Trenton, NJ - TTN Car Rental 4/29-5/1

[profoster]

Wondering if anybody has tips for renting a car in this area? I am flying in here and the prices seem higher then other areas. Priceline does not offer bidding. Is there a reason for this? I see offsite rental locations have some lower prices but I'm not sure how far they are away and if it's worth the trouble to/from the airport. Anything you have would be appreciated. The best price I've seen so far is $120.04 at Enterprise for the smallest car available.

[thereuare]

This is a very small airport so there is little car rental competition, and the rental companies that are here don't keep very large fleets onhand.

 

I'm a bit familiar with this area (and have actually flown in/out of this airport once)... are you heading to one location upon your arrival and only need the car to get there and back to the airport OR do you need a vehicle for multiple trips over the weekend.  Upon arrival where are you heading to? (ie- by chance Philly or NYC?)

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

[profoster]

I am headed over to the Meadowlands track for the World Harness Handicapping Championships Friday and Saturday night. Just need a car to get me back and forth from the airport and my hotel and the track.

[thereuare]

Do you already have a hotel?  If so, where?

 

I'm guessing a car rental may be your best option, but i'm also very familiar with the area around the Meadowlands, so i'll have a look at any mass transit options.

 

I assume traveling solo?

[profoster]

Yes I'm going to be traveling solo. I do not have a hotel yet. I just used miles for my flight had some left over on Frontier and needed to use them up. Hotel was going to be the third part. If you can provide some suggestions there as well. I'm open to some help with that bidding process as well. We can do it on another forum if you want to start something.

[thereuare]

There are a 3-4 hotels that are walkable to the track (assuming the weather is nice... it's not the nicest walk, but it's do-able).  Assuming this would be an option, you're still looking at:

1) getting from TTN to nearest train station (i don't know cost of this, but it's likely in the $30-$40 each way)

2) RT via train to a place 'near' the Meadowland ($17 each way)

3) assuming no shuttle to hotel from train station (not too many in this area offer them) that's another $10 each way

 

I think with the above 'incidental' costs, plus the added inconvenience of it not being a direct trip (it is a big hassle since there is no one direct route from the airport to your hotel and it's a compilation of taxi, train, shuttle, etc.

 

There is a Hertz location near the airport and i see they have a pre-pay rate of just $15/day ($64 all-in for a 2 day rental... $95 all-in if you actually run into it being a 3 day rental (due to pick-up/drop-off times).  This Hertz will pick you up at the airport BUT they close at 4:30pm on Friday afternoons, so you would need to arrive a bit before then (call them to confirm last pick-up time).  They also close at 1pm on Sundays but they do after hours drop-off available, but i guess you would then need to take a taxi to the airport (or see if one of the nearby hotels will take you if you explain the situation to them and offered the driver a nice tip)

 

The only way i would suggest mass transit and not taking a car is if you plan on staying in Manhattan (so that you can explore the city at nite and when you're not at the racetrack)... as then a more direct route into Manhattan may be possible and you would also want to avoid high parking fees.

 

How i would probably play it:

1) if 2 day rental and arriving within Hertz pick-up time window i would go with them ($64 vs. $120)

2) if 2 day rental and departing after Hertz closing i would go with them (it would be worth the $55 savings and i'd figure out how to get from Hertz to the airport for my departing flight... well under $55)

3) if 3 day rental and departing after Hertz closing i would go with the airport $120 rate as it's not worth the $25 savings (less if taking taxi to the airport) of dealing with after-hours drop-off and then waiting for taxi to get back to the airport

 

That's my 2 cents, which is hopefully worth more than that.

 

Let us know what you decide or if we can be of further help... and for hotel assistance please start a NEW TOPIC.

[profoster]

This is great information. I'll start another topic this afternoon to explore my hotel options. Thank you so much for taking the time to put this together. The information is definitely worth more then 2 cents!