Smarter Car Renting

Here are car rental tips from the road trip-seasoned editors of RoadsideAmerica.com:

•  Fear of the Unknown: Unfamiliar with the streets of Tempe? Consider adding a GPS navigation system to your rental. GPS provides turn-by-turn directions to a number of Tempe attractions and businesses, and is offered by almost all Tempe car rental agencies. The GPS helps you navigate like some mythical Greek God of Navigation! You can also add your own portable GPS on your handy windshield sucker, but remember to take it all with you when you turn in the car at the end of your trip.

•  Many States, One Car: If renting a car for a longer road trip, check with the car rental companies in Tempe, Arizona to see if they have policies about crossing state lines that affect the final rate you pay. May be no effect, but don't assume you can crisscross the globe with unlimited mileage impunity. There may be a GPS tracker in the car!

•  Leave Nothing Behind: At a road trip's end, we find we've accumulated souvenirs, kitschy mementoes, and piles of brochures from tourist attractions. These treasures prove you really traveled -- that it wasn't just some wacky delusion. When dropping off your rental car, carefully check every door pocket, drink holder and storage bin for these keepsakes. The rental car company sure doesn't have any use for them.

Click here to see Tempe attractions

Tempe AZ Area Attractions

• Arizona Mills
• Arizona State University
• Downtown Tempe
• Oceanside Ice Arena
• Rio Salado College
• Sun Devil Stadium - Frank Kush Field
• Tempe Diablo Stadium
• Wells Fargo Arena - Arizona State University
• Banner Desert Medical Center (2.66 miles)
• Phoenix Municipal Stadium (3.58 miles)
• Desert Botanical Gardens (3.60 miles)
• Phoenix Zoo (3.82 miles)
• University of Phoenix (4.21 miles)
• Banner Mesa Medical Center (4.24 miles)
• Tovrea Castle (4.28 miles)
• Pueblo Grande Museum & Cultural Park (4.77 miles)
• Banner Behavioral Heallth Hospital (4.80 miles)
• Mesa General Hospital Medical Center (5.06 miles)

Tempe rental guide