clausar

Heimdall,

You are right, the Matrix is not 4WD....
Traveler_India should check directly with the company to see which other car types are available, and whether they are suitable for 4 persons with luggage.

Usually the model they publish in a particular category is just an indication, they usually have more different types in each category, and you will get whichever car is available at the time you will pick it up at the airport.

Traveler_India

Thanks so much.

Heimdall

Yes, that is my experience when renting cars in the UK and US, and it's usually possible to upgrade to a larger car if one is available. Personally I would want a car with plenty of room for a long road trip, and one with enough power to cope with steep hills when fully loaded.

Traveler_India

Hi,
I am considering Volkswagen Passat. Any reviews about it? I did search a lot, and it seems this should be big enough in automatic category. It is listed under immediate.

Regards,
Kavita

Heimdall

Volkswagen Passat would be a better choice for your family! It is a much larger than the other cars you were considering, with a roomy interior and large boot. VWs are very reliable, and more luxurious than the Hyundai. I have owned three Volkswagens (the smaller Golf model), and the next car I buy will be another VW.

Traveler_India

Hi Heimdall,

Thanks for you feedback.
One last question before I close my car rental booking.
What do you think about Toledo DSG 2015 model Diesel? Is Diesel car as smooth to drive as petrol? Because even in India Diesel is much cheaper, but car's are not that ease to drive. They make noise. Is it so in Greece also?
I've bottled down to these 2 -
1) Volkswagon Passat offered by Hertz for aound 800 Euros
2) Toledo DSG 2015 offered by Athens Car rental for 600 Euros.

Cheers,
Kavita

clausar

Regarding fuel prices...
Where I live in Athens,
Diesel is 1.158 per liter
and gas 95 octane is 1.508 Euro per liter.
These are the prices of today and vary between different parts of Athens, and cities in Greece.

Personally if I had to choose between the two cars AND companies, I would book the Passat with Hertz.

Are you sure, you would get this specific car? and not any similar car of the same car group ?

Heimdall

Hi again Traveler_India,

My current VW and the previous were both diesel, and I am very fond of them, even though diesel fuel is slightly more expensive than petrol here in England. Diesels get better fuel economy, and with the price advantage shown in clausar's last post, seem the obvious choice to me. Modern diesels are very quiet, and you won't notice much difference between it and a petrol engine. Just be sure you fill it up with the correct fuel. Another advantage of diesels is: they have more torque, which could be an advantage on steep hills when the car is fully loaded.

The Toledo is made by SEAT, a Spanish company owned by Volkswagen. It's almost as large as a Passat from what I can tell. To me there wouldn't be much difference between the two cars as a rental, but if I were to buy one it would be the VW. You've already received permission from Athens Car Rental to take their car on ferries. If Hertz won't let you take their car on the ferries, that may be the deciding factor. You could take a chance, but what if the car breaks down on the island? You could be charged a hefty retrieval fee.

Here is a review by someone I know about Athens Car Rental:
http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTop...on-Greece.html

Traveler_India

Thanks so much for all the details.
That was the reason I was considering Athens Car Rental to be on the safe side and TA does have good reviews. But my bad luck, I told them to book the car and they replied, no longer available on your dates!! So I guess no other option, but to take the risk and pray nothing happens on the island.

clausar

Having a 25 years experience on car rentals and what eventually can happen, I would say that to me it is absolutely important that there is a technical support in the unfortunate even of a problem.

There is a difference between renting a car from a small company on a small island and renting a car in Athens, in order to drive through half Greece.

Companies like Hertz ( or any other international car rental) have the advantage of having stations allover the country and being able to offer help in a timely fashion.

Personally I was always willing to pay a little more to stay on the safer side.

Traveler_India

Hi,
Thanks for your views.
But unfortunately Hertz also doesn't have Volkswagon Passat. They said they have Seat Toledo 1.6,Mercedes A180,Audi A3 or similar which they are offering for 977 Euros. Hertz clearly write that it is not insured on ferry and also if anything happens on island, we have to borne the cost of getting it to mainland.
And even Athens car rental who was offering Toledo for 600 Euros, is no longer available.

Any advise or any other car rental?

Thanks,
Kavita

Heimdall

These are the car rental agencies at Athens International Airport:
http://www.aia.gr/traveler/landing-in-Athens/car-rental
Enterprise is my favourite car rental agency in the UK and US, but I have no experience with them in Greece.

Traveler_India

Hi,
Thanks so much.
Please need help with more things:
From Monemvasia (1 nights) we will travel to Diros cave as recommended. It looks really exciting. Then where should we aim to reach till and spend the night? Next day we want to reach Olympia by 4pm. I think to drive Monemvasia-Diros Caves - Olympia reaching by 4pm, will be impossible. So decided to stay some where in between.
Also we should take route via Sparta or via Kalamata? If we go via Sparta, we can check out Mystras for an hour.

I would like to thanks you guys, without which half of things would have not been possible. I really appreciate your suggestions, efforts and time.

artsnletters

I cannot stress enough how incredibly helpful it was to have GPS in Greece. It is very hard to find and read street signs in the Greek alphabet while negotiating traffic. I would still be looking for my hotel in Nafplio without GPS! Strongly recommend having or renting it!

clausar

Calculate about 2 hours for the Diros Cave, which is really worth visiting.

If you depart early from Monemvasia you could do Diros and continue to Olympia on the same day, although it could be tiring.

You could overnight in Kalamata, which is a nice city with a long sea promenade many restaurants cafes etc.

I would not recommend driving to Olympia via Sparta.

Traveler_India

Thanks for your suggestions.
Any specific reason for not driving via Sparta? Does it take too long or roads are too bad?
Then is it possible to leave Nafplio at 8, see Mystras en-route for an hour and reach Monemvasia by 12? Will it be possible according to driving times? Only thing is I miss the coastal route.
Also please could you help with these travel times:
Diros to Kalamata -
Diros to Koroni -
Koroni to Olympua -
On google map, I think times are too short and we will take much longer. Sometimes I feel it takes double time then shown on google maps.

clausar

Driving to Olympia via Sparta simply takes much longer.

You could visit Mystras on your way from Nafplio to Monemvasia, just calculate a bit longer.
The drive takes 2,5 hours, and about 2 more hours to Monemvasia
Diros - Kalamata 1,5 hours
Diros - Koroni 2,5 hours
Koroni - Olympia 2,5 - 3 hours

mamcalice

Based on the things you say you do and don't like, I would skip Mykonos and spend your final days on Santorini if you would like to relax. Mykonos is a bit of a party island.

Traveler_India

Ok thanks so much.
So Nafplio to Monemvasia via Mstras would take 4.5 hrs plus 1 hour at Mystras? That what you mean, right? Google map showed 3 hrs, I have to just stop using google maps for Greece.

How much it takes from
Diros to Sparta -
Sparta to Olympia -
Diros to Olympia via Kalamata -

@Mamcailice - Thanks for the suggestions. Will think over it.

marizaki090

We made our journey this year from kalamata to kardamili and then to kythira using the boat. We informed the company with the rental car and they had no problem at all to take the car with us in the boat.

However as they said they had to make another extra insurance for the boat travel , luckily they said it will be a gift to us and we will not pay any extra charge.

We used Servin Kalamatas bmw car rentals and we took the car from kalamatas airport.

P.s When we read the contact paper with all the terms it said: No car is allowed to travel inside a boat unless the company is informed and provide an agreement. So we consider our selfs lucky that we managed to inform the company soon enough and we have not any problem during our trip.