Car hire off airport (Malaga)

Eric

I have been looking at car hire off airport.  Much cheaper and the shuttle bus you to the car hire company.  Has anyone done this?  Experiences?

TIA

nheather

Must admit I tend to lok for two things

(1) on airport
(2) full tank, return full

To avoid being ripped off, not saying you you, just like to minimise the risks.

Last two hires, Cyprus and Portugal, I have used Holiday Autos - if you aren’t in a hurry keep an eye out for discount vouchers that pop up regularly, especially if you are on their mailing list.  To be honest while off airport was cheaper it wasn’t by a huge amount so I preferred the convenience and the lower perceived risk of on airport.

Also take a careful note of the excesses - they can be quite high - I take  out the excess protection insurance that holiday autos offer.

Cheers,

Nigel

imightbewrong

Bear in mind what time the shuttle bus operates/what times the off-site collect/drop off office opens and what times your flights are.  If your flight is not long after they open for example, you may find the timings pretty tight.

Eric

We usually use Goldcar at the airport & full tank also.  These were quite a lot cheaper.  But, as said, if they start adding charges, your stuck with them..

Bl4ckGryph0n

Not in Malaga, but have done on Mallorca and Cyprus (Paphos).

Mallorca allowed me to have a much better vehicle, for less. It was a long establish Spanish company not one of the big global players.

On Cyprus I was recommended them by the villa agency, and they were right. No nice offices, no cards either but cash only. But it was cheap, well maintained cars, and decent service by human beings who cared. One of the best hire experiences although at the face of it a bit weird.

In the area we go next we go again off-airport. Well actually we have a car delivered to our villa, and they pick us up form another country as we could get a flight direct.

I actively look for the off airport experience unless it is perhaps a business trip and I need something right here and right now.

nheather

Another consideration (well for me anyway) is the time of arrival.  For example, when we arrived in Cyprus (October) it was gone 10 pm and very dark.  So it was really nice to be able to go straight to the desk and then a short walk outside to the well lit enclosure.  We then had a 40 minute drive in the dark in an unfamiliar place, we were tired so the least time spent picking up the car the better.

Had we arrived at 10 am in the morning, I would have been more open to off airport.

And if possible, avoid the "buy a tank of fuel, and bring it back empty, so much more convenient for you" pitch.  In reality you get sold a tank at inflated prices, and will inevitably bring it back half full - which they then sell to the next customer.

Cheers,

Nigel

Rock Danger

I'm doing the car thing via holiday autos this summer, seems fine.

The only thing I'm having trouble with is working out if i travel from Rome to Naples by train and the Naples to Florence and then back to Rome - do I have to buy single tickets or is there some magic return rail card thing?

Sorry I did use the googles but couldn't find anything and didn't want to start a thread.

nheather

You can definitely get return tickets in Italy, but whether you can use it to take a detour en-route, I doubt it.

I imagine you are talking two tickets RomeNaples (return) and RomeFlorence (return).  The question to ask is whether you could do a NaplesFlorence (return) but start your journey in Rome.

Note there is mostly likely to be two train services, a fast one and a slow one, different companies, different tickets - I know there is down to Naples because I looked at them when in Rome and planning a trip down to Pompeii.

Cheers,

Nigel

Rock Danger

@nheather Hi Nigel,

Yeah going from Rome to Naples, rent car for a few days then train from Naples to Florence and then after another couple of days Florence to Rome.

I'm not getting on the slow train - as far as I can see it looks like it'll have to be singles each time and for 2 people at probably 35 yoyos a trip it'll get up there in money quite fast I think.

nheather

Does the Naples to Florence train go through Rome?

If so I'd also look at the possibility of

1) Two returns RomeNaples and RomeFlorence
2) One return NaplesFlorence and just start the journey at Rome

May not be possible, may not even save you anything but worth checking.

Envious - Rome was my favourite city holiday (possibly my favourite holiday) of all time.  Not done Florence so want to go back and do that and Pisa, most likely Venice (though so interested in that).

Cheers,

Nigel