Cheap Car Rental in Long Beach

Car Rental in Long Beach, CA

Located just over 20 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, Long Beach is a great location from which to rent a car to explore the larger Los Angeles area. Long Beach is often overshadowed by its sister city, Los Angeles, but is a great location to get to know the sea life of the area, whether in Long Beach’s world renowned aquarium or along the spectacular cliff and beach walks of the Pacific Ocean. Although Long Beach is a fairly large city, a rental car is still the best way to navigate the city and its surroundings comfortably and independently. Here is a brief guide to finding the cheapest rental cars in Long Beach, California.

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Long Beach rental cars are available in 8 locations throughout the city, including the Long Beach Airport, downtown, and in Long Beach East. Long Beach car hire often starts as low as $40 a day for short-term rentals! This rate drops to below $30 a day when you extend your rental period to 10 days or more.

Tips for Finding Cheap Rental Cars in Long Beach

While you can often find the best deals on rental cars in Long Beach at the Long Beach Airport (LGB), it’s often worth your time to check the rates for rental cars in downtown Long Beach as well. Depending on the season and the availability of economy rental cars, rental car companies in downtown Long Beach can beat the prices of rental cars at the airport by $6 or more a day.

Most days of the year, however, Long Beach Airport offers the best rental car rates in the area. Long Beach Airport is conveniently located just 7 miles north of downtown Long Beach and is the location of more than 3 rental car companies, including Alamo, Avis, and Hertz.

Long Beach is a popular place to visit in July and August, which means that the rates for rental cars typically rise by around $15 a day. If you can avoid visiting Long Beach in these busy summer months, you can likely save money on rental cars, accommodation, and the rates for the region’s tourist attractions, as well.

Tips for Driving Your Long Beach Rental Car

Even though Long Beach is located within the densely populated area of the wider municipal region of Los Angeles, a rental car is still the best way to navigate the vast majority of the city. Still, you can avoid the parking fees of downtown Long Beach by taking advantage of The Passport, a free bus that connects most of downtown Long Beach’s most popular attractions to the Waterfront.

Here are some tips for driving and parking in Long Beach and the surrounding area:

Parking your rental car in Long Beach:

• The price and time period for on-street parking depends on where you park in downtown Long Beach, but regardless of where you park, on-street parking is limited to 2 hours at a time on all the metered streets of the city. The most expensive area to park on the street throughout Long Beach is at The Pike, where parking costs $2 an hour and is regulated from 9 am to 9 pm, seven days a week, 365 days a year. You can park outside of the core of downtown for just $1.00 an hour and on Belmont Shore for 75 cents an hour, however. Outside of the core of downtown, parking is free after 6 pm Monday through Saturday and on Sundays.
• If you’re planning on leaving your rental car for more than 2 hours in downtown Long Beach, take advantage of the city’s frequent parking lots and garages. Daily rates range between $5 and $25 a day, depending on where you park.

Toll roads in California:

1. Most of the tolled highways in California are located just south of Long Beach. These include Highways 73, 261, 241, and 133, and link Long Beach to San Juan. Tolls typically cost between $4 and $8, depending on which toll road you use, whether you use it during peak travel time, and how far along that toll road you travel.
2. All tolls are recorded electronically throughout the state of California, meaning that your license plate will be photographed and the toll will be passed along to you by your rental car company. You can often save time and money on California toll roads by having a FasTrak transponder. If you plan on frequently using Californian toll roads, ask your rental car company if your car can be outfitted with a FasTrak transponder. Be sure to also ask your rental car company if surcharges apply to your use of electronic toll roads and / or the FasTrak transponder.