MOB or Pensacola Airport to the Mobile Cruise Port: Rent or Ride?

At Mobile Regional the counters are in the terminal by baggage claim and the cars are in the lot outside; Hertz says there’s no shuttle.

Alamo, Avis, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, Thrifty and National (the airport authority’s list; Budget lists the same address and phone as Avis). The authority’s page says six companies and then names seven — call the one on your booking, not the list.

Avis 7 AM to midnight (11 PM Saturdays); Enterprise and Hertz 7 AM to 11:30 PM; Avis, Enterprise and National have key drop boxes for later returns. National’s page shows no hours at all — ask when you book.

For a late return, Avis wants the car parked and locked, with the contract and keys in the box at its counter; Enterprise’s box is at its counter too. Hertz gives a 29-minute grace period on its page.

Enterprise and National charge $25 a day for drivers 21 to 24 — $175 over a week, our arithmetic, before tax.

Enterprise’s page lists its damage waiver at $29.99 to $33.99 a day. That’s optional cover, not a fee, so decide on it before you reach the desk.

One oddity: Hertz’s Mobile city page says the airport is east of the city. Every other source puts it west — our routing included.

On these numbers a MOB car is about $86 for the day, and $5 of that is tax. It still has to go back somewhere — the terminal has no desk.

Switch the pick-up to Pensacola and the total drops to about $65 at its “from” price — before a one-way charge nobody publishes, which is the line that decides it.

For sail day alone, a ride usually wins. The should-you-rent page lays out the MOB fares, such as they are.

The car starts to pay when the day holds a stop. Bellingrath, south of the city in Theodore, is one.

Pensacola’s counters are on the first level at baggage claim; returns go to the first level of the garage, following the green line.

Alamo, Avis, Budget, Enterprise, American Rent A Car, Guardian Rent A Car, Hertz, National, Thrifty and Turo are listed — more choice than MOB, with Turo among them.

Avis at Pensacola is open 7 AM to 11 PM daily with 24-hour drop-off, and the terminal stays open 24 hours.

Florida adds 6% sales tax and Escambia County’s 1.5% surtax, 7.5% together by our arithmetic, plus the $2-a-day rental surcharge (first 30 days, itself taxed). On one day the surcharge comes to $2.15 with its tax, our arithmetic — small, not nothing.

We found no facility charge or concession percentage published for Pensacola; the calculator starts at 0%.

About 59 road miles and 74 minutes to the terminal without traffic, our routing (60 going back); CruiseHive says over 60 miles and 1 to 1.5 hours. Fuel for the drive is about $8, at AAA’s Mobile price.

Pensacola’s cabs run a city meter: $2.50 for the first tenth of a mile, 26 cents each tenth after, an $11 minimum and a $2.50 airport pick-up fee. Run that meter over 59 miles and it’s about $158 with the pick-up fee, our arithmetic — if a cab would take the job on the meter at all. Ask for a flat quote.

Pensacola showed from $51 a day (updated Oct 2, 2026). The car will end in Alabama, so it’s a one-way; the one-way rules say what each brand discloses.

Flights are due to move to Mobile International at Brookley, about 4.7 road miles from the terminal by our routing, in spring 2027, per the airport authority’s Build BFM site; the authority had said fall 2026 in July 2025, and Business View reported on Aug 27, 2026 that late spring is the goal.

The date has already slipped once, and the newest official word gives a season, not a day. Book into Mobile Regional until your airline’s ticket says otherwise.

From Brookley the drive is about 11 minutes without traffic by our routing — a short cab ride, not a rental decision.

None of the pages we read says which rental brands will have counters at Brookley, so we can’t tell you yet.

Choose the airport by the flight, then the car by the total. Pensacola’s lower headline rate has to cover any cross-state drop charge and about 40 minutes more each way, by our routing.

Discover Cars’ Mobile Regional page said “from $78” on Oct 2, 2026; its lowest listing was a minivan.