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Your first choice is usually to rent a car or not. Research shows that the best deals usually mean you wait until you arrive. The exception would be for areas that sell out and now the reverse is true - only higher priced cars are left. You may have to decide ahead of arrival but your first thought should be how much you plan on using the car.

If you are staying near major transportation lines, having a car is not necessary. Especially if you are only one or two people and are planning on only one day of sightseeing. With a car costing $49.95 per day (with taxes and fees usually means $75 in the end) and gas at near $5 a gallon, you will likely spend over $100 for a car for one day. Most cities near airports have tour pick-ups that can take you to all the tourist spots for $40-$60 per person and kids get 20% off as well. But if there are only 2 of you, it is a no-brainer: take a tour and learn more from the guide than you would spending $20 on a guide book and driving around blindly on streets you are unfamiliar with. Not only will you save money, you will likely enjoy the ride more. One drawback is you can stay longer at spots if you drive - some tours do not let people off at every tour highlight - so you need to take into account your preferences before passing on the rental car option. Keep in mind however that the driver rarely gets to see what the passenger does. This is another major reason to opt for tours.

Public transportation will likely cost less than 20 - 30% of what you spend on a daily car rental. You also save the exasperation of waiting to get and turn in a rental car. Most airport hotels have free shuttles so spending $3 on a tip for the driver is usually more cost effective than the gas you have to buy taking the car to the rental return plus the time involved. One exception would be a city like Los Angeles. Though it actually has a better transit system than people think, L.A. is so spread out that it makes little sense to NOT have a car. You don't want to make three transfers trying to get from LAX to Hollywood, Universal Studios or museums just to save $20. But for congested cities like San Francisco or New York, taking public transportation is just plain smarter.

Even if you plan on driving away from a city (like to a National Park or casino in Nevada), you can hold off on the car until you leave. No sense having it sit at the motel costing you $40 per day. And remember - many downtown hotels as well as higher quality airport hotels charge for PARKING, so it isn't just the daily rental that may eat at your travel budget.

Eating is a consideration as well. If you choose wisely on an airport hotel, there will be plenty of dining options within walking distance. If not, you may need a car, although a cab may only cost a fraction of a daily rental fee if you stay at a location where no restaurants are near. In the end, these options are less expensive than having a car of your own and worrying about accidents, car damage, break-ins, tickets, gas and all that having a car involves.

David C. Reynolds is a longtime veteran of the Hotel business who has seen a drastic change in the hotel environment once the Internet became a fixture. He offers common sense, money saving advice about how to find rooms, booking hotels as cheap as possible, travel and ground transportation tips, understanding reviews and occasional destination 'specials'. His blog can be viewed at http://www.bookhotelscheaper.com