California car rentals

On average a car hire in California costs $55 per day.

Standard (Toyota Prius or similar) is the most frequently booked car hire type in California.

In the past 72 hours, the cheapest car hires were found at Thrifty ($46/day), Fox ($55/day) and Dollar ($56/day).

Based on ratings and reviews from real users on KAYAK, the best car hire companies in California are Enterprise Rent-A-Car (8.4, 127 reviews), Alamo (7.9, 110 reviews), and Avis (7.2, 85 reviews).

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

Based on car searches on KAYAK, the most popular cities to hire a car in California are Oakland (33% of total searches of users looking to hire a car in California), Burbank (33%) and Monterey (17%).

Given that California is quite large with numerous sprawling cities, hiring a car is a practical and economical way to get around the area. Even though the majority of large cities have their own public transportation networks, driving is still often faster and easier. Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Diego are a few cities in California that are best navigated with a vehicle. Having access to your own car can also come in handy, especially if you plan on visiting a more rural city or taking a road trip.

California is typically warm and sunny. However, it’s at times rainy, which is a critical time to drive yourself around. When it's raining, go at a slower speed and make sure to utilise your windscreen wipers and headlights. Also, ensure that you have the appropriate tyre chains for your hire car's tyres if you plan to drive in the snow during winter. Try to stay in the right lane whenever you are on a road or freeway with numerous lanes, unless when overtaking. Remember that a left turn from one one-way street to another one-way street can only be made when the signal is red. Unless it’s clearly banned, you can usually turn right at a red light after stopping completely and checking for approaching traffic. You have to pre-pay for your petrol in California. If you are using a credit card, you’ll need to swipe your card at the pump to activate the pump. You’ll also be required to provide your postal code to prevent credit card fraud.

Most car hire companies require that you be at least 21 years old in order to hire a vehicle in California. If you’re between the ages of 21 and 24 and need to hire a car, you’ll likely pay a young hirer fee and may only be allowed to hire certain classes of vehicles.