Self-driving in Yellowstone, a large SUV is necessary

Easy car pickup

Pickup was very quick with no sales pitches. The staff was very friendly and they provided an upgrade.

There are too few cars to choose from, and we didn't get the car we originally booked.

On August 6th, we arrived at Bozeman Airport from Miami to pick up a car from the AVIS store. The clerk informed us that the originally reserved mid-size car was unavailable, so they gave us a smaller Kia and refunded over $100 for the price difference. However, after completing the paperwork and taking the keys to the parking lot, we were shocked to find a Kia Soul, whose trunk couldn't even fit a 28-inch suitcase. We returned to the store to negotiate with the clerk again. After waiting for nearly an hour, we finally got a Chevrolet similar to a Malibu.

There are many car rental companies in the US. A friend recommended AVIS, so I didn't spend much time comparing. Based on what I saw, AVIS seems reasonably priced among the bigger companies. Companies like HERTZ are quite expensive! AVIS and BUDGET are part of the same company, and I guess AVIS might be slightly more expensive. They have a lot of new cars (as big companies typically do) and great service. They don't push for extra insurance and are very considerate. We arrived at Bozeman late, around 1 AM. The staff was patient and explained that while they could give us the car early, there would be an extra charge unless we returned it early. Extra drivers cost about $15 per day, which is cheap. In San Francisco, AVIS does not charge for an extra driver.