Good morning

my flight leaves at 10 AM and the Europcar rental counter opens at 8AM.

given how horrific traffic apparently is getting into Marseille (especially rush-hour) I am planning on leaving extra early so that I can get to the drop-off at 7 AM ish. Not to mention leaving early is good for snafus in general.

can anyone speak from experience as to whether I can still drop the car off, even if the counter isn’t open yet? I really wanted to be at check-in at 8 AM also - again to have a buffer for snafus. I’m not sure how difficult it is to get from the car rental counter over to the terminal.

I have flown from this airport once before but it’s been a while - I recall that it’s small but I can’t remember if it’s small enough that I don’t need two hours before flight time to check in.

I supposed to avoid the hassle I could dump the car the night before and use a cab, but that might be overkill (or maybe the most prudent thing given timing?)

thanks for any thoughts.

Are you sure the counter opens at 8?
According to the airport website, the car rental counters open at 7.
"Commercial reception from 7:00 a.m. (8:00 a.m. on Sunday) to 11:30 p.m. approximately.
After closing, contact the Booking Center directly."
https://www.marseille-airport.com/ac...ess/car-rental

No, I've not returned and flown out of Marseilles. When I flew out of Nice (years ago) I returned the car early and used the key drop. I took LOTS of photos of the car for "just in case".

I also would arrive 2 hours before the flight.

"Car rental reception desks are located in the car parks in front of terminal 1."

You may want to phone to confirm. The Europcar website for that location shows regular opening hours not til 8:00 am everyday but a phone number of +33 825 00 30 80 if you want to see whether they offer after hours drop off. That website also explains (by google translation from French) "open outside regular hours (additional charges apply)".

Where are you coming from, that is confusing as MRS isn't in Marseille so not sure why the Marseille rush hour traffic would be an issue. Unless you are staying in the center of Marseille and returning there, but that would be an unusual choice as you wouldn't need a car within Marseille itself. And you can return at the train station there, which is where I've rented from.

I haven't driven down the D9 to MRS (say from Aix) during rush hour but I wouldn't think it's the same thing.

In any case, there is obviously conflicting info on the Europcar website versus MRS' website as to their opening hours so who knows. The Europcar website also claims you can return at 7 but pay extra (which implies they would have a person there), but when you put that in the search box, the fee is the same so not sure how that works, I was just curious what the fee was. Also, some Europcar locations do have night drop-boxes either way, but I couldn't find any info on whether that one does. I've rented there but not returned.

If possible I would also try to call them to get better details on which of those hours is correct and other options such as paying extra or the dropbox. I wouldn't be crazy about leaving a car that way due to possible billing problems, but at least it would be an option.

Just about every car rental company has a drop box at the airport for leaving keys when they are closed. So it all depends on whether you trust them or not. I have done it regularly with no problem.

Reporting live from MRS.

it worked out perfectly. Driving myself was the correct answer and I gave myself an extra hour of buffer. Easy peasy. The rental counter wasn’t open but as I was unloading an employee drove up - she was early. All sorted.

the rental drop off is an easy walk to the terminal.