Using Turo in Juneau: Good Idea or Should You Rent a Car?

If you’re visiting Juneau, Alaska, you may be wondering what is the best way to get around?

It’s a beautiful city and there are quite a few places worth visiting outside of Downtown Juneau such as the Mendenhall Glacier, Eagle Beach, and others.

But is Turo a good option for getting around or could you end up saving a lot of money by going a different route?

In this article, we will take a data driven approach to figuring out the best way to get around Juneau when it comes to driving yourself around.

Why rideshare services can be a problem

If you only plan on going to one or two places from the cruise terminal area or from Downtown Juneau then you might be really tempted to simply book a rideshare vehicle to get you there.

If you’re hoping to rely on rideshare services like Uber or Lyft, you might be in for a bit of a shock because it can sometimes be difficult to find a driver.

During our weeklong visit, we were not able to find a single driver on a few occasions even after waiting around 10 to 20 minutes.

(That may not sound that long but when you’re just sitting around waiting it actually feels like an eternity. Remember, that is just waiting to find a driver.)

It also wasn’t super uncommon for the driver that dropped us off to be the same driver that picked us up.

Don’t get me wrong, you can still use Uber or Lyft in Juneau but I would not exactly call it the most dependable method of transportation.

When we finally would find a driver, it wasn’t uncommon for the driver to cancel or to be switched out (sometimes multiple times) which would further prolong the wait, sometimes up to 15 minutes.

I certainly would not rely on rideshares if I really had to be somewhere at a specific time, such as the airport in the morning.

Plus, you have to deal with the fact that ride shares are not supposed to be servicing passengers at certain locations like the Mendenhall Glacier.

This fact can make utilizing rideshare services extra difficult and put you in an awkward position if your rideshare driver does not inform you about this.

You can always book a taxi but sometimes the waiting time for a taxi could be around 45 minutes or so.

Thus they are not exactly the most efficient way to get around, unless you are scheduling a specific time ahead of time.

But when you’re traveling on vacation it’s not always so easy to schedule timeslots for transportation like that because you never know what kind of thing may come up or how long you want to spend at a given destination.

For those reasons, you may want to seriously consider renting a car.

You can go the traditional rental car route or you can also try out Turo.

Below, we will walk you through some prices and data points for using Turo in Juneau.

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Turo prices in Juneau

Here is all of the data summarized with average prices for different types of rentals from Turo and from the rental car companies: Enterprise, Avis, Alamo.

All data was collected in August 2022 with travel dates approximately the beginning of September 2022.

We broke down the prices so that you can see the different estimates for renting things like cars, SUVs, trucks, etc. We also tested out rental times, such as rentals for one day, three days, and seven days.

Rental Time	Vehicle Class	Avg. Price Turo	Avg. Price Alamo	Avg. Price Avis	Avg. Price Enterprise
1-Day Rental
	Car	$164.68	$154.28	$69.43	$146.60
	SUV	$181.96	$217.22	$98.87	$206.39
	Truck	$210.30	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Mini-van	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Electric Hybrid	$167.67	N/A	N/A	N/A
3-Day Rental
	Car	$407.84	$477.09	$208.27	$453.34
	SUV	$482.88	$649.93	$296.61	$617.53
	Truck	$484.72	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Mini-Van	$500.52	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Electric Hybrid	$417.82	N/A	N/A	N/A
7-Day Rental
	Car	$891.17	$682.46	$299.46	$648.58
	SUV	$1,047.97	$620.15	$451.44	$589.38
	Truck	$1,046.96	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Mini-Van	$1,093.54	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Electric Hybrid	$880.75	N/A	N/A	N/A

As you can see, going with Turo in Juneau is not always the cheapest option. In fact, it can actually be the most expensive option in some scenarios.

It’s possible that prices may drop in the future based on supply and demand but the prices that we found during our visit certainly were not the best when compared to traditional rental car companies.

In addition, Turo just did not have a lot of options to choose from (although the rental car companies also had a limited selection in a lot of cases).

I will have to give Turo credit though, because Turo at least had options for some of the categories like trucks and minivans and the rental car companies did not.

One interesting find was how cheap Avis was when compared to the other rental car companies. If you were coming in on a cruise you could rent a car for one day for under $70. You could also rent an SUV for under $100!

Avis was definitely an outlier when it came to price.

As already mentioned, prices are always going to fluctuate but this just goes to show that if you were planning on renting a vehicle in Juneau you definitely want to compare a few different companies because the pricing could be dramatically different.

Don’t assume that Turo will get you the cheapest deal but feel free to use them if you’re trying to find a truck or minivan because that may be your only option.

Datapoints

We always believe in being transparent with the data that we present to readers. So below you can find all of the individual data points that we found and used to compile our data.

Turo

1 Day Rental

Car

• 2015 BMW 3 Series – $199.43
• 2017 Honda Civic – $84.52
• 2015 Toyota Camry – $132.47
• 2017 Dodge Challenger – $233.21
• 2020 Subaru Outback – $173.79

SUV

• 2019 Nissan Pathfinder – $177.37
• 2020 GMC Acadia – $186.89
• 2016 Chevrolet Tahoe – $247.74
• 2022 Toyota 4Runner – $177.96
• 2019 Jeep Cherokee – $119.86

Truck

• 2016 Toyota Tacoma – $157.07
• 2021 Jeep Gladiator – $263.52

Minivan

• NONE AVAILABLE FOR ONE DAY RENTAL, ONLY 2+ DAYS

Electric/Hybrid

• 2013 Nissan Leaf – $92.17
• 2017 Nissan Leaf – $108.36
• 2015 Tesla Model S – $235.82
• 2013 Tesla Model S – $234.33

3 Day Rental

Car

• 2015 BMW 3 Series – $485.35
• 2017 Honda Civic – $216.74
• 2015 Toyota Camry – $321.44
• 2017 Dodge Challenger – $568.06
• 2020 Subaru Outback – $447.60

SUV

• 2019 Nissan Pathfinder – $479.99
• 2020 GMC Acadia – $505.98
• 2016 Chevrolet Tahoe – $639.83
• 2022 Toyota 4Runner – $481.61
• 2019 Jeep Cherokee – $306.98

Truck

• 2016 Toyota Tacoma – $457.21
• 2013 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 – $435.22
• 2016 Toyota Tacoma – $404.20
• 2021 Jeep Gladiator – $642.23

Minivan

• 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan – $481.61
• 2022 Toyota Sienna – $707.99
• 2018 Dodge Grand Caravan – $404.20
• 2015 Chrysler Town and Country – $408.29

Electric/Hybrid

• 2013 Nissan Leaf – $210.95
• 2017 Nissan Leaf – $248.00
• 2015 Tesla Model S – $641.50
• 2013 Tesla Model S – $570.81

7 Day Rental

Car

• 2015 BMW 3 Series – $1,044.41
• 2017 Honda Civic – $467.98
• 2014 Toyota Corolla – $699.16
• 2017 Dodge Challenger – $1,223.40
• 2020 Subaru Outback – $1,020.89

SUV

• 2019 Nissan Pathfinder – $1,005.58
• 2020 GMC Acadia – $1,154.83
• 2016 Chevrolet Tahoe – $1,337.35
• 2022 Toyota 4Runner – $1,042.92
• 2019 Jeep Cherokee – $699.16

Truck

• 2016 Toyota Tacoma – $986.90
• 2013 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 – $942.05
• 2016 Toyota Tacoma – $874.71
• 2021 Jeep Gladiator – $1,384.18

Minivan

• 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan – $1,086.64
• 2022 Toyota Sienna – $1,526.88
• 2018 Dodge Grand Caravan – $874.71
• 2015 Chrysler Town and Country – $885.94

Electric/Hybrid

• 2013 Nissan Leaf – $411.64
• 2017 Nissan Leaf – $486.20
• 2015 Tesla Model S – $1,395.82
• 2013 Tesla Model S – $1,229.35

Alamo Rent A Car

1 Day Rental

Car

• Compact – Nissan Versa or similar – $140.22
• Midsize – Toyota Corolla or similar – $152.82
• Economy – Mitsubishi Mirage or similar – $157.77
• Standard – VW Jetta or similar – $160.30
• Full Size – Chevrolet Malibu or similar – $160.30

SUV

• Midsize SUV – Nissan Rogue or similar – $207.17
• Standard SUV – Ford Edge or similar – $227.27

3 Day Rental

Car

• Compact – Nissan Versa or similar – $473.29
• Midsize – Toyota Corolla or similar – $477.10
• Economy – Mitsubishi Mirage or similar – $473.29
• Standard – VW Jetta or similar – $480.89
• Full Size – Chevrolet Malibu or similar – $480.89

SUV

• Midsize SUV – Nissan Rogue or similar – $621.49
• Standard SUV – Ford Edge or similar – $678.37

7 Day Rental

Car

• Compact – Nissan Versa or similar – $620.03
• Midsize – Toyota Corolla or similar – $620.08
• Economy – Mitsubishi Mirage or similar – $931.99
• Standard – VW Jetta or similar – $620.11
• Full Size – Chevrolet Malibu or similar – $620.11

SUV

• Midsize SUV – Nissan Rogue or similar – $620.13
• Standard SUV – Ford Edge or similar – $620.17

Avis Rental Car

1 Day Rental

Car

• Compact – Kia Soul or similar – $67.85
• Intermediate – Toyota Corolla or similar – $70.38
• Economy – Toyota Yaris or similar – $64.04
• Full Size – Chevrolet Impala Limited or similar – $75.44

SUV

• Intermediate SUV – Toyota Rav4 or similar – $89.37
• Standard SUV – Hyundai Santa Fe or similar – $108.37

3 Day Rental

Car

• Compact – Kia Soul or similar – $203.52
• Intermediate – Toyota Corolla or similar – $211.11
• Economy – Toyota Yaris or similar – $192.12
• Full Size – Chevrolet Impala Limited or similar – $226.31

SUV

• Intermediate SUV – Toyota Rav4 or similar – $268.11
• Standard SUV – Hyundai Santa Fe or similar – $325.10

7 Day Rental

Car

• Compact – Kia Soul or similar – $286.79
• Intermediate – Toyota Corolla or similar – $312.12
• Economy – Toyota Yaris or similar – $261.46
• Full Size – Chevrolet Impala Limited or similar – $337.45

SUV

• Intermediate SUV – Toyota Rav4 or similar – $388.11
• Standard SUV – Hyundai Santa Fe or similar – $514.77

Enterprise Rent-A-Car

1 Day Rental

Car

• Compact – Nissan Versa or similar – $133.24
• Midsize – Toyota Corolla or similar – $145.21
• Economy – Mitsubishi Mirage or similar – $149.92
• Standard – Volkswagen Jetta or similar – $152.32
• Full Size – Chevrolet Malibu or similar – $152.32

SUV

• Midsize SUV – Nissan Rogue or similar – $196.83
• Standard SUV – Ford Edge or similar – $215.95

3 Day Rental

Car

• Compact – Nissan Versa or similar – $449.74
• Midsize – Toyota Corolla or similar – $453.33
• Economy – Mitsubishi Mirage or similar – $449.74
• Standard – Volkswagen Jetta or similar – $456.95
• Full Size – Chevrolet Malibu or similar – $456.95

SUV

• Midsize SUV – Nissan Rogue or similar – $590.51
• Standard SUV – Ford Edge or similar – $644.55

7 Day Rental

Car

• Compact – Nissan Versa or similar – $589.29
• Midsize – Toyota Corolla or similar – $589.33
• Economy – Mitsubishi Mirage or similar – $885.62
• Standard – Volkswagen Jetta or similar – $589.34
• Full Size – Chevrolet Malibu or similar – $589.34

SUV

• Midsize SUV – Nissan Rogue or similar – $589.36
• Standard SUV – Ford Edge or similar – $589.40

Final word

If you plan on renting a vehicle in Juneau make sure that you compare different rental car companies and that you do not assume that Turo will be the cheapest route. You can still find good deals on Turo and they also may have the best availability for certain classes of vehicle such as trucks.

But the point is: just shop around a little bit.