Car Rental in Memphis

Why rent a car in Memphis?

Memphis, sitting on the Mississippi River, is a popular tourist destination in Tennessee. It is just across the border from Arkansas. It is widely considered to be one of the homes of the blues and is well-known for Graceland, Elvis' home. A visit to Beale Street (maybe your feet will be floating six feet off of it as in Walking in Memphis) should be on any lover of live music's list of things to do. 

Top ways to enter Memphis

Memphis International Airport (MEM) - The easiest way to reach Memphis if traveling from afar is to fly to Memphis International. It has nonstop connections with most major US cities. It's just 11 miles from downtown. 

Nashville International Airport (BNA) is the other major airport in the state of Tennessee. It takes a little over three hours to drive from it to Memphis. 

Amtrak's City of New Orleans calls at Memphis Central Station just south of downtown on its way from New Orleans to Chicago (and vice versa). From there, you'd have to make it downtown to a rental office to pick up a vehicle.

I-40 and I-55 pass through Memphis and I-22 ends in it. This makes it easy to reach from Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Nashville, and St. Louis. You are almost surely allowed to drive any vehicle rented in those states or cities to Memphis. 

City facts

Memphis is known as one of the homes of the blues, some even consider it to be THE home of the genre of music. It is also famous for being the long-time home and place of death of Elvis Presley. 

The city has its share of sports with the University of Memphis teams and the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA

Top sights and activities

Beale Street - The street famous for its blues clubs is the place to be in Memphis. Wander down the street, pop into a club, and hear some of what Memphis is famous for. The party goes all night long, so it's a great place to visit, but not a great place to have your hotel.

National Civil Rights Museum - The Lorraine Hotel at which Martin Luther King Jr. was shot dead is now a museum dedicated to civil rights which he spent his life tirelessly working for. It also focuses on slavery and segregation from the 1800s to the 1960s.  

Graceland - For many, the entire reason for visiting Memphis is to take a trip to Elvis' famous home. You can go down to the Jungle Room. The King of Rock'N'Roll is also buried in his estate there. 

Sun Studios - Famous music studio where many albums were produced, including Elvis' first ones. It's one for guided tours and is a great place to learn about the music history of the city. 

Toll roads

There aren't any toll roads in Memphis, nor in the state of Tennessee altogether. You probably won't run into any in the surrounding states either, so there's no need to worry about transponders and toll packages. 

Ideas for day trips

Shiloh National Military Park - Just a two-hour drive east of Memphis is Shiloh, the location of one of the most crucial battles of the Civil War. There's a visitor's center with a film about the battle that you should see before you drive around to see where it all happened. 

Tupelo - If your primary reason for visiting Memphis is Graceland, you may want to drive down to Tupelo to see the house where Elvis was born. While you're there, you may want to take the chance to drive a portion of the Natchez Trace Parkway. 

Cruise the Mississippi - Memphis sits on the Mississippi River, and the best way to enjoy the river is to take a cruise on it. There are plenty of cruises that leave from Memphis, both long and short. So have your pick!

Further destinations

Nashville - If you are a lover of music, then your natural next destination is the capital of country music. In addition to other sights related to the genre, seeing a show at the Gran Ole Opry is an absolute must. 

Montegomery - Head south to the capital of Alabama and another city known for the civil rights era. The city where Rosa Parks refused to give up here seat on the bus to a white person now has a museum and library dedicated to here. There's also plenty of other things to see and do, including visiting Old Alabama to see old, original buildings. 

St. Louis - Home to the Arch, there's so much more to do in the city on the Mississippi. You can catch a Cardinals game in the summer . And you can tour the Anheiser Busch factory year-round. 

Car rental prices in Memphis

• Medium cars - from $48 per day
• Small cars - from $70 per day
• Large cars - from $49 per day
• SUVs - from $52 per day
• Premium cars - from $59 per day
• Vans - from $70 per day
• Convertibles - from $349 per day