Car Rental in Albany, NY
New York State’s capital city, Albany, may no longer be travelers’ first stop when they arrive to New York, but it’s a city that demonstrates its long historical prominence through its architecture. Once a major hub of interaction for European settlers and the Six Nations of the Iroquois (or Haudenosaunee) alike, Albany is a great place from which to base your travels in upstate New York. Whether you visit Albany for business or pleasure, be sure to take a road trip out to the Adirondacks or into Hudson Valley while you’re there. Here is a brief guide to finding the cheapest rental cars in Albany.
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Albany rental cars are available in six locations throughout the city, including at the Albany Airport, downtown, in Latham, and the in the northwestern part of the city. Albany car hire typically starts at around $46 a day for short-term economy rental cars. This rate drops down to around $35 a day when you extend your car rental period to ten days or more.
Tips for Finding Cheap Car Rentals in Albany, NY
By far the cheapest location at which to book a rental car in Albany, New York is at the Albany Airport. The Albany International Airport (ALB) is located just 8 miles northwest of downtown Albany, making it an ideal location at which to pick up your rental car, even if you aren’t arriving in Albany via airplane. Rental car rates at the Albany Airport are particularly low, because over six rental car companies compete at the airport to offer customers the lowest prices in the region. The rental car companies at the Albany Airport include Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, Hertz, and Thrifty.
Albany rental car rates typically rise during the busiest tourist season of the year, such as August, so you can often save a lot of money on rental cars, accommodations, and attractions in Albany when you visit during other months of the year.
Even though Albany is New York’s state capital, traffic jams rarely occur and driving is fairly uncomplicated throughout the city. Particularly because longer-term rental car contracts are significantly cheaper regardless of where you book your car throughout the city, consider renting a car for the entire length of your visit to Albany. You’ll save money on your rental and increase your mobility in and beyond the city itself, without causing yourself the extra headache of parking or traffic that you may experience in larger cities.
Key Things to Remember: Driving Your Albany Rental Car
Parking your rental car in Albany:
- While you will likely have to pay for parking to leave your rental car unattended in downtown Albany during normal business hours, you can often find parking in the city for free after 5 pm. For instance, metered on-street parking is free after 5 pm Monday through Friday and all day on the weekends. You can also park at the Riverfront Parking Garage for free between 5 pm and 5 am any day of the week and all day on the weekends. If you’re just visiting the city in the evenings during the week, park at the Quackenbush or Green-Hudson Garages, where parking is free between 5 pm and midnight.
Toll roads in New York State:
- A number of highways and bridges are tolled in the Albany area, particularly the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway from Albany to Pennsylvania. This private section of I-90 requires the payment of tolls, the prices of which vary depending on how long you stay on the toll road. There are also numerous tolls along the highway south to New York City.
- Most of the tolls you will encounter in the state of New York are now electronically monitored, which means that you will receive your toll in the mail, often in the month after you return your rental car. Still, not all of the toll roads have transitioned to electronic tolling in the state of New York, so be sure to carry a fair amount of cash on hand, particularly if you plan on heading east to Pennsylvania or south to New York City. If you travel the entire length of the Dewey Thruway, your toll will be around $35. Bridges and tunnels in New York City can cost anywhere between $5 and $15 to cross.
- If you plan on driving along electronically monitored tolled roads throughout the state of New York, ask your rental car company if any surcharges apply when they pass your tolls along to you after you’ve returned your rental car.
