I just booked a car rental thru Kamwell. The price was very descent for the length that we have it. Our pick up and drop off area is in marseille airport. there's a fee of 45.00 euro. it'll be waived if i pick it up in the city. Any thoughts on this? the rental for a midsize was only $198.00. it feels odd to pay 25% on a surcharge.

We avoid driving into large cities when traveling in Europe (and some in the U.S. too) and always pick up and drop off at the airport or a smaller town. For us, the cost savings is not worth the extra stress. I'm guessing that's why there is a surcharge...high demand from tourists. But if you're comfortable with the thought of driving in and out of the center of Marseilles, go for it.

I think the fee applies to the airport location only, check and see and if so, you could drop car at the train station, which easy to locate and easy to get to the airport from there. Just a thought!

thanks for your thoughts

We've rented about 50 cars in France. There is a "government" surcharge for picking up a car at both airport and train station locations. There is also a larger inventory of cars at airports & also train stations. Don't waste more than about 2 hrs trying to save $45 by picking up a car at a "downtown" location - which might have trouble securing a car with your specific requirements (automatic, diesel, GPS, etc).

Stu Dudley