Two or three stops outside Richmond? Use the on-airport rentals.
RIC’s Rental Car Center sits in Terminal 1’s garage, directly across from the main terminal doors, so you walk there in under 5 minutes from baggage claim. All counters are on-airport, which saves the 10–15 minute shuttle ride you burn at bigger hubs. If you’ve got checked bags or kids in tow, not having to load onto a bus is the real win here.
Every major brand (think the usual big 5) lines up on the first floor of the garage across from ticketing, so you stay under cover from curb to counter in rain or summer heat. Counters generally track terminal hours, roughly 4:30 a.m. to midnight, keyed to the first and last flights on the RIC schedule. If your flight lands after 11 p.m., check your specific desk’s posted hours before you book.
Car pickup sits on the same garage levels as the counters, so once your contract prints you’re usually in a car within 10 minutes of walking out of baggage claim carousel 1 or 2. Daily rates jump on NASCAR weekends and during graduation season in May, often 30–50% higher than midweek in February. Prepaying online with your rental company can cut that back by a noticeable chunk compared with walk-up pricing.
If you’re headed beyond central Richmond, like to Short Pump, Petersburg, or Charlottesville, having your own car usually beats a rideshare, which can run $50–$120 each way from RIC. For a simple downtown hotel run, Uber or Lyft from the arrivals curb on level 1 is cheaper, but once you add two or three different suburbs or client sites, the daily rental pencils out fast. Factor in that most lots around town still run $10–$20 per day for parking.
Returns feed into clearly signed “Rental Car Return” lanes off Airport Drive (Route 60) about 0.2 miles before the terminal loop, and the fuel stations on Airport Drive and Williamsburg Road sit within a 3–5 minute drive of the garage. Build a 15–20 minute buffer before boarding time: 5 minutes to fuel, 5 to hand back the car and receipt, and 5–10 to walk back through the garage into security in Terminal 1.
One tip: if you land during the morning bank around 8–10 a.m. with several airlines arriving at once, skip the elevator and take the garage stairs up to the rental level; you’ll beat half your flight to the counters and likely shave 10 minutes off your exit time.