LA to NYC

On our 2012 trip, we thought about driving from Moab to our home in San Diego. But at over 770 miles, that was just too long. We first thought about staying in St George UT -- beautiful red canyon rim country. But that was too short for the day and put us in a bad position for passing through Las Vegas. We thought about Las Vegas, but we only wanted to pass through there. Still, it's a nice stopover between LA (or San Diego) and Moab. We went on to Primm, NV, but in retrospect, I kind of wish we'd just stopped in Las Vegas.


Donna

Hey Dave - the flights to Vegas aren't an issue and we know they are similar in price...we def looked into it.
the issue is the car rental! turns out renting a car from LAX to NYC is the cheapest option (for 7 days, its $280 TOTAL)....and renting it from anywhere else (e.g. Vegas is $1157!), the price goes up SIGNIFICANTLY! So thats the real bummer. Otherwise, yes, we are basically wasting more than 1/2 a day of valuable time. :((

(BTW, we are renting a normal sedan - nothing huge or anything. And we are using Alamo).

Also, we want to stop in Page because of Antelope National Park...supposed to be great.

I would certainly double check the price of your rental car, and make sure you are not missing any hidden fees. That is such a low price for a rental like that, it almost seems too good to be true. The price you were quoted from Vegas seems much more like what I would expect. One way fees on a trip like this alone typically will run you at least $500.

Is Vegas a must stop? It looks like you might be better served driving directly from LA towards the Grand Canyon and looking for a place to spend the night on I-40.

Antelope Canyon is not a National Park. It is a Navajo Tribal Park, and you can only see it via a guided tour. Considering how much else you already have planned in such a short time, that could be tricky.

we made sure again today about the car rental, because we also felt it was too good to be true...but here are the details from my confirmation email from Alamo:
(its 28 dol/day):

Pickup
Sat, Nov 23, 2013 12:00 PM
Los Angeles Intl Arpt (LAX)
9020 Aviation Blvd
Inglewood CA 90301 US

Drop Off
Sun, Dec 01, 2013 12:00 PM
Jfk Intl Arpt Off Site (JFK)
149-05 131st Street
Jamaica NY 11430 US

Your Vehicle & Add-Ons

Premium
Car Summary
Premium
Nissan Maxima or similar
Additional options available
Cruise Control
Automatic Transmission
Air Conditioning


Your Rate


Rates & Charges
1 Week(s) @140.00 $ 140.00
1 Day(s) @28.00 $ 28.00
Airport Concession Fee 11.11 Pct (11.11%) $ 18.66
Customer Facility Charge $ 10.00
Tourism Fee 2.60 Pct (2.6%) $ 4.37
Sales Tax (9.5%) $ 17.73
UNLIMITED MILEAGE INCLUDED

Estimated Total: $ 218.76

secondly, thanks for the info about antelope being a tribal park. showed up differently on google maps. i will look into it more and see...

thanks bunches again.

It's quite unusual that there is no mention of the one way drop off fee, even if for some strange reason there wasn't one I would expect it to be listed and advertised as free as it would be an unusual benefit. I would also be wary that the total is 'Estimated'. Even though it clearly States you are dropping it off at a different location, I would still be inclined to ask the question, will there be a surcharge for a one way rental and if so how much.

I hope you really did get lucky with a good deal, as I went to the Alamo site and they came back with this estimate.


PremiumEdit

Nissan Maxima (or similar)
.
1 Week(s) @1000.42

$1000.42

1 Day(s) @200.08

$200.08

Airport Concession Fee 11.11 Pct (11.11%)
$133.38

Customer Facility Charge

$10.00

Tourism Fee 2.60 Pct (2.6%)

$31.21


Sales Tax (9.5%)

$126.72

Unlimited mileage

Included


Estimated Total
$1501.81.


Pick-up LocationEdit

Los Angeles Intl ArptInglewood, CA90301US

Return LocationEdit

Jfk Intl Arpt Off SiteJamaica, NY11430US

DatesEdit

Sat, Nov 23, 2013 12:00 PM
Sun, Dec 01, 2013 12:00 PM

With a local rental, dropping it back to the same location over the same period of time the estimate was just $235.84, if I had paid now.

Maybe they have ONE car that has to go back to NYC, and you caught it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by glc

Maybe they have ONE car that has to go back to NYC, and you caught it.

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Just called alamo and spoke with the reservations dept, as well as the LAX office and confirmed my rate. both of them said that there is nothing extra on top. asked them abt the surcharge, and they said this includes all surcharges! told em i dont wanna be surprised... will see what happens now. anyway, as for the trip, its looking like we will prob drive to vegas or atleast try to once we get to LAX around noon PST. if we are tired, we might do palm springs instead. we are now pretty set on hitting grand canyon on our 2nd night, and moab for the 3rd night. Antelope park is out. might try and squeeze in the painted forest (petrified national park?) though on a detour to moab if possible.

after that, its denver, but what next? I-80 or I-70? what do you all recommend? the former is a lil shorter, but the latter takes us through st louis which we havent seen, as opposed to chicago which we have. Also where would you rather eat turkey on thanksgiving - chicago or st louis? :)

You're on a very tight schedule so you might opt for St. Louis. I-70 takes you right through downtown St. Louis and to the Gateway Arch. Chicago is not right on I-80 and getting to downtown Chicago would require about a 30 mile detour in a heavy traffic area. Getting through St. Louis on I-70 would be easier. Turkey is Turkey - doubt if there would be a difference between Chicago and St. Louis.

Quote:

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fingers crossed, but boy will i be mad if alamo messed up! :)

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Be sure to keep an accurate log of all emails and phone calls - names, dates and times - to back up your case. Especially the names of those with whom you spoke.

Lifey