Car Rental in France

I will be renting a car for a week later this year picking the car up in Caen or Rouen.

Can anybody recommend a good car rental company? Right now I have checked out Europecar and Sixt.

Thanks,

Dave

I will be renting a car for a week later this year picking the car up in Caen or Rouen.

 

Can anybody recommend a good car rental company? Right now I have checked out Europecar and Sixt.

 

Thanks,

Dave

We just simply shop around among all the majors for the best deal (and location). You might also want to try rentacar.fr although I am not sure if they have locations in those ports.

Hank

Have a look on the Normandy Forum on Tripadvisor. I think there are some recommendations on there.

Have a look on the Normandy Forum on Tripadvisor. I think there are some recommendations on there.

Thank, I will check that out

Both Avis and Hertz have several rental locations in Caen and Rouen. Avis has one at Ouistreham - the port of Caen, if that would be more convenient for you.:)

We will be taking a train from Paris to Rouen, and picking the car up there. I would like to have an automatic transmission.

They both have locations at Rouen Gare. Hertz is open 24/7. You'd need to scroll through available vehicles to find one with automatic transmission and they will be more expensive. HTH.:)

We will be taking a train from Paris to Rouen, and picking the car up there. I would like to have an automatic transmission.

Make sure you book an automatic transmission far in advance as they can be difficult to find...especially in the smaller vehicles that are common throughout Western Europe. On two occasions we have been picking up rental cars in France and Italy and witnessed folks who had reserved auto transmissions who were unhappy to find there were none available (even though they had a reservation). You can also expect to pay a significant premium for an automatic. They are just not very popular in Europe.

Hank

I have already checked prices, and I did find that the automatics are quite a bit more. I found a car from Sixt for $392 a week. I will make sure that they can guarantee an automatic.

I have driven manual transmission a long time ago. I just don't want to mess with that this time.

Dave

celebritydave

if you can drive a manual car, then I would consider hiring one of those. It is very easy driving in Normandy and all along the coast it is mainly flat terrain, so you shouldn't have a lot of gear changing.

I would consider 392USD a fairly high price for a car in France.

so you shouldn't have a lot of gear changing.

I disagree, I don't think I have ever been in a country that has more roundabouts as France.

Also, check out Kemwel and Autoeurope. Both are middle man companies located in the US that book you with a local company. I have used them twice in France and have had no issues. You prepay for your rental in USD and can designate different criteria when checking prices including automatic. I hadn't driven manual in almost 20 years when we rented the first time but it turns out you really don't forget. I had no issues with the manual and we drove all over Normandy and Brittany.

I disagree, I don't think I have ever been in a country that has more roundabouts as France.

Come to our side of the Channel!!

Even the sign for the above is confusing!

Simon

Oh my gosh, can't imagine this! I have driven in roundabouts in the U.K., and thought I was pretty good at them, compared to most of my compatriots, especially since we have a couple of them in our lives in Florida and Canada. But that--wow!

Come to our side of the Channel!!

 

 

Even the sign for the above is confusing!

 

 

Simon

Yikes, don't know if I would know how to handle that

Just do what I did when I got caught in the roundabout: Say loudly, Look kids Big Ben, Parliament!

Our first rental car experience was in Germany, and we did end up going around a roundabout more than once :D

We also got lost, so this time we will definitely get a GPS.

Dave