Palo Alto car rental information
| Pick-up location | Palo Alto |
|---|---|
| Car types | Compact, Compact SUV, Economy, Full-size, Intermediate, Intermediate SUV, Minivan, Standard, Standard SUV |
| Rental locations | 8 |
| Airport locations | 0 |
| Popular agencies | Turo, Hertz, Avis |
Cheap car rentals in Palo Alto
| Economy | $36/day |
| Compact | $34/day |
| Intermediate | $34/day |
| Standard | $44/day |
| Full-size | $37/day |
| Minivan | $49/day |
| Intermediate SUV | $32/day |
| Compact SUV | $38/day |
| Standard SUV | $46/day |
Top tips for renting a car in Palo Alto
- Picking a vehicle from Palo Alto car rentals allows you to visit and navigate several attraction sites conveniently, such as Mountain View's Computer History Museum, where Hewlett Packard began, which is 6.8 miles from Palo Alto city center, and The Museum of American Heritage which is 5 miles from Palo Alto, the Junior Museum and Zoo which is located near Rinconada Park and Embarcadero Road is 5 miles from the town center. The Hiller Aviation Museum is within an easy driving distance of around 14 minutes. The journey time between Hillsdale Shopping Center and Palo Alto by car is around 11 miles, around 38 minutes.
- You can enjoy family-friendly rental cars in Palo Alto that offer SUVs where you can have all the kids' gear, fuel-efficient sedans, and minivans with space for the furry friend. A convenient pick-up service is offered for your flexibility. Instead of taking inconvenient mass transit and pricey taxis around the city, your rental car from Palo Alto offers you comfort for your family. If you need enough space for your camping gear or a built-in DVD player for your kids, the rental company can arrange that and accommodate all your needs.
- While Palo Alto has incredible transport infrastructure, you may not miss traffic buildups during annual festivals such as the Palo Alto Festival of the Arts, which is held in July. It offers great food, beautiful paintings, and excellent concert music. Roads around the event may cause road closures causing traffic in the city. But with the help of the navigation system installed in your cheap car rentals in Palo Alto, you can find lesser congested roads and streets. To avoid jaywalkers be careful while driving.
- Consider renting a car during your stay in Palo Alto to experience the convenience and flexibility of exploring the city and getting a feel of the culture, rather than dealing with expensive taxis or fixed routes using the public transportation system. There are a few airports near Palo Alto, with the closest one being around 13 miles away from the town center, which is a short drive for anyone who rents a car from one of the car rentals in Palo Alto. You can also choose to visit some of the popular tourist destinations near Palo Alto, such as Baylands Nature Reserve, which borders the San Francisco Bay, or the Pearsin-Arastradero Preserve, located south of the city opposite Interstate 280.
- There are a few airports near Palo Alto, such as the San Jose (SJC) Airport, which conveniently has several Palo Alto car rentals on-site, such as Enterprise, Avis, Budget, and Hertz. The Rental Car Center is located across the street from Terminal B, and from Terminal A can be accessed via the bus shuttle which picks you up from baggage claim. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is approximately 18 miles away and has multiple car rental agencies on site as well, situated at the SFO Rental Car Center on the first and fourth floor. Off-airport agencies are served by free shuttle services, which stop at the south curb of the car rental center.
- Like most busy cities, there are a few people who opt to not follow traffic rules. Drivers are warned to be cautious of jaywalkers who hop on busy roads without warning, as well as pedestrians and cyclists who don’t use their respective lanes. There are also a few cases of distracted driving. Visitors who opt for car rentals in Palo Alto are advised to consider getting vehicles that have built in GPS monitors to navigate through unacquainted roads.
- The rush hour in Palo Alto city is not the worst, since it is a primarily residential area. In the morning when people are heading to work, rush hour starts at around 7am to 10am with people spending an average of around 45min on the road. It usually picks back up at around 3pm. Since the climate is mostly warm, there are usually no cases of weather-related accidents.
- 25% of our users found rental cars in Palo Alto for $36 or less
- Book your rental car in Palo Alto at least 1 day before your trip in order to get a below-average price
- Compact rental cars in Palo Alto are around 73% cheaper than other car types, on average
FAQs about renting a car in Palo Alto
Palo Alto car rental reviews and directory
Hertz
6.8
Okay
98 reviewsBest rated
Most popular
Cleanliness
7.6
Comfort
7.2
Pick-up/Drop-off
6.0
Value for money
6.6
4 locations in Palo Alto
from $36/day
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Reviews
2.0 Poor
Nov 2021
2.0 Poor
May 2021
Cons:
The rental cars office closes at 12pm. We booked a rental at 12pm, but no one told us we have to be there exactly on time or earlier. We got to the rental station a bit after 12. Everything was closed, we had to get a rental somewhere else for a ridiculous expensive last minute price. You should tell püeople that the rental car station in Los Altos closes at 12pm5.2 Fair
Oct 2020
Cons:
Staff at Hertz Palo Alto were quite unhelpful. Among other things, they failed to provide minimum docs needed for drop-off.6.8 Okay
Sep 2020
Pros:
The priceCons:
I spoke to Hertz at 8am and 1pm to confirm my reservation and let them know I would be picking the car up close to 5pm, and a guy called me at 3pm to tell me they do not have a car for me. I was irate. He was very easy going and basically said 'sorry, my hands are tied and there is nothing we can do.' I made this reservation a week in advance, and paid in advance to be sure I would have a car. This was unacceptable. I eventually was put in touch with the manager at this location and he found me a vehicle (mid size SUV, not full size) that I was able to pick-up at 5pm. Mani was helpful and he did find a vehicle, but this should not have happened. Mani said that he asked the 3rd party rep to shut-off reservations a week in advance because they were not going to have enough cars. They had 70 reservations and only 40 cars available. That's 30 people who had their days ruined due to the overbooking10.0 Wonderful
Jul 2020
Pros:
Daniel was awesome. I didn’t realize this location closed early. When he going out I was going to be late he waited for me. The entire team at this location is 5 stars. They also found a larger and better car for. Will definitely rent again. Thanks again for an exceptional service.5.6 Fair
Mar 2020
Cons:
When I arrived to pick up the car, the attendant wasn't there. I had to wait 30 minutes and reschedule a client because that wait. And it's not the fault of the Hertz employee either - he had to get a car washed because apparently he's in charge of nearly literally every job - he's the only person working in that branch.Budget
10.0
Wonderful
9 reviewsCleanliness
10.0
Comfort
10.0
Pick-up/Drop-off
10.0
Value for money
10.0
One location in Palo Alto
from $49/day
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
8.3
Very good
17 reviewsCleanliness
8.5
Comfort
8.5
Pick-up/Drop-off
7.7
Value for money
8.3
2 locations in Palo Alto
from $36/day
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Reviews
9.6 Wonderful
Aug 2020
Cons:
Not having to go to another store because the car they were suppose to have Waiting for me at their store Was not available10.0 Wonderful
Jul 2020
Pros:
Pick-up & drop-off were perfect! The site manager easily adjusted my pick-up time to match emerging changes in my travel plans.....and when one of our group developed a medical emergency which cancelled our trip outright, management re-did our One Way drop-off Weekly rate to become a 2 Day Local contract with no issues. The car was perfect and our travel would have been perfect as a result!5.2 Fair
Oct 2018
Cons:
I requested a more fuel-efficient sedan, but they only had an SUV left for me.6.0 Okay
Jan 2017
Pros:
From check-in, pick-up, and a personal drop off at our departure gate, the customer service was spectacular. I would definitely recommend this company.Cons:
The rental car was a Jeep SUV and it was a horribly uncomfortable gas guzzler. I would definitely not recommend this car.2.0 Poor
Dec 2016
Pros:
I don't have any problems with other enterprise but just this enterpriseCons:
this enterprise just treat customer so cruel because they cancelled the customer reservation without any contact until we came to their office the 2 days before pick up day and they said our reservation been cancelled, with the reason that they called us (only 1 time without leaving any messages ) but we don't pick up phone. How about my email? Why don't they send us an email to confirmed? If this is the way enterprise serve customer then .... nothing to discuss. Thank you.8.0 Very good
Sep 2022
Avis
No score available yet
One location in Palo Alto
from $38/day
Dollar
No score available yet
One location in Palo Alto
from $41/day
Thrifty
No score available yet
Cheapest deal
One location in Palo Alto
from $32/day
126 travelers who rented a car in Palo Alto gave the car agency they used an average rating of 7.1
Car rental locations in or near Palo Alto
When to book a rental car in Palo Alto
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Airports serving Palo Alto
Popular rental types in Palo Alto
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