Rental Car at Tampa Union Station

I am heading to Tampa next week on the Silver Star and was wondering if anyone knows whether there is a rental car counter at the Union Station or if I will need to go to the airport to pick up a rental car.

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Don't know about at Union Station but last time we rented in Tampa, we found the Enterprise that was a few miles from the airport to be much cheaper than the Enterprise at the airport.

We took an Uber back and forth from Enterprise to the airport.

Thanks. Maybe I’ll check with Enterprise. Maybe they’ll pick me up at the station.

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Let Google be your friend: https://www.google.com/search?q=tampa+fl+car+rental&npsic=0&rflfq=1&rlha=0&rllag=27969404,-82529233,1276&tbm=lcl&ved=0ahUKEwili4Sm16DXAhVq9YMKHbHkDzEQtgMIKA&tbs=lrf:!2m1!1e2!2m1!1e3!3sIAE,lf:1,lf_ui:2&rldoc=1#rlfi=hd:;si:;mv:!1m3!1d12372.422116646203!2d-82.44570520563661!3d27.948331187665662!3m2!1i1311!2i674!4f13.1

People don’t come here to be told to use google. They come here to get other people’s experiences.

When we rented in Tampa, we used a Hertz located at the Marriott a few blocks away. They sent a van over to pick us up after the train arrived. On the return trip, a friend was able to come with us to the station and gave me a ride from the hotel back to the station.

Ryan said:

People don’t come here to be told to use google. They come here to get other people’s experiences.

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Correct.

Google won't tell you the rental cars at LAX (Amtrak) are nowhere near the Hertz rental counter; it just shows you Hertz at LAX. Luckily, a friend told me I'd have to walk across the courtyard to an unmarked door, go down two flights of steps, and then take the first right down a hallway to the garage. None of these things were marked with arrows or signs, so I had to go all Silent-Hill-hospital-scene and memorize the lefts and rights.

Likewise, if you return your car to the Hilton LAX (airport) location, Google won't tell you to drive to the second floor of the parking garage, grab a ticket, park on the sixth floor, take the elevators up to the lobby, and then walk around the first corner to get to the Hertz desk.

So, yes. While Google is your friend when it comes to simple things like, "Are there rental cars near the Tampa station," it is not your friend when you need to know the "pain in the rear" factor when it comes to obtaining and returning said car.

Sure, you could dig deeper and look at Yelp and TripAdvisor reviews for every rental car facility near the station and hope people gave a description of the process (tip: they often don't), but it's so much easier to come here and ask people directly.

Also, if I use the slightly more specific "tampa fl amtrak station rental car" search, my third result is...



And the first result is another train forum. Note that both are a few years old, but they do lead to the forums. It's almost as though people asking questions on forums leads to answers to that question not only for them, but for other people who may Google it later! And if they need more detail or want more updated information, they can either add to that thread or start one of their own.

This forum is made in large part to offer discussion on Amtrak travel and related things. Simply posting a link to a Google site doesn't help much with that, but people sharing experiences about actually doing things at those stations not only helps that person, but adds to the knowledgebase of all through Google, including those who may not feel comfortable directly asking or those who don't know about this resource currently.

I post 5 words plus a link which is followed immediately by 3 posts (2 rather lengthy) chiding me for doing so. And the map called up by clicking on the link clearly shows the locations of the nearest car rental places including phone numbers and addresses. Oh horrors, what have I done!!!

My ignore list continues to grow.

I was not chiding you. I was offering an example of why people might prefer to ask a forum rather than simply Google something.

niemi24s said:

I post 5 words plus a link which is followed immediately by 3 posts (2 rather lengthy) chiding me for doing so. And the map called up by clicking on the link clearly shows the locations of the nearest car rental places including phone numbers and addresses. Oh horrors, what have I done!!!

My ignore list continues to grow.

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If your ignore list keeps growing, maybe its time to think to yourself that maybe ITS YOU thats the problem.

niemi24s said:

I post 5 words plus a link which is followed immediately by 3 posts (2 rather lengthy) chiding me for doing so. And the map called up by clicking on the link clearly shows the locations of the nearest car rental places including phone numbers and addresses. Oh horrors, what have I done!!!

My ignore list continues to grow.

Click to expand...

Does the map tell you how hard it is to get from one place to the other? Is there public transit? Will the place tell you to take a cab and then reimburse you? Will they come and pick you up? Do they routinely have a shuttle at the station at the time the train arrives?

No. Personal experience is important, which is why people to come here and ask questions.

The same can be said about your constant “just look at google” when people ask about scenery. Not everyone has hours on end to methodically calculate distances to an absurd tolerance of look at satellite pictures for an either route. They want to hear the experience of people that have ridden the route before.

In either case, if you don’t have direct personal experience to share, your input adds nothing to the signal and just increases the noise floor. As does your incessant whining when people point that out.

Perhaps one day you’ll realize that when your ignore list grows to the point where you’re just shouting into a black hole. Or not. But you will continue to raise the noise floor when you start providing duplicative answers invisible to you since your delicate ego can’t stand to see posts from people you disagree with.

Thanks all for the assistance. I was able to find out from another forum ( located through google) that there is a phone in the Tampa Station that connects to Hertz and Enterprise and that they will come pick you up. I have not been able to determine which office is actually making the pick up so I’m not sure where to make the reservation.

I think I’ll just call hertz and find out.

I really do appreciate the responsiveness and assistance from all.

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Here is the update from Hertz. You make the reservation for the Marriott Waterside location. Then you call 813 226 4205 and they will send their driver to pick you up.

Hopefully that info will help others ( he did confirm the direct line but also said to call the above number).

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Good stuff. Sounds like it’s reasonably unchanged from a few years ago. Now that you mention it, I think we did call them when we arrived.

There are no phones in Tampa Union Station but signs for Enterprise and Hertz with numbers to call for pick up. We used Hertz and they are based at Marriott Waterside.

Hertz personnel were great and, since our train was delayed, they held our bags while we did lunch etc in Tampa and then brought us to the Station. Kudos!

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