed to add a driver so we ended up with 2 cars!!
If you're over 25 then this won't be an issue.
Have also hired an SUV from Denver and drove up to Winter Park. The airport shuttle was really expensive and it was cheaper to hire the car! Very easy to do, roads were clear but I do believe we weren't allowed to have snow chains on the tyres. We picked a really new vehicle which had winter tyres on it with good tread etc.
Sat Nav was a must for us though.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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It`s a LOT LOT LOT cheaper to book your hire car from the UK with the likes of holiday autos before you go. You have been warned.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| bargainbill wrote: |
| It`s a LOT LOT LOT cheaper to book your hire car from the UK with the likes of holiday autos before you go. You have been warned. |
In this age of internet, I wonder why anyone would "guess" at the cost of anything!!!
Go on to the website of the car hire companies and get a quote. Compare it with whatever the agency quotes and see how much you're saving.
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| redhead0209 wrote: |
As for hiddens - none really. They just really push the insurance stuff...however most of that can be covered with your credit card. |
There are no credit cards in the UK that include car hire insurance.
Thus, if you buy direct from the US hire companies, you have to be aware that insurance (for the car - you should have your own travel insurance anyhow) is extra, and that can be more than the (base) hire price. But if you stick to booking via a UK-aware intermediary, then you will generally get an all-in price - but even then you may be liable for an excess on any damage, as iwith some companies it is sometimes impossible to get this down to zero.
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You know it makes sense.
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I remember when picking up the hire car in Denver they were desperate to upgrade us to a bigger car and some insurance called "collision damage waiver" but wouldn't explain what it was - I think it's something the septics have as standard but don't really know. It was all we needed on top of the jet-lag. And on top of THAT, every time you turn around there's someone else with his hand out for a tip - even the driver of the courtesy bus to the car!
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Gordyjh wrote: |
| I remember when picking up the hire car in Denver they were desperate to upgrade us to a bigger car and some insurance called "collision damage waiver" but wouldn't explain what it was - I think it's something the septics have as standard but don't really know. It was all we needed on top of the jet-lag. And on top of THAT, every time you turn around there's someone else with his hand out for a tip - even the driver of the courtesy bus to the car! |
Collision demage waiver is what it is. You have a collision and the car is demaged? You get another car from the hire company and move on. Any cost related to the demage is "waived". Hence the name.
For drivers from North America, most owned cars at home. And their own insurance policy always include rental cars. So the waiver is not neccessary. Other NA renters having credit card that has rental car demage insurance also can skip that "waiver" policy.
But for drivers from UK, without the kind of coverage taken for granted for NA drivers, the extra cost for the "waiver policy" is pretty much neccessary.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Good advice about insurance for non-US drivers.
Good advice about not needing a car for Park City, Utah. It is the only place in the US West that I have skied that I did not rent a car. There are a handful of other major US ski areas that are close enough to an airport that using a shuttle bus makes economic and logistical sense, such as Jackson Hole, WY, Steamboat & Aspen & Vail, CO, Big Sky, MT. BUT, other than Park City many of these are served by smaller airports subject to more expensive air fares.
How many travelers in your party? Unfortunately, we yanks still overly rely on our ruggedly individualistic automobiles for most travel. If more than two then renting a car will often be less expensive than riding a shuttle, an example of this is Breckenridge. Plus, renting a car for trips that are 1 week or longer in duration greatly aids visits to multiple ski areas within a reasonable day's drive of each other.
I use www.travelocity.com to shop for car rentals and make price comparisons, but then I often go direct to specific car hire company to close deal if I find same price or better. Our roads are well maintained and most of the time (there are exceptions) in the US you can get away with a small sedan type car and not hire a large expensive SUV unless you need the extra cargo space.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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The insurance mess can be avoided by booking car hire though some of the UK sites - e.g. expedia.co.uk quotes an all inclusive price for US rentals.
I agree that 'generic' advice is not particularly helpful, but driving in the US is very hassle free - if the price and convienience differences are insignificant, I will always rent for the additional flexibility it offers.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Thanks for the help.
now need to make my mind up on the resort.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| abc wrote: |
Collision demage waiver is what it is. You have a collision and the car is demaged? You get another car from the hire company and move on. Any cost related to the demage is "waived". |
The more important point is that if you don't have "collision damage waiver", then you are responsible for any costs resulting from the collision: this can include getting the car repaired and reimbursing the hire company for the loss of profit from use of the car - these can easily run to £10,000, so CDW is (IMO) vital if you don't have other insurances (which is the case for (almost?) all UK drivers).
Some insurance companies have caught on to this, and now offer annual "rental car insurance", whereby you pay a premium, and then insure you for any rental car hire, e.g. http://www.insurance4carhire.com/Products.asp?subRefID=0&pageID=37&langID=1&refID=100&curID=1
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Made my mind up on resort going to winter park, with car hire included had to pay about £150 extra for car insurance so will need to check that has the CDW
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| barry wrote: |
| dont pay for the pre-fill on juice, tell them you'll fill it up before you drop it back (though that aint really US specific i guess). |
Yes, do pre-pay it. The rule is... US return empty (as long as you've taken that option) and Europe return full or you'll end up paying more than you need to.
And don't do what I did recently... pre-paid car hire via a UK supplier. Arrived late and had sampled too much in-flight entertainment so decided to grab a taxi to airport hotel and return early in the morning to get the hire car. Returned in the morning and they had no record of my booking! Finally worked out that if you don't turn up on the day you say you're going to, the system cancels the booking. It got messy, lots of phone calls, swiping of credit card, almost envoked The Patriot Act. Got car eventually. Stressy.
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Bode Swiller, pre pay is more expensive than taking it back full (full-ish  ), at least with the rental company my work uses - in fact it's in our corporate travel policy not to use pre-pay where at all possible
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| Bode Swiller wrote: |
| barry wrote: |
| dont pay for the pre-fill on juice, tell them you'll fill it up before you drop it back (though that aint really US specific i guess). |
Yes, do pre-pay it. The rule is... US return empty (as long as you've taken that option) and Europe return full or you'll end up paying more than you need to.
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barry said don't! And I second.
Both US and Europe, return full.
It's really hard to return actually empty. So even though the pre-paied juice may APPEAR to be cheaper, unless you know EXACTLY how much juice you need to get back to the airport, you end up returning with some left over, which cancels out whatever price advantage you thought you got.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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abc, So, it's -10C, you're trying to make your flight and filling up is just another thing you need to think about. I never have a prob returning "approximately empty" and the gas price just doesn't compare to the hit you take in Europe.
Europe, return full. USA, do what you like but I manage to return empty-ish no problem.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Holiday autos on recent car rentals I've had seem to have agreed some T&C on the prepaid tariff that mean you have to take prepaid fuel with the desk. Its not a big deal just make sure you know what you've got and if you can get the yellow light on before you get back to the airport you're probably ok.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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fatbob, guess we're just better educated and have IQs of 3 digits or more.
abc, OK, unlike me, you drive to the airport in your ski gear. When you've just spent two weeks with your hand permanently in your pocket looking for tips for your underpaid workforce who hover round like beggars, any quantity of gas looks cheap. Trust me, I'll never turn into an American.
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Bode Swiller, if you mean by better educated that you've been buggered in some dark old house in Berkshire by guys called Piggy, then probably.
over and out
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You know it makes sense.
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barry, errrr, not my cup of tea but I'm sure you'll find a few websites that'll satisfy your needs.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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| Bode Swiller wrote: |
abc, OK, unlike me, you drive to the airport in your ski gear.
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Yes, I do drive to the airport in my ski gear. How else can I manage to NOT complain about airline luggage limits? By WEARING what you put in the luggage!
| Bode Swiller wrote: |
| Trust me, I'll never turn into an American. |
You're not alone. Even long time immigrants (not just brit's) insist they haven't turned into an american. They just behave like one. (but keep their accent and distain towards "american")
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FAQ
(most of us have clothing to handle worse weather than that on the mountain!)
