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Question

Planning a trip next spring to see old friends and my favorite place on earth Big Sur. Our friends are located in Santa Barbara, and Palm Springs. Would also like to do the wineries in Paso Robles. Picking up a rental car and dropping it off at a different site doubles the price..does flying into LAX make the most sense? If I had my druthers, I'd fly into Monterey and leave from Palm Springs but the cost could be prohibitive

Answer

Your trip sounds fantastic, with Big Sur, Santa Barbara, Palm Springs, and Paso Robles offering a great combination of natural beauty, wine country, and relaxation. Regarding your question on airports and car rentals, flying into LAX is likely the most practical and cost-effective option, especially when considering rental car logistics and overall convenience.

Flying into LAX makes sense because:

Central Location: LAX is well-positioned to access most of the places you want to visit. It's about a 2-hour drive from Santa Barbara, a 3-hour drive to Paso Robles, and roughly 2 hours to Palm Springs. Big Sur is a bit more of a drive from LAX (around 5 hours), but you can easily make that a scenic part of your journey. From LAX, you can also rent a car and visit multiple destinations along the coast without worrying about picking up or dropping off at multiple locations.
Flight Availability: LAX offers many flight options from major cities across the country and international destinations, often with better pricing and availability compared to smaller regional airports like Monterey. Flying directly into LAX also means you won't have to worry about the potential high cost of flying into smaller airports or one-way rental car fees.
Rental Car Flexibility: While picking up and dropping off a rental car at different locations can be expensive, LAX rental rates are typically lower due to the high competition among rental car companies. You can pick up your car in Los Angeles and drop it off at a convenient spot closer to Palm Springs without incurring extra fees.

However, if you would like to fly into Monterey and leave from Palm Springs, it could be a lovely, more scenic option, but it’s often more expensive, as you noted. Monterey and Palm Springs are smaller airports, which means fewer flight options and potentially higher one-way car rental fees. If cost is an issue, flying into LAX and driving to Monterey or Paso Robles would give you more flexibility and save on both flight and car rental costs.

Here are some other things to consider:

Santa Barbara: A lovely town on the way up the coast from LAX, Santa Barbara can be a great stop on your road trip. You can easily do the drive from LAX to Santa Barbara and then move on to Paso Robles.
Paso Robles Wineries: If wine tasting is a key part of your trip, Paso Robles is centrally located between LA and San Francisco, and it’s worth spending a couple of days there. From LAX, it's about a 3-hour drive.
Big Sur: While Big Sur is a longer drive from LAX, it offers some of the most stunning coastal scenery in the world. If you have time to enjoy the drive, you can take the scenic Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1), which makes for an unforgettable road trip.

In summary, while flying into Monterey and leaving from Palm Springs would be ideal in a perfect world, flying into LAX is likely the most cost-effective and convenient option for your trip. From LAX, you can explore all the wonderful places you’ve planned to visit with a scenic drive in between, making it an easy and enjoyable experience!

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