Rent a Car or Take a Cab

[haloman]

Hi everyone

I am going to some places later on this year (such as California and maybe Chicago). I'll probably stay for about three or four days for each break, and I was wondering if any of you preferred to take a cab along your trips or rented a car. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[old_school_soul]

i hate renting cars. as long as the city has a good transit/cab system, i'd rather do that.

[haloman]

Actually, I called the hotel in Palo Alto and they have a free shuttle system which takes guests to Stanford University, the shopping center, and anywhere within 5 minutes drive of the area. Of course, the shuttle can't take guests to the airport which is 11 miles away.

BTW, why don't you like renting cars? I have never rented a car before, so I was curious as to know why.

[yankeeyosh]

Chicago, I would definitely take the El if you're going downtown. The cab from O'Hare will be $40, and the El is only $2, and it will take the same amount of time. I have no idea about California.

[GreenFolder]

I think it totally depends on where you are going and what you want to do!

I'm always a proponent of providing my own transportation when I'm outside of say, Boston, DC, LA or NYC...really any MAJOR city. Those have good transportation and you can always supplement that with a cab ride here and there.

My bro actually lives in Palo Alto..I also have some friends from college around there and from what I can tell...you can use the public transportation around there if you want...but its more of a pain in the butt than its worth, especially if you're going to be around the University area during the summer (my brother lives about 3 blocks from the main gates to the Uni, and 2 blocks from some major mall there)

What I like about renting cars? The chance to drive something a little different. It does get EXPENSIVE if you're under 25 and need the supplemental insurance (like this guy!). Do you have access to a corporate account or something like that? That's what I did to save on that.

You can also get anywhere you need to get and go where you want to go if you've got your own wheels.

[spokes]

while renting a car will give you some freedom during your visit, i usually hate driving somewhere new for the first time as I would rather sightsee.

the downside about not driving is that I feel that I really don't get much of a lay of the land so to speak.......

[SmilesSoSweet]

If you're planning on visiting So. Cali, then I'd reccommend that you rent a car. Public transportation isn't the friendliest there. In the Bay Area, you have the BART trains and those are pretty good to get into the city.

I hear Chicago has a great transportation system as well.

[RealDeal]

I agree that in CA it's easier to rent a car since everything is spread out and everyone drives. However, if you're in a city like SanFran, you won't need a car.

Chicago is easy to get around without a car and I actually think renting one would be more of a hassle. As others have said you can take the El or a cab or walk :)

Have fun!