Newcastle or Durham and car rental

Newcastle is a much bigger city than Durham so naturally has better transport connections. It is only a short train ride between the two. Whether you need a car or not depends on where you want to go. Sunderland would be at the bottom of my list.

Newcastle is a better base than Durham for seeing the coast and Hadrians Wall.

I am slightly biased as my son was at Durham for university, so we did visit quite often, and love the city. So if it were me, I would base myself in Durham - it's lovely, quiet, and has more of a small-town feel (although with a cathedral it is classed as a city). Nothing wrong with Newcastle, but it doesn't have Durham's relaxed vibe.

We've explored quite widely by train (Bishop Auckland being one example), and you can go somewhere like Beamish by bus or taxi, but if you want to explore further, a car is beneficial. I had never heard of Alamo before, but looking it up, it is part of Enterprise, and shares locations and a single fleet with them in the UK. I've used Enterprise quite a few times and been happy with their service.

Alamo does not have an especially big presence in the UK, they partner in the main with Enterprise who have a very comprehensive network, around the country, the best network of any chain.

At Newcastle-on-Tyne the Enterprise/Alamo office is right outside Central Station.

As for Sunderland, for a starter there is the National Glass Centre (once one of the big industries of Sunderland), all up the coast (Roker is one of the better known) there are holiday beaches, up to South Shields where there is Arbeia Roman Fort- https://www.northeastmuseums.org.uk/arbeia

https://www.visitnortheastengland.com/places/sunderland/sunderland-landmarks-and-attractions/

Monkwearmouth (part of Sunderland) is where the Venerable Bede was born- although very little remains of the monastery- now part of St Peter's Church- https://englandsnortheast.co.uk/monkwearmouth/

Sunderland Minster is also quite an interesting place to visit.

Unfortunately the city museum and Winter Gardens has just closed for redevelopment.

There is also a pretty good stage theatre- the Empire Theatre, which it is quite normal for people to travel all the way from the Lake District to (in spite of having a number of theatres in the Lake District).

This is one of my favourite parts of the UK. To answer your question, it really depends on what you want to do. I would (and have) use Newcastle as a base as it's so well connected. Very easy to get to Durham on the train and Hadrian's Wall path actually goes through the city, so you can walk either direction and see Wallsend in the east or actual parts of the wall in the west. The coastal area is beautiful- if you're more interested in that I suggest Berwick-upon-Tweed as a base where you don't need car. There's not a whole lot for tourists in Sunderland unless you are a fan of Black Cats.

We hired a car in that area once, I don't remember which company it was but we returned at Newcastle Airport which is a short bus ride from the city centre.

Either place makes a good base - it all depends if you want. Newcastle is bigger and brasher than Durham. It is also more convenient if you are wanting to get into Northumberland (Bamburgh, Alnwich Castle, Cragside...)

Durham is smaller and more compact. Everywhere in the city is within walkable distance. It also has the Cathedral, Castle and some lovely riverside walks.

It's a good few years since I went to Sunderland, so I can't comment on that apart to say that I've not felt the yen to go back.

Public transport is good and there is an excellent bus service. A lot depends on what you want to do and see as a car may be more convenient.

The National Glass Centre in Sunderland is permanently closed. There really is nothing for tourists there and not in a good way.

I rented a car back in 2024 and spent almost a week visiting Northumberland, Hadrian's Wall, and really enjoyed the experience. It's one of my favorite areas of England.

I rented from Arnold Clark, who I highly recommend. I've rented with them on a number of occasions, and they've always been very fair, always good about explaining all the fine print and always making sure you understand what you are signing. Their cars are always nice (once they upgraded me to a Mercedes). And the time when I got a ding in my car and had to pay the deductible because I hadn't gotten the CDW insurance, they were good about sending me the paperwork I needed to file with my credit card company, which did reimburse me for that.

You can rent directly through Arnold Clark or with Celtic Legend, who works with them. Both have their benefits. I would check the price offered by both, and see what perks they offer. I know that Celtic Legend will often let you add an additional driver for free, and give you a free sat nav, although I usually just use Google Maps.