Here's the honest 2026 picture: a six-seat street-legal golf cart in San Diego's beach areas typically runs $140–$225 per day depending on the company, plus tax — and the quoted day rate is rarely the whole story. Delivery fees, deposits, and minimum-day requirements can swing your real total by $100 or more.
This guide breaks down what things actually cost, what to watch for, and what you'd pay with us.
Typical San Diego golf cart prices
Across the companies serving Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, and Mission Bay, here's the current landscape:
- Daily rate (6-seater): $140–$225 + sales tax. Older fleets tend to be at the lower-middle of the range; some companies charge a premium for newer carts.
- Delivery: free to $60+ each way depending on company and zone.
- Security deposit: $200–$500, held at booking and refunded after return.
- Minimums: some companies require a 2-day minimum, especially in summer.
- Hourly options: limited — where they exist (mostly on-property at resorts), expect roughly $70/hour, which overtakes a full-day rate after about two hours.
Beach Mode Rentals pricing, exactly
We keep it simple, and it's all listed on our pricing page:
- $140 for the first day
- $120 for each additional day
- Plus sales tax
- $200 refundable security deposit — included in your checkout total and refunded automatically after the cart comes back in good shape
- Free delivery to Campland on the Bay; $40 covers delivery and pickup for Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, and select La Jolla addresses
- Every cart is a brand-new 6-seater with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, a surround sound system, and USB charging at every seat
No 2-day minimum. Book online in about two minutes with instant confirmation, and cancel free up to 10 days before your rental starts.
What a rental actually totals
Using our rates as the example (before tax):
- 1 day: $140
- 3 days: $140 + $120 + $120 = $380 — that's ~$127/day
- 7 days: $140 + (6 × $120) = $860 — ~$123/day, and worth asking us about multi-week discounts beyond that
Split a 3-day rental across a group of six and you're at roughly $21 per person per day for unlimited beach transportation — less than a single round-trip rideshare to La Jolla.
The hidden costs to check before you book (anywhere)
- Delivery and pickup fees — "free delivery" sometimes means delivery only, with a separate pickup charge. Ours is one flat $40 covering both (or free at Campland).
- Deposit size and how it's returned — ask whether it's a hold or a charge, and how fast it's released. Ours is refunded automatically after return.
- Taxes and processing fees — quoted rates are almost always pre-tax. Budget for sales tax on top.
- Minimum rental length — a "cheap" day rate behind a 2-day minimum isn't cheap for a one-day plan.
- Cancellation terms — ours is free cancellation until 10 days before your start; inside that window the rental is non-refundable. Check the policy wherever you book.
- Fleet age — price-shopping rarely surfaces this, but an older cart with a tired battery changes your whole day. Ask when the fleet was bought (ours: brand new).
Golf cart vs. the alternatives
- Rental car: $50–$80/day + hotel parking (often $30–60/night at the beach) + the misery of finding street parking in PB. And it seats your group but kills the vibe.
- Rideshare: fine for one hop; brutal for a group of six making four stops a day.
- E-bikes/scooters: great for solo riders, hard for groups, gear, kids, and grocery runs.
We did the full comparison in Getting Around Pacific Beach Without a Car.
Bottom line
For 2026, expect $140–$225/day for a six-seater in San Diego, watch the fees, and do the per-person math — that's where a cart quietly becomes the cheapest fun transportation in the city. Check live availability and book for your dates, and see what's included with every Beach Mode cart.
