Should You Rent a Car in Nashville?

February 19, 2026

The answer depends almost entirely on where you’re staying and where you want to go. Nashville does not have a reliable subway system. The WeGo bus network functions but runs slowly and requires significant wait times. Rideshares work well in most parts of the city. A rental car adds parking costs and traffic stress downtown but unlocks day trips, Cheekwood, the Grand Ole Opry area, and free movement between neighborhoods.

The Case Against Renting

If you’re staying downtown (within walking distance of Broadway, the Gulch, or Midtown near Vanderbilt) for three days or fewer, a rental car typically costs more than it’s worth. Downtown parking runs $20-40 for an evening at garages near Broadway. Most downtown hotels charge $25-42 per night for on-site parking. Add the daily rental rate and you’ve spent more on transportation logistics than a comparable Uber/Lyft budget would cost.

Rideshares in Nashville are reliable across most of the city during normal hours. Expect $8-15 for trips between downtown and East Nashville or Germantown. Trips from downtown to 12 South run $10-18 depending on time and surge pricing. Getting around Nashville entirely by rideshare for a three-day trip runs most people $50-100 total, which is less than a typical downtown rental car plus parking.

The exception: after major events (Predators playoff games, major Bridgestone Arena concerts) and around 1-2 AM on Broadway, rideshare surge pricing becomes significant and wait times lengthen. If you anticipate being in those situations repeatedly, you’ll spend more on rides than expected.

The Case For Renting

A rental car makes sense if any of the following apply:

You want the Grand Ole Opry. The Opry House is at 2804 Opry Mills Drive, six miles from downtown in Music Valley. Rideshares work to get there, but having a car makes the whole area more accessible and removes the surge-pricing problem late at night when the show ends and hundreds of people compete for rides.

You plan to visit Cheekwood. Cheekwood Estate and Gardens is 15 minutes from downtown by car at 1200 Forrest Park Drive. There’s no practical public transit option that makes sense for a half-day visit.

You’re doing a day trip. Franklin is 25 minutes south, Jack Daniel’s Distillery in Lynchburg is about 1.5 hours, Chattanooga is 2 hours. None of these work by rideshare for a day trip.

You’re staying in the Opryland/Airport area. Hotels near the Gaylord Opryland or BNA are far enough from downtown that every trip downtown becomes a $20-25 rideshare each way. If you’re doing that twice daily for three days, that’s $120-150 in rideshare costs just moving back and forth. A rental car held at the hotel, with free hotel parking, becomes the cheaper option fast.

Your trip is five or more days. After three days, most visitors start wanting to see things beyond the core downtown attractions. The further you extend, the more a rental car justifies its fixed costs.

The Airport Rental Car Situation

As of late 2024, BNA implemented a $10 per day Customer Facility Charge on all airport rental cars, up from $4.50. This is in addition to daily rental rates and taxes. On a five-day rental, that’s an additional $50 over the listed rate. WSMV4 investigated and confirmed the charge is permanent, funding a new $650 million rental car facility with construction starting in early 2026.

Off-airport rental car locations (Enterprise, Hertz, and others have downtown Nashville locations) do not charge this facility fee. The trade-off is a rideshare to reach the off-airport location. For trips longer than three days, the math increasingly favors picking up a car at an off-airport location: a $10 Uber to an Enterprise downtown, no facility charge, return the same way.

Parking Downtown If You Do Drive

Parkitdowntown.com lists all public parking options in real time. Parking directly adjacent to Broadway runs $25-40 on weekend evenings. Moving two to three blocks away drops that to $15-20. Nissan Stadium Lot R across the Cumberland River offers free parking most non-event days, with the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge providing a 15-minute walk across to downtown. Music City Center garage on 7th Avenue South is well-managed and centrally located.

Sources

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