We will be in London for 3 days and then plan to visit Cotswold area for about 6 days by car.
Where is the best place to get a car? We would need to get there by public transport and prefer to not drive right in London. Heathrow? Any suggestions as to how to get to rental place?
2 couples from USA celebrating our 35th Wedding anniversary. Looking forward to the trip!

How about Oxfore and take a quick look at the neat unique sweet university town? Smack on the edge of the Cotswold Hills.

The best/easiest place by far is at Heathrow. Take public transport or a car service like justairports.com to the airport and collect your car there.

All of the various national agencies are represented there and it is right on the motorways that head west towards the Cotswolds.

Driving in Oxford is a true pain.

Are there airport pickup surcharges? The cost of a car hire to get to Heathrow - taking the Tube can be a realy travail - train to Oxford quicker and cheaper and the traffic in Oxford is no worse than that around Heathrow.

You can also look around Oxford - I suggest Oxford for these reasons.

Have you driven in Oxford? I have and I do -- and collecting a car for a first timer (or a 'seldom timer') at LHR is easier than having one's first 'wrong side of the car/wrong side of the road' experience in a busy/congested city that discourages driving and is busy w/ bikes and buses.

If budget is an issue, the tube to LHR is cheap . . . but for 4 adults splitting the cost of a car service would be less than £8 pp.

••• The only exception would be if you could get your car at the Enterprise location out at Oxford airport -- but that would require a cab ride from Oxford •••

Better a short cab ride than an expensive car transer to Heathrow or a possibly Hellish tube ride - again one reason would be that the OP could take the train to Oxford - leaves bags in bus station lockers or if any at train station and look around then take a taxi to pick up the car. Oxford in on the edge of the Cotswold to drive from Heathrow means using much more gas and time.

How do you get to the car rentals at Heathrow? Some remote airport location?

No I have not driven in Oxford - is the car rental pick up place smack in the heart of the town centre? If not it may not be muchof a problem.

Really, do not attempt to drive in Oxford. Rental at LHR is easy. As for anyone going to Oxford, the bus is generally much easier than the train and stops smack dab in the centre of Oxford.

I'd hardly call Oxford 'smack on the edge of the Cotswold Hills' as it's all pretty flat around Oxford.

The real Cotswold Hills are further west and south of Oxford. Closer to Bath in fact, and that might be a good location to pick up a car if you really don't want to start at Heathrow.

Alternatively, consider taking a train to somewhere like Kemble, Stroud or Stonehouse where there is vehicle rental close by - and much easier roads to start out on.

In any of those locations you are really 'smack on the edge of the Cotswold Hills'!

Closer to Bath in fact, and that might be a good location to pick up a car if you really don't want to start at Heathrow.>

How about Cheltenham Spa - a nice larger city that is on the edge of the Cotswold Hills - largge enough to have various car rentals - not far by train from London. I based there once for the Ctoswolds with a car and easily went all over. Not your iconic Cotswold Wool village but a nice larger place with amenities of a larger place.

PQ -- the very easiest place to collect a rental car and get driving is a <u>at Heathrow Airport</u> . . .

>>No I have not driven in Oxford - is the car rental pick up place smack in the heart of the town centre?<<

If you haven't tried it why are you suggesting it? All of the car rental places are in the center <i>except for the one I mentioned</i>.

>>Better a short cab ride than an expensive car transer to Heathrow or a possibly Hellish tube ride -<<

For one - it isn't a 'short' cab ride, it is is nearly 10 miles.

Hi
Bath Spa!
Maybe take the train or arrange a ride to Bath. Arranging a ride could be almost the same as the cost of a train ride. Bath is a good start to the Cotswolds. By the way it is in the Cotswolds.
Very nice town! Try the Thermae Baths and relax! If one in the group books a treatment, you'll get an appointment. Otherwise it's first come first served.
The Cotswolds is beautiful, quiet, and slow. Quite a contrast from loud, busy, crowed, and fast paced London.
Take in a pub in the cots!
Bath would be closer than Oxford.
Have fun!

How about a train to Reading - short ride from Paddington and rent a car there?

>>Bath would be closer than Oxford.<<

Only correct if you mean the very southern bit of the Cotswolds. Oxford lies just east of the area - less than 20 miles from Burford for instance.

>>How about a train to Reading - short ride from Paddington and rent a car there?<<

Haven't driven in Reading either I'd guess? Plus that wouldn't save any/much time at all. For example LHR to Burford and Reading to Burford are almost exactly the same drive times. AFAIK the only car hire near the station is Budget -- otherwise there would have to be another taxi ride.

When we rented a car for our time in the Cotswolds we picked it up at Heathrow and drove directly (as directly as one can, anyway) to our hotel in Broadway. It was an easy process and I would happily repeat the process, too.

Looks like Heathrow is the logical choice!

>>Looks like Heathrow is the logical choice!<<

Okaaaay. Guess Dukey's post finally convinced you and closed the deal.

But looks like the OP hasn't seen/read any of it . . .

Like Janis and Dukey, we preferred renting at LHR. As Dukey experienced, we also drove to Broadway the last time in the Cotswolds...easy, fast, no problems.

As for Broadway, I know the forum is split on using it as a base. We found it to be the perfect location way back in 1980, and used it twice since then, as recent as 2009.

Mariann:
At that time ('09), next door to the rather musty old King's Arms, we had booked a very comfortable B and B named "Small Talk"...with parking...for about $90. Recommend. (I'll post some Cotswold pics below)

https://picasaweb.google.com/stuartt...KHcytuxmJrntwE

The whole "where to stay in the Cotswolds" has to rank up there with finding all the secrets of the universe and the answers to "what should I wear?" questions.

We liked our "restaurant with rooms" lodging in Broadway but might stay in an entirely different town next time around. Bourton-on-the-Water! What a great place until all those other folks show up!!! Stow-on-the-Wold? Bibury? (that "most beautiful village in England") As some would say, spoilt for choice and what's not to like?

if we're swapping good bases in the Cotswolds, what about Tetbury?

or if you want something bigger, Cirencester.