California car rentals

The choice about whether or not to rent a car in California comes down to how you plan on traveling while you are in the state. If you plan on staying in a large city, you can usually rely on public transportation or other transportation options, such as taxis and rideshare cars. While you can find public transportation options or flight options to take you longer distances in the state, in general, having a car is a much more convenient way to travel long distances in the very large state of California. Even if you plan on staying in a major city, if you will be making long trips from one side of the city to the other, a car is going to be a very convenient way to do that.

Driving in the larger cities in California, such as Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco, can be a bit of a challenge for those that are not accustomed to driving here. You will often find very heavy traffic during many times of the day in and around the center of all the cities. For those that are not accustomed to trying to merge on and off congested freeways, this type of driving can be somewhat nerve-wracking. There are several toll roads that you will find throughout the state of California, especially as you get into major cities, so take that into account as you plan your route.

For the most part, most rental car companies will let anybody that is twenty one years or older rent a car. A couple of exceptions to this age limit is if you plan on renting a luxury car or a premium SUV. In this case, the rental car company may expect you to be twenty five years old to rent a car. This age limit may also be imposed if you plan on using a debit card for your rental rather than a credit card.

On average a rental car in California costs $47 per day.

Compact (Kia Soul or similar) is the most frequently booked rental car type in California.

In the past 72 hours, the cheapest rental cars were found at Hertz ($26/day), Budget ($26/day) and Avis ($34/day).

Based on ratings and reviews from real users on KAYAK, the best car rental companies in California are Alamo (8.3, 270 reviews), Enterprise Rent-A-Car (8.2, 353 reviews), and Hertz (7.0, 537 reviews).

Take a look at our extensive car rental location map to find the best rental cars near you.

Based on car searches on KAYAK, the most popular cities to rent a car in California are Sacramento (39% of total searches of users looking to rent a car in California), Oakland (32%) and Burbank (19%).

On average a rental car in California costs $409 per week ($58 per day).

On average a rental car in California costs $1,753 per month ($58 per day).