Car Hire New Haven

Car Hire

Best known as being home to one of the world's most famous universities (Yale), New Haven is nevertheless among Conneticut's most favoured tourist destinations. With their own transportation, tourists can enjoy trips around this bustling hub of culture and dining, and along the unique coastline while heading to other cities around Conneticut state and the New England area, particularly Boston.

Who to Book With
Conveniently, the majority of New Haven car rental companies are based in the Downtown area or close to the centre, with a couple of options available elsewhere. Near the majority of landmarks and hotels, big name companies such as Budget, Avis, Hertz, National and Enterprise compete for custom with smaller companies such as U-Save. Rent-A-Wreck and Cap Auto can be found in the suburbs. Booking online before arriving on the east coast usually sees drivers save money.

Best Time to Go
As with most college towns, New Haven is best visited during the summer (from late June to August) as this is when the majority of students go home and the area becomes less busy. On the other hand, those that have a familiarity with the city may consider autumn the best time to visit as this is when New Haven is most pleasing on the eye.

Need to Know Essentials
When collecting your hire car, please present the following:

- International Driving Permit
- Valid passport or another form of photo identification
- Credit card used for confirming the reservation
- Printed copy of confirmation for said reservation

For more info read our FAQs.

Driving
New Haven's Downtown area is considered to be small enough to be explored on foot; however, trips around the suburbs and elsewhere are easier to complete when you have your own transportation. New Haven is well-linked to its vast Eastern Seaboard neigbours, New York and Boston, by roads such as the Interstate 95 and 395, respectively.

Our Guide to the United States contains more detailed driving information.

Transport

Due to its small size, New Haven is without its own metro or rail system, but buses are efficient and easy to catch. The Downtown area is small enough to be walked around and sites such as walkit.com can be referred to for route information. Taxis generally cost less here than they would in the likes of New York or Boston.

Trains
While there are no trains around New Haven, it is possible to get to the city from elswhere in the US with Amtrak, which offers direct transport to and from St. Albans, Virginia, Boston and a series of small towns and cities in between. Metro North Railroad provides access to New Haven from New York.

Buses
CTTransit is New Haven's official bus company and is often commended for its efficiency and the wide spanning route coverage. Fares are cheap, with a regular ticket costing less than £1 per person.

Taxis
Metro Taxi is the main force currently operative in the city centre and its taxis can be booked in advance or flagged down on the street. Rates stand at around £2 for the first ninth of a mile and then £0.20 for each additional ninth of a mile or thirty seconds of travel.

Exploring

Situated roughly halfway between New York and Boston, New Haven is a perfect base for exploring the east coast. Use it as a base to discover the historic and quaint towns in the New England area or simply take in the city and its academia.

Recommended Drives

New York City – Head south for 1 hour, 30 minutes along the Interstate 95 to the Big Apple – a city famous as one of the world's most popular tourist destinations, if not the culture capital of the planet.

Boston – Ventur in the opposite direction, northeast, for over 2 hours to reach New York's bitter rival – Boston. Typical New England scenery can be enjoyed along Interstate 90 before arriving at this city known for its colleges, sports teams and considerable Irish community.

Hartford – Those visitors that wish to keep things in Conneticut state can visit its largest city, Hartford, in a drive of less than an hour. Hartford is known for its stunning Capitol Building and State Library.