Sometimes traveling with your pet involves renting a car. Learn which rental agencies are pet friendly, and get tips to avoid unexpected charges.

 

Planning to bring Fido on a road trip, or include Whiskers in your vacation plans, but need a rental car to make it happen? No worries! We’ve compiled all the information you’ll need to find pet friendly rental cars that will work for you.

No matter which company you choose, be sure to let the agent know that you’re traveling with a pet when making your reservation. Note the details of the pet policy as it’s communicated to you during the call, and get the agent’s name. If there are any questions about traveling with your pet when you pick up the car, this information could be helpful.

Finally – even if the pet friendly car rental agency doesn’t require it – it’s important to restrain your pet when traveling in a vehicle. Use a crash-tested seatbelt harness or secured, crash-tested carrier to keep your furry family member safe. Then, enjoy the ride!

Pet Friendly Rental Cars:

Advantage Rent A Car

Reservations: 800-777-5500
Customer Service: 800-777-5500

Advantage offers rentals in Atlanta, GA, Charlotte, NC, Dallas, TX, Las Vegas, NV, Miami, FL, Nashville, TN, Orlando, FL and Tampa, FL.

Advantage allows pets in their vehicles with no additional fees. Renters accept responsibility for any damages caused by their pet. To avoid cleaning charges, vehicles should be returned clean and free of pet hair.

Alamo

Reservations: 844-354-6962
Customer Service: 844-357-5138

Alamo is a pet friendly car rental agency offering vehicles nationwide and around the world.

Alamo allows pets in their rental vehicles with no additional fees. Customers need to keep pets crated and return their rental car in clean condition and free of pet hair to avoid cleaning/detailing fees.

Service animals used by customers with disabilities can ride in Alamo’s vehicles without a carrier.

This policy can vary by location. Be sure to inform the reservation agent that your pet will be joining you.

READ MORE ⇒ Tips for Road Tripping with Cats

 

Avis Rent A Car

Reservations: 800-633-3469
Customer Service: 800-352-7900

Avis offers rentals nationwide and around the world.

Avis is pet friendly, allowing pets in their rental cars with no additional fees in the U.S. and Canada. Renters accept responsibility for any damage caused by their pet. To avoid cleaning charges of up to $250, return the vehicle clean ad free of pet hair.

Budget

Reservations: 800-218-7992
Customer Service: 800-214-6094

Budget Rent-A-Car offers vehicles worldwide.

Budget’s pet policies can differ by location. Many allow housebroken pets to ride in the vehicles with no additional fees. Renters accept responsibility for any damage caused by their pet. To avoid cleaning charges, return vehicles clean ad free of pet hair.

 

Dollar Car Rental

With more than 800 locations across the U.S. and Canada, you’re never far from a Dollar Car Rental.

Dollar offers pet friendly rental cars with no additional fees and no advance notice required. They recommend that pets ride in a carrier or crate, or that a blanket is used to cover the back seat to avoid cleaning charges. Renters accept responsibility for any damage caused by their pet.

Enterprise Rent-A-Car

Reservations: 855-266-9289
Customer Service: 855-266-9565

Enterprise not only provides pet friendly rental cars across the country, they offer trucks, cars, and exotic cars in all 50 states and 8,000 locations worldwide.

Enterprise allows in pets in their vehicles. Customers must keep pets crated and return their rental clean and free of pet hair to avoid cleaning/detailing fees.

Service animals used by customers with disabilities can ride in the vehicle without a carrier.

READ MORE ⇒ My Dog Hates The Car! Now What?!

 

Hertz

Reservations: 800-654-3131
Customer Service: 888-777-6095

Hertz offers pet friendly car rentals across the U.S. and around the world.

Pets are welcome in Hertz vehicles with no additional fees. Renters accept responsibility for any damage caused by their pet. To avoid cleaning charges, return vehicles clean ad free of pet hair.

National Car Rental

Reservations: 844-382-6875
Customer Service: 844-393-9989

National Car Rental offers pet friendly vehicles nationwide and around the world.

National allows pets in their rental vehicles, as long as customers keep their pets crated. Rentals returned in a clean condition and free of pet hair will avoid cleaning/detailing fees.

Service animals used by customers with disabilities can ride in the vehicle without a carrier.

 

Payless Car Rental

Reservations: 800-729-5377

Payless Car Rental offers pet friendly vehicles in most U.S. states and in a number of cities around the world.

Payless is pet friendly with no additional fees. Renters accept responsibility for any damage caused by the pet. To avoid cleaning charges of up to $250, return vehicles clean and free of pet hair and odor.

SIXT Rent A Car

Relatively new the the United States, SIXT rent a car was founded in Munich, Germany in 1912. Today they are present in over 105 countries with more than 2,200 locations, including most major U.S. cities.

SIXT offers a large selection of pet friendly rentals, including extra roomy minivans and spacious SUVs that are perfect for road trips with your animal companion. They also offer flexible daily, week, monthly, and longer term rental agreements to accommodate all your pet friendly travel plans.

READ MORE ⇒ The Ultimate Pet Friendly American Road Trip

 

Thrifty Car Rental

Thrifty offers rental cars across the U.S. and around the world.

Pet policies differ by location. Most Thrifty locations are pet friendly, as long as pets remain confined to a carrier when in the vehicle. Renters accept responsibility for any damage caused by the pet. To avoid cleaning charges, return vehicles clean and free of pet hair.

Contact Thrifty to determine the pet policy for your rental location.

Other Pet Friendly Rental Vehicles

Pet Friendly RV Rental Companies – Learn which RV rental companies offer pet friendly campers and motorhomes.

Bandago Van Rental allows pets in their vehicles. Ask for a row of seats to be removed to allow space for dogs to stretch out.

Getaround is an online car sharing service that welcomes pets in carriers in cars with the green pet friendly icon.

U-Haul allows pets in their trucks and vans. Pets cannot be transported in the back of rental trucks.

 

Tips For Keeping Pet Friendly Rental Cars Clean

If you don’t want to be slapped with costly cleaning fees, you need to return your vehicle clean and free of pet hair. You could buy a seat cover to protect the car’s upholstery.

But what if your dogs prefer to ride in the cargo area?

Then an inexpensive shower curtain and a rubber-backed door mat can save you hundreds of dollars!

With shedding monsters like Ty and Buster, keeping my toothbrush free of dog hair is a colossal challenge — not to mention the interior of a vehicle! Rolls of quarters and hours of my life have been sucked up at the car wash vacuum trying to avoid rental car cleaning fees.

 

Shower Curtain Keeps Rental Cars Clean

Then it occurred to me that inexpensive shower curtains have two very desirable qualities:

1. They’re made of nylon fabric that generates static. This attracts loose fur, keeping it off the car’s seats.
2. The reinforced slits or grommets at the top of the curtain work perfectly for securing it in the car.

Removing the seat headrests and sliding the legs of the headrests through the slits is a cinch. And slipping the headrests back into place secures the shower curtain perfectly.

If you don’t want to mess with the headrests, slide a couple carabiners through the curtain slits and use them to attach the curtain.

 

Once the curtain is attached, spread it out to cover as much of the upholstery and floor as possible.

To keep it in place and give your dogs a secure place to settle, grab a rubber-backed door mat and place it on top of the shower curtain.

Then buckle up and you’re ready to go for a ride!

When it’s time to return the rental car, carefully remove the shower curtain and shake out the fur outside. If you do it right, you should be able to clean up any stray hairs in just a few minutes with a lint roller.

We hope with these tips you’ll find the perfect pet friendly rental car and have a great trip!