Judy

We will be in Greece May 21 to June 5 and will need to rent vehicles in 3 different locations (Crete, Paros and Piraeus). We have always used AutoEurope for car rental and been satisfied so I began my search with them.

I noticed a thread here on rentals with Budget in Athens and checked with them. Their rate seems to be significantly lower than AutoEurope's for a pick-up in Piraeus and drop off in Athens. I have not yet called AE to ask if they will match the rate.....not sure if I'm comparing the same vehicles.

On our last trip to Greece, we only needed cars for a day or two at a time and just asked our hotels to make arrangements. This trip we need them for 4 days at a time.

We are wondering if using local vendors (which I know AutoEurope does) is better than using the consolidator. Can anyone comment on using AutoEurope in Greece vs local vendors? If local rental agencies are best, any recommendations for Crete and Paros?

Thanks for any advice.

ParisAmsterdam

The Budget.gr site is often cited as having excellent prices.

In 2008 I used http://www.economycarrentals.com
The price was the best I could find at the time and included a zero deductible CDW. They are brokers... the actual car was supplied by Avis.

Judy

Thank you, daneryland and ParisAmsterdam. I just read stanbr's trip report and it included information on a Crete car rental which we'll contact.

I will check the sites you've mentioned for Paros.

stanbr

Hi Judy are you sure you need a car the whole time you are in Paros. If you stay in Parikia you will likely spend some time just exploring the city and may have a problem finding parking. We normally rent the car just for the day when we decide to head out into the country.

Judy

stanbr, we probably do not need it the entire time (4 days). We are staying in Naoussa and can probably do a combination bus/car. We just thought it might be easier to pick up a car when we arrive and turn it in when we get on the ferry for Piraeus if cost allows. There will be four of us for this portion of the trip. Is there parking available near the dock for the Antiparos ferry?

We are pricing a car for the entire stay, then will look at options.

stanbr

Certainly it will be easier to just pick up the car when you arrive but I recall the bus was convenient and very cheap.

I suspect when you get to Naoussa you are probably not going to want to leave very quickly so you will be paying for a car that is sitting idle and depending on where your hotel is you may have a problem with parking. In the early season there will be lots of cars available and you can go to a local agency and negotiate a good price when you do decide to explore the rest of the island.

Sorry I do not remember about parking at the ferry dock for Antiparos. We took the car across to Antiparos and drove around the island but did not stop at the village. Hopefully Heimdall sees this post, he is the expert.

brotherleelove2004

If you go to the port of Pounta there is parking there, and that ferry is a small car ferry if you want to drive around Antiparos. That ferry takes about 10 minutes to get to Antiparos and is very frequent. There is parking near the "main" ferry in Parikia with no time limit.

Judy

Thanks for all of your helpful replies. I may check with our hotel and see how close the bus stop is and/or what a taxi might be from the port. The hotel's website (Stelia Mare)does say it has parking.

We usually spend the first day anywhere exploring the immediate area and had thought to wait to get a car, even in Chania.

Ah, all these difficult decisions!! Ho fortunate we are to be able to have these worries.

Judy

I really can spell "how"

brotherleelove2004

Don't forget your International Driving Permit from AAA.

Judy

Thanks, Brotherleelove, I believe ours are about to expire. Wish they'd issue them for longer periods of time.

Judy

Thanks to all of you, we had a great trip. We prebooked a car to pick up at the port in Piraeus and drop off in Athens using economycarrentals. No problem there.....only difficulty was parking on the sidewalk in front of our Athens hotel as they directed and finding our Naplio hotel!

In Chania, we rented by the day to avoid parking issues and overnight to drive to Heraklion. On Paros, our hotel arranged a car for a few days and provided parking.

ParisAmsterdam

Thanks for the update Judy... it's always interesting to find out how things went. As you found out, driving in Athens is easy... it's parking that's the big problem! ;^)