Car Rental / RV Rental in Gainesville: The best companies

A bustling university city in northern Florida, Gainsville’s student population are at the heart of the high-energy vibe that helps make it one of the region’s most popular places to live. There are a large number of things to see and do here, ranging from culturally-rich museums to more outdoorsy pursuits that invite you to explore the natural attractions that can be found nearby.

A tree-lined intersection in Gainesville (Photo: Rudi Riet via Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0)

If you’re planning a trip to Gainsville and would like to hire a car during your stay, there are several car rental agencies dotted across the city, To help you make your choice, we’ve done some research and picked out the best agencies for both downtown and airport pick-ups using a criteria including value for money, customer feedback and office opening hours to make our choice. For those seeking Recreational Vehicles that come with their own living quarters, we’ve also picked out our preferred RV rental company.

Downtown Gainesville: Enterprise

Book at Rentalcars.com

For collection in downtown Gainsville, we recommend Enterprise. From their office based at Northwest 39th Avenue, they offer everything from a cheap car rental like a Mitsubishi Mirage to bigger more expensive models such as a Cadillac. For the former you can expect rates of around $239 per week and the latter about $325 or higher. If you’re seeing something a little different, Enterprise also include more luxury rental cars such as convertibles, SUVs and 15-seater passenger vans among their fleet. Damage waivers, roadside protection, and personal accident insurance are all available, along with other indemnities.

Gainesville Airport: Alamo

Book at Rentalcars.com

There are a total of six rental car companies at Gainsville Airport and our favourite is Alamo. They combine an impressive selection of budget to mid-range options with excellent customer reviews and a generous cancellation policy. Among the standout deals we found were a Mitsubishi Mirage which would cost $273 for a week’s rental, and for something bigger a Hyundai Elantra would only cost you a few dollars more. Free cancellation up to 48-hours before pick-up is included in the price, as well as policy amendments, theft protection and collision damage waivers.

RV Rental: Outdoorsy

Book at outdoorsy.com

A renowned peer-to-peer rental marketplace for RVs, Outdoorsy are the go-to guys for couples and families who want the option to sleep in their own transport. A major perk is that booking through a peer-to-peer website can often provide big savings on standard agencies. Outdoorsy have a large number of RVs for hire in and around Gainsville, including a Winnebago Adventurer for $665 per weeks that seeps five and be picked up from the downtown district, a trailer for $476 that sleeps two and is available in neighboring city of Newberry, and a Keystone Laredo trailer for $875 that sleeps ten. Booking is simple too, and once you’ve booked you can add on various protections to your insurance policy to cover accidents, enforced cancellations, damage, etc.