Car rental options at Union Station in Washington, DC

[radsmom]

I need to rent a car in Washington DC. I want to pick it up when I arrive on Amtrak and return it there when I leave for the next leg of my trip. I have found a decent rate using Alamo and according to their website it's at Union Station. Is there really a car rental area there on site or do you have to go to a remote lot nearby? If I can't actually get it at the station then I can consider other rental options that might be cheaper, but for the onsite convenience I would rather use Alamo.

Can anyone tell me about renting a car at the Union Station in D.C.?

Thanks!

 

[greatcats]

I rented a Hertz car in 2009 from Union Station. The cars are in the adjacent parking garage. When leaving take careful note of the streets from and to the garage, as it was a pain to find on the return

 

[fizzy1]

We rented from Alamo last summer . No prob

 

[StriderGDM]

The car rental places are directly in the parking lot behind Union Station.

Should be fairly easy to pick up your keys and go.

Now navigating in DC, that's a separate issue

 

[Bob Dylan]

Excellent point about learning the streets and traffic patterns in DC! Traffic is a nightmare most times and navigating can be tricky!

With all the construction and changes going on in the District plus the ever increasing Security measures ( Union Station is right by the Capitol, Congress and the Supreme Court),the GPS and Maps probably won't have up to date info!! ( not to mention that parking can be impossible!!)

If you don't have to drive, the public transit is pretty good! ( Metro, Bus, MARC, VRE, Amtrak, Cabs,Limos, Shuttles etc etc)

 

[Ryan]

Maybe I'm biased, having grown up here and having given in the city for nearly 20 years now, but that's a little overblown.

If you're going somewhere that is public transit accessible, by all means go for it. But there's quite a lot that requires a car, and the ease of getting off the train and into a car can't be beat (we just did this in ORL, and it was awesome).

Google Maps and Waze are both great and both kept up to date - if you have an adult passenger, their help navigating will make it easier, but even solo, one can find their way out of the city relatively easily.

 

[benjibear]

All cities and urban areas could be tricky driving.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I think you nailed it Ryan when you said you may be biased! I spent 25 years in the DC area and live in Texas where the traffic congestion and parking in the latlrge cities are world class bad, and every time I visit DC I' m amazed @ how bad both are and continues to increase!

It may be OK if you're grabbing a car and getting out a dodge, but as far as driving and navigating around the District goes, I still say take the Metro or the bus!!

As far as Orlando goes, I find I-4 and the local traffic just as bad, and am glad they are building rail ( just like the DFW Metroplex)in this Mega parking lot! YMMV

 

[radsmom]

Thanks so much for the information. We need a car because we are traveling out of DC and then returning before the next leg of our trip using the train to go up to Philadelphia. As far as driving - I was born and raised in Los Angeles so I am not too leery of urban traffic, and I have driven in DC before (and it's quite the quagmire) but we won't be using the rental car while we are staying in DC metro area - just to explore outside the city.

Thanks again!