annieladd

We are flying into Avignon, and need to rent a car. The car must be an automatic. Avis said they don't have any automatics. Hertz is requesting one, and will let us know in 3 days if they can get one. My biggest problem is the Hertz rental place at the airport is only open 8-12 and 6-11. Our plane arrives at 2:30. The Hertz locations at the TGV station and the Gare SNCF seem to have better hours. Should we just take a taxi from the airport to one of the stations? Is either one of them close to the airport?

Underhill

I'm really surprised the Hertz office isn't open from 3 to 11; 12 to 3 are the not re-opening until 6 would be excessive.

Why don't you try renting with AutoEurope? You can check the web site for automatics (not always easy to find in France outside the big cities like Paris and Lyon, but you can get them).

The Avignon airport isn't terribly far from the train stations, if push comes to shove.

Good luck!

rex

Do you have a back-up plan to deal with their failure to fill your request? When is this trip? With a concerted effort, many adults can learn to drive a manual transmission vehicle comfortably in a weekend, though perhaps it will still feel awkward in high-pressure stop'n'go urban congestion.

Hope it works out for you.

Best wishes,

Rex

Underhill

It looks like the Avignon airport car-rental agencies have very limited hours; so picking up a car at the TGV station would be your best bet, as that office seems to have all-day hours.

I think the problem will be getting a car with automatic transmission. Are you staying in Avignon? One option might be to pick up your car at the Marseille airport, which is larger than the one at Avignon.

Underhill

You might ask your hotel for a suggestion; perhaps there's a shuttle service from the airport into the town.

annieladd

First of all, sorry for so many postings last night on this subject. I kept sending it, would see it on the postings, and then it would disappear. I'd look for it under my screenname, and still wouldn't find it, so I don't know if that is normal, I did something wrong, or just a mystery.

We do have a "manual" driver in the group, but would be preferable to have an automatic, so I'll keep trying. Autoeurope had one very expensive automatic option, Avis, none, and Hertz is trying (I thought it was Avis that tried harder). We are renting a home, but the first night we'll stay at Hotel D-Europe, so I'll e-mail them for suggestions. I'll keep trying and thanks for the suggestions.

Underhill

Getting an automatic anywhere besides Paris is difficult; keep checking the various web sites, including Europecar.

rex

It's a technical thing to explain why searching for your name - - TYPED IN - - will often not work to find your own posts. But clicking on your own name (upper left hand corner) will always find your posts.