Please Help with Car Rental in Avignon on May 1, Labor Day
 

We are arriving at the TGV in Avigon on May 1. Apparently this is a big holiday for France. I just called AVIS and they are closed on that day, Sixth is also closed. There must be some car rentals opened on May 1 at the train station, has anyone rented a car on this holiday. I'm getting rather scared here.

I looked at Auto Europe website and entered May 1st..It shows that they are open..but, I think I would call them and double check..Yes, a big holiday!!

Good luck,

Joan

There are 3 or 4 areas in/near Avignon where one finds rental car companies. It's possible that one at the airport or TGV station may be open part of the day but the others will logically be closed.

I like Joan's suggestion of calling.

Well, AutoEurope's a broker, so for them to say they're open doesn't make much sense. I guess they're saying some of their Avignon affiliates will be open. I think you should call them to clarify that.

Definitely CALL and maybe wait a few days and call again!!!

They will be open at the TGV station but not in the city.

In case you don't have the numbers, here are the ones for the Avignon TGV station offices;
Hertz 33 4 32 74 62 80
Europcar 33 4 93 21 40 91

Stu Dudley

Autoeurope has the std. policies of their various companies they deal with, and so that is what they are posting, but it is by individual company, not for a city as a whole. The Autoeurope website gives you the opening hours of each location you choose, as I recall -- like for RR station, they will list each company and its hours, as I recall. IN fact, it is fairly easy to figure out which company they are quoting that way, as sometimes there is only one company at a particular location. So if they only have one company they deal with at the TGV station, that would be possible. I rented there, and it was Europcar (through Autoeurope). That may be the only company they deal with at that station, don't know.

>>That may be the only company they deal with at that station, don't know.<<<

In '07, we rented through AutoEurope and picked up a Hertz car in Nice, and returned it at the Avignon TGV station. We then immediatly walked across the sidewalk at the TGV station area and picked up a EuropCar auto, which we returned in Nice. We needed a car for more than 31 days, which is the time limit for CDW coverage on a credit card - that's why we did the two rentals (on 2 differenc cards). AutoEurope tried to explain why they set us up with 2 different companies, but I did not really understand the reason. We've done this 2 rental thing on several occasions, and usually they just let us keep the same car, but close the old rental agreement and create a new one.

However, Christina could be correct in that AutoEurope may only rent cars at the Avignon TGV station from Europcar, and only in Nice through Hertz - I don't know how their contracts work. But that would seem to me to be a lot of extra planning & negotiating on AutoEurope's part if they do a location by location arrangement.

Thinking again, AutoEurope has almost always set us up with Europcar autos. When we picked up the car in Nice, we stood in the loooooong Europcar line. A AutoEurope employee (first one I've seen in Europe) spotted us holding a AutoEurope voucher, and told us to get in the Hertz line (we were in the wrong line). This action might further support the idea that the actual car company you rent from is location dependent for the best deals.

Stu Dudley

Good advice! This is a huge holiday in France.

Call ahead for hours, as some (many?) railroad station car rentals close for lunch, esp on weekends and certainly on holidays, if they are open at all.

Be aware that many other things are closed on May 1. There will be cafes open but not much [probably nothing] else in the way of shopping other than bakeries early in the morning. You should expect all attractions (Palais du Papes, etc) to be closed. And I assume you already have train tickets and seat reservations because they may be on a holiday schedule as well. Paris buses certainly are.

I do have the train tickets. I will have to get from my hotel to the TVG station, will taxis be available. We're staying by Rue Cler and the Eiffel Tower.

The train arrives at the station at 4pm. I'll have to call AutoEurope on Monday to see if they have car rental places opened. I guess no one has rented a car on this holiday. You would think that in this economy something would be opened.

Suz1
Reserve a taxi in advance - don't expect to flag one down.

>>I'll have to call AutoEurope on Monday to see if they have car rental places opened.<,

Call Hertz & Europcar at the Avignon TGV station right now or tomorrow morning. Use the phone numbers I provided. Get the info from the "horses mouth" - not from AutoEurope (who are middle-men).

Stu Dudley

Please follow StuDudley's advice to call.

You wrote: "You would think that in this economy something would be opened".

Two problems:

1. They are _more_ likely to be closed on a holiday when they are not likely to be very busy.
2. The French take holidays very, very seriously, especially Labor Day, which is what May 1 is. It is not easy to get people to work on holidays in France, and very little is open compared to what Americans are used to.

The good news is that the next day, everything will be open, and you will be all rested up!

OK, so any suggestions where to stay for 1 night in Avignon on a moderate budget. If we stay in town can we walk or do we need a taxi.

Stu, have you stayed in Avignon, you seem pretty familiar with Provence.

We've spent 16 weeks in Provence - but for the last 10 years, always in Gites (houses).

The TGV station is outside of town. There was a shuttle from town to the station that we took about 8 years ago - and I assume there still is a shuttle.

Do you have my 27 page Provence & Cote d'Azur Itinerary? If not, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach it to a reply. I've sent well over 500 of these to Fodorites.

The French do take holidays very seriously. Shops are closed on Sunday too, and often on Monday morning (a few exceptions).

Stu Dudley

[email protected]

Hopefully the hotels are opened for business on this holiday or we're really in trouble. I wonder if the shuttle or taxis are even available if it's such a big holiday. This is getting scary.

Does anyone know of a moderate hotel for us to stay in in Avignon for 1 night?

Wonder if we should stay at a hotel walking distance from the station in case there's no taxis or hotels. HELP!

Of course hotels will be open. If someone is staying there from April 28 to May 5 - they aren't going to boot them out for 1 night on May 1. We've stayed in a hotel on May 1.

The TGV station is in an industrial area - not much around it.

I suspect shuttles & taxis will be available.

Eight years ago we stayed at the Bristol, which is the closest hotel to the downtown train station. Easy to catch the shuttle from there.

Have you called the car rental offices yet??

Stu Dudley

I just called the number you gave me and they said to call Avignon at 33 432 746 340, this is going to cost me to keep calling. Wonder why they don't have a toll free number.

Are you dialing 10 10 987 ????? It's a lot less expensive.

http://1010987.com/dial_inst.html

Stu Dudley

I did not dial that number first. I called Gemut Renta and they tell me they spoke to the managers at Europcar and Avis and that they're both opened. When I call Avis International they tell me they are closed on May 1. Well, I'll call Avis tomorrow in Avignon, since they're 9 hrs. ahead of us no one will be there at this time.