Large Size Van Rental in Paris

Old Feb 21st, 2009, 03:16 AM
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Large Size Van Rental in Paris

Where to get a large (10-12) person van to rent in Paris. We are going to be there with my three kids and wives and want to exit Paris via one van to go to Eindhoven, Netherlands and drop off the van in Eindhoven before taking the train to Amsterdam for our return flight home. I"d prefer getting the van in Paris itself rather than at any of the airports, but if this is not possible which airport and from whom?
Tom Barber
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Old Feb 21st, 2009, 04:37 AM
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I'd assume most large rental agencies will have a large van in their fleet, but will they allow it to be returned in another country? Usually only cars in specific categories can be dropped off internationally, and always at a hefty supplement. If they do allow it, the charge will inevitably be huge, as it has to be repatriated to France at a much higher cost than a normal car.
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Old Feb 21st, 2009, 05:31 AM
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You can probabaly rent fromAuto Europe, or others, but always large drop off charge for another country. Are you not able to take a train?

Joan
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Old Feb 21st, 2009, 05:34 AM
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Hi tb,

Try www.autoeurope.com, www.kemwel.com, www.sixt.com, www.novacarhire.com

You will pay a fairly large amount to drop off in another country.

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Old Feb 21st, 2009, 06:03 AM
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Idea Merge offers vehicles specifically for your purpose.

They may have a 2 week minimum rental requirement but contact them for details:

http://www.ideamerge.com/
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Old Feb 21st, 2009, 06:59 AM
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AutoEurope is my broker of choice for rentals in Europe. They have 7- and 9-passenger vans. You will, however, pay a significant fee (several hundred dollars most likely) to drop the car off in a country other than the one where you picked it up. I would take a train.

Wives?
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Old Feb 21st, 2009, 08:02 AM
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Do you have a bus driver's licence ?
(in France you need one for vehicles able to hold more than 9 passengers)
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Old Feb 21st, 2009, 08:45 AM
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Agree with Norween - a vehicle big enough to carry 12 people and their luggage would be described as a minibus in Europe. Even if you do have a suitable licence do you seriously want to drive a monster like that around Parisian roads? Why can't you hire 2 smaller vehicles?
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Old Feb 21st, 2009, 12:38 PM
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Thanks everyone for the advice. Reason for the bus is that train service is only thru Roterdam and this will cost us almost a day in travel time. Besides when you ad the fares up the drop charge might be sensible. Also, this would give us some time together seeing the countryside between Paris and Eindhoven (not much I agree). Also when in Holland we could all be together with my brother and sister-in-law to tour the Dutch countryside for two days. That license thing is a bunner though!
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Old Feb 21st, 2009, 01:39 PM
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EU rules (which are in force through all the countries you propose to travel) state that the driver of a minibus (which is any vehicle with 10-17 seats) needs D1 category on their license, which is usually obtained by passing special PCV test. There is an exemption for those who got their first license before 1997, but this only applies to licenses obtained in a EU country and may not apply to US (state) licenses. In addition, the driver is subject to EU driver's hours rule, with maximum daily driving time, rest periods etc, which requires that full tachograph record is kept.
This tightening of rules for minibus drivers came about after a series of fatal accidents involving inexperienced and unregulated drivers.
So it looks as though you have no choice but to rent two or more passenger cars.
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Old Dec 30th, 2010, 02:17 AM
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Hi all, I am looking to rent a van to rent for the weekend of Pick up in or around Basel. I have searched the forums, googled and all that jazz, but to no avail! Most places have a minimum rental phase of. Does anyone have some helpful tips? Thanks for any advice you might have.

http://www.vanrentals.ie/
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Old Dec 30th, 2010, 08:02 AM
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wenger, if you could finish your sentences maybe someone could help. I've never heard of minimum rental phases. What size van? For when? To where from Basel? Vans are available to rent all over Europe, but not larger than a 9-person one unless you have a special license.
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Old Dec 30th, 2010, 08:09 AM
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How big a van do you want, wenger? You can rent small minivans through regular auto rental companies. Otherwise, try this
http://www.van-bus-rental-switzerland.ch/en/
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Old Jul 28th, 2012, 10:18 PM
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Hi I am from Bangladesh and my friends and I are planning a trip to Europe in a couple of weeks. There will be 8 of us and we would like to know whether we can rent out a Van which would fit all of together. That would be 8 people plus 5 suitcases and 6 carry ons. Ideally we are looking for a 12 or 16 seater can where we can fold don the back seats and store our luggage. Plus we intend to pick it up from Madrid and return it in Paris. Does the EU law for having a bus drivers license apply to us as well? a few of us have American Driving licenses would that help? Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks a bunch !
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Old Jul 28th, 2012, 10:51 PM
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Imran_Junaid: You will do better to start a new topic of your own instead of tacking on to a three year old thread.

But in general -- you will do much better renting two smaller vehicles. They would cost less, and you wouldn't have any licensing issues. However, cross border drop off fees are usually very high . . .
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