A 2.4-mile ride, a Legoland day and two nights downtown
Start with the money, since in San Diego the money settles most of it. The airport is close enough that the ride to the pier is the smallest number on the page.
| Call | Plan | In a rental | Instead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taxi | A couple flying in, airport to pier | $67 for a one-day rental | A metered taxi tops out near $17, or $5 for two on Route 992 |
| Car | A Legoland day with four in the car | $116 with $40 parking, one day | Tickets cost the same either way; the car-free version is the COASTER plus a ride, which you’d price yourself |
| Car, with a designated driver | A Temecula wine day for two | $77 for the car, no tastings | A tour, priced by the operator |
| No car | Two nights downtown before you sail | $227 from the airport, with $45-a-night parking | Route 992 and the trolley, about $12 a person at the daily cap |
Rates are $50 a day, or $60 for the four-person Legoland car. Where the airport applies we count its $9-a-day charge and an 11% fee that nobody publishes (our assumption), then California’s 3.5% assessment, fuel at $6.39 a gallon and the parking shown. We add no sales tax, and none of it is a quote. Illustrative
A rental to cover 2.4 miles costs roughly four times a metered taxi — and the taxi number is a ceiling, not an estimate.
The Legoland day still comes to about $29 a person at four, parking included — the whole gap between the first two rows, a short hop against a long day out.
The Temecula day is priced without tastings, so if you’ll be sipping you need a designated driver or a tour, and the operator sets the tour price.
Seven plans, and two of them need wheels
Legoland and the Safari Park are each about 32 miles away, and Temecula is 59. Los Angeles is a long way up the road, and that makes it the other yes.
| Plan | Car? | The numbers | More |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landing on sail day | No | It’s 2.4 miles, and a taxi or Route 992 covers it | The airport to the ship |
| Legoland or the Safari Park | Yes | About 32 miles each way, with parking at $40 and $20 | Legoland, La Jolla and Tijuana |
| Tijuana for the day | Mostly no | Most brands say no, and the Blue Line runs to the border | The Tijuana day |
| Coronado by ferry | No | The boat is $9 one way from Broadway Pier | The night before |
| The zoo and Balboa Park | No | Rapid 215 takes about 15 minutes | Downtown without a car |
| Driving on to Los Angeles | Yes | About 125 miles | Renting after the cruise |
| Driving your own car | Not a rental question | The Port doesn’t run cruise parking | San Diego cruise parking |
Only two rows say yes, and both are measured in dozens of miles, not the couple that separate the airport from the pier.
Tijuana mostly rules out a rental, and Coronado never wanted one
Enterprise, National, Alamo, Sixt and Hertz each say no: a US-rented car doesn’t go into Mexico.
Avis restricts it to select locations and to US residents on corporate accounts who buy Mexican insurance at the counter, and Budget limits it to corporate customers who are US residents.
For a leisure trip, plan on no.
The MTS Blue Line is the way in — $2.50 one way to San Ysidro on the border, every 15 minutes. Budget roughly half an hour from the Santa Fe Depot — our reading of the timetable says 28 to 30 minutes, and that’s worth double-checking.
For hours or wait times at the crossing, ask US Customs and Border Protection and the State Department, because we couldn’t read an official page that covers them.
Coronado needs a ferry, not a car.
The boat is $9 one way from Broadway Pier and runs about hourly. Confirm the times, since the operator’s site blocked our tools.
La Jolla sits in between — a half-day drive, or a ride — and the Legoland, La Jolla and Tijuana page prices it.
Does your list need wheels?
One tap per row, and the result updates as you go. Nothing is stored.
Bring your own car seat
Four airlines, American, Delta, Southwest and JetBlue, each say a checked car seat costs nothing, so renting one at the counter buys you little.
A rental gets no exemption. Under Vehicle Code 27360 and 27363, a child under 2 stays rear-facing until 40 pounds or 40 inches, and one under 8 sits in the back in a car seat or booster unless they’re 4 feet 9 inches or taller.
| Fits | Midsize car | Standard SUV | Full-size SUV | 7-passenger minivan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| People | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 |
| Bags | 3 | 5 | 3 | 5 |
Capacities from Enterprise’s own US pages, and the class on your quote is the one that counts. Checked Sept 27, 2026
Whatever the quiz says, price your own dates before you call it settled.
San Diego, taxis and rentals: quick answers
Does a San Diego cruise call for a rental car?
Only if you’re leaving the waterfront. With the airport 2.4 miles from the pier and a metered taxi at about $17 at most, a car pays for Legoland, Temecula, the Safari Park or a drive on to Los Angeles — not for the ship.
Rental car or taxi from San Diego’s airport to the ship: which costs less?
The taxi, by a wide margin. A one-day rental for those 2.4 miles comes to about $67 if we take $50 as the daily rate, while the metered fare is about $17 at most and Route 992 is $2.50 a person.
Can I take a rental car into Tijuana?
Mostly no. Five brands (Enterprise, National, Alamo, Sixt and Hertz) say a US-rented car can’t enter Mexico, and Avis and Budget keep it to US residents on corporate accounts. The MTS Blue Line to San Ysidro is the way to go instead.
Will I want a car in downtown San Diego the night before?
Probably not. The trolley reaches the ballpark, Little Italy and Old Town, Rapid 215 reaches the zoo, and the Coronado ferry is $9. Hotel garages charge $30 to $57 a night before you count the rental.
More on renting around a San Diego cruise
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