dutyfree

Darling daughter and I are going to attempt to rent a car in two weeks at the Athens airport and drive ourselves up to Delphi and then down for a 3 day stay in Nafplion where we will sightsee that area.It would be ONLY a 4 day rental. I have gone online to Europacar(no automatics)and Autoeurope($437 without CDW and $602 with CDW) and am wondering if anyone else has an agency they used at the Athens airport? I just want A/C,probably a standard or midsize and DEFINITELY NO MANUALS!!!!(still tramatized with automatics from Hertz in Paris to Normandy).In past Fodors threads people have said that they paid only $40 a day-what am I doing wrong? Any help would be greatly appreciated..........

dutyfree

Forgot to ask if we should do a compact,midsize or standard for driving the back roads and expressways of Greece? Both daughter and myself are tall with long legs-thanks!

milliebz

ttt

tom_h

"what am I doing wrong?"

Requesting an automatic. Unfortunately, automatics exact a price premium of 40% and up, vs a manual tranny.

Renting a car at airport (instead of central Athens) extracts an additional "airport tax" of around 15-18% IIRC. But the added time & hassles of driving in central Athens probably negate the savings, especially on a shorter rental.

Insofar as car size, seems european cars are at least 1-category smaller than a USA rental. ie, a USA sub-compact would get categorized as "compact" in europe !

More helpful would be the diagrams shown on most car rental sites, purporting to show the # passengers and luggage bags a given car will hold. You're going to need a car 2 grades up from the smallest just to get enough head- and leg-room

Sher

dutyfree.

www.economycarrentals.com

I plugged in March 15-19 pick up at the Athens airport for an intermediate automatic with all insurance and no excess.
E163.00 or there abouts.

They are a Greek company.
Good luck

dutyfree

Sher-what a great company! Thanks for passing on the information. They happen to have an automatic during the time I need for half the price of Autoeurope. Have you used them and had good luck? they have a Hyundai Accent which looks like it might work.
Tom-in your opinion do you think I should just take the bus to Delphi or Nafplion and then rent from there? Always open to anyone's ideas. Thanks!

Sher

We had planned to use them in Europe in May but had to cancel our trip.

I am sure that you can find comments from other people who did take a chance and used them and the reports are favorable.

Understand that the insurance is provided from them, not the rental company. The rental company will put a hold on your credit card for the excess and if you have an accident, Economy will reimburse you for the excess.

I must say that with the prices they have I was a little leary. But I called them direct and they were very forthcoming with information.

I hope it works out for you. We always rent an automatic in Europe and so I am always on the lookout for a deal.

I like AutoEurope, but their prices have been very high lately and they have not been able to match other companies even though they say they do. So we have been giving other companies a try.

tom_h

"Tom-in your opinion do you think I should just take the bus to Delphi or Nafplion and then rent from there?"

No, as long as you have the auto trans you desire, I would just rent a car once and not fool with the buses/trains. It's so much more convenient with a car. The open highway and the smaller towns are relatively easy to navigate, compared to urban Athens.

I was unfamiliar with EconomyCarRentals, pls post back with your experiences! As Sher pointed out, Autoeurope has gotten moderately expensive (but still cheaper than going direct to an international chain, such as Hertz).

dutyfree

Anyone have any thoughts on using Thrifty car rental at the Athens airport? I have a quote of $231 USD for 4 days from them without the extra insurance which would bring it up to $306. I have several friends who think that I am nuts for driving in Greece with my daughter-but with the tours either not operating in March when we want or else using a private cab and they want 260 euros a day....I am at a loss.

Maria_H

We used Economy Car Rentals for our Greek trip last May and had no problems with them at all. As we're from the UK, we hired a manual but the car was as specified on the site with no hidden charges. They pick you up (and return you) in a minibus from the airport as their office is 10 minutes drive away but as it's just off the main highway, it's ideally placed for heading off to Nafplion, which is where we were heading for our first stop. They will also pick up or drop off in city centre hotels if you have a stay in Athens at the start or end of your visit.

dutyfree

Thanks Maria for the information on Economy rentals. I am still trying to decide if I should go with them or Thrifty as I am from the US and if anything happens, Thrifty would be easier to deal with. What insurance did you take out-the buyout or the excess? Did you feel as though it wasn't a problem driving through the countryside in your rental? It sure seems like it would be easier and cheaper to get up to Delphi and then down to Nafplion without worrying about bus schedules or expensive tours. Any other thoughts or ideas about renting would be greatly appreciated from anyone. Thanks!

Maria_H

The prices quoted on Economy Rentals web site includes full insurance with no excess. From what I can remember the only additional (optional) insurance we were offered whilst booking on their web site, was cover for windscreen, tyres, etc - not usually covered on any car rental insurance. We were happy with the car supplied to us. The companyy was recommended to me and I have no hesitation in recommending them to others.