Greece is a country, where you can lay in the beach the whole day. It is very pleasant. All tourists that are planning to spend their vacation burning in the sun go to the active leisure sooner or later. Let’s imagine that you want to plane your excursions to see all beautiful places, ruins, architectural monuments. The most comfortable way of travelling is driving a car. Obviously, you have to hire a car in Athens.
Greece is a country, where car travelling is very popular. There are no limitations. The first and main thing – the driver’s age is 21 or more. The second rule – your driving experience must be a year and more.
What Car Brand to Choose?
The assortment of car brands is wide. Sometimes, you can see the best and amazing car samples. For example, you may try cabriolet or micro cars. This sort of cars is very attractive for hot summer. As you know, the summer is really hot in Athens. So, many tourists prefer cabriolets. They are about 20% from the total amount of cars for rent. The last 80% are divided between budget compact cars, family vans, sedans and big jeeps. Choosing car for your journey, pay attention to rental car specific in one or another region.
Cheap and Nasty
The cheapest variant to rent is small and comfortable hatchback like Renault Clio, Hyundai Getz or Citroen C3. The average price for one day is 20-60 EUR. This kind of car is characterized with 1.2-1.6 liters engine and transmission according to your choice. Of course, the best variant for you is manual transmission. The road in Greece goes up and down. So, if you wish to hire a car of automatic transmission, it is better to choose apparatus of higher price and more powerful engine.
Happy Medium
The long time travelling demands sedan or minibus. The daily price for this car is about 70 EUR for sedan and 100 EUR for mini bus.
Exclusive Cars
This category contains all expensive and interesting budget variants. You can hire Hammer or BMW X6 for 250 EUR per day or mini bus of lux configuration for the same price.
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Documents, Insurance
To hire a car in Athens you need driving license. The driver’s age is about 21, no younger with the driving experience about a year. Rental service includes: fire protection and civil responsibility. Additional budget is Theft Protection Coverage, CDW, Super CDW, FDW. Sometimes, there is additional payment for every kilometer of your trip – be attentive and read contract carefully.
Where to Find Rental Car Services?
There are many variants of hiring car in Athens. It is difficult to say which of them is better and the most suitable. You should define with the best variant for you. So, meet the first method of hiring car in Athens – Rental car services Online.
Pluses
Comfort: you may hire a car, using special services. The services are ready to help you to plan your tour, organizing comfortable transfer from the airport to your hotel. Profit: it is better to hire a car a couple of weeks before your trip. You can catch a big sale!
Minuses
The assortment of cars is limited. In short, the choice is not very big. Of course, you are offered the real cars for good price: standard models of different colors and pricing. You cannot find BMW Х6 the latest model and cool completing or Mini Cooper cabriolet. As a rule, the assortment is limited by Volkswagen, Citroen and Peugeot – standard European cars.
Touristic Market
The situation is troubled. As a rule, summer in Greece is rich in surprises. It can happen that big touristic operators are not able to answer their obligations for client for one or another reason. As a matter of fact, rental car services are always responsible for their services, operating in a normal mood. So, it is not a problem to hire a car in different ways, online or in the city office.
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Rental Car Services in an Office
The big part of the city hotels has free parking zones and rental car services. It is enough to talk to your Guide Company or reception.
Pluses
Safety Deal: the hotels work just with reliable experienced services with good reputation. The car is checked, tasted and ready to explore. Comfort: hotel parking is always available for your car. There is no need to get your car back to the rental store. Just send your keys to reception.
Minuses
There is one minus – rental car services are 20% more expensive that somewhere else. For example, you are going to hire Hyundai Getz for one day. It costs about 45 EUR. The hotel price is going to be higher – about 60 EUR. Of course, you can save your money by booking car online or by your personal visit to the rental store.
Renting Car in the Rental Store
Pluses
The prices are low! The cheapest stores are situated in big cities. You can get there by bus to come back to your hotel by car. It is also very comfortable!
Minuses
The hot season is difficult to find a good car. So, planning trip to Athens in a hot season, you should contact the rental store and book a car beforehand. Of course, if you want to hire that particular car, you have to make efforts.
Where to get child safety seats?
You may find all necessary equipment, including child safety seats, in the rental car stores. As a rule, the service is free.
Who services a car?
It is better to refuel your car on your own. So, you may ask a map with all available filling stations on it.
Is there navigation in the car?
The most expensive cars are equipped with navigation system. It is not very useful. So, the best variant for all travellers is buying a map. You can buy a map from your guide, hotel or rental car store.
Where to go in Athens?
Everything is simple. You can get enough information from your hotel guide. The guide teaches you about the best places, restaurants, souvenirs.