Rental car in Avignon

We were in Provence this past summer, and based ourselves in Saint-Remy, with a place on the south edge of town. It was convenient for visiting Avignon, Arles, Les Baux, Orange, etc. L'Isle Sur La Sorgue could work, but it's a bigger town, and Saint-Remy was just the right size, with all the essentials (market, Gelato, etc.). Rick Steves likes Arles, but it's a bit farther south, while Saint-Remy is more central.

We rented from Europcar, and I believe it was less than 40 euros a day for a small, manual-transmission car with air conditioning (a must in July . . . maybe not so necessary in early May). France is cheaper than some other places in Europe for car rentals.

We rented in Avignon and dropped in Nice last October, but we had the car for 9 days. We rented with Europcar via AutoEurope (AE). If you do go thru a consolidator like AE, know the price you pay to AE isn't the final price. There are daily fees added on by the rental place (well, by Europcar and probably others). My invoice in is French, but there was one fee of 4.44 euro a day, one for 2.70 euro a day, another 15.60 fee for something and a 34 euro fee for picking up at the main train station. (And there may be a fee for dropping at the train stn as well...we dropped it at a little office in Nice as there would have been another 34 fee for dropping at the airport). We paid AE $380 Canadian dollars for the 9 days (for an automatic, mid-size car - a Citroen Cactus - standards are cheaper generally). And the additional fees for the 9 days added up to 115 euros.

Now - we declined the insurance coverage as we were using our Amex card and it offers coverage. If you are using Amex, the main driver of the car is the card you are supposed to use. I used my card to do the initial booking (as we are married and have the same Amex acct and I do all the planning and booking)....BUT...because my hubby was the main driver, I SHOULD have used his card. How do I know this - we got the car scratched up in a parking garage and I had to put in a claim with Amex because we were charged about $500 for the damages (Still pending - not sure if using my card at the start will cause it to be rejected, but the lady at the ins place was helpful).

Now, some people swear by the train. We did the south coast on a trip before and used the train, and have used trains all over Europe. They are great because they run almost to every little place. That being said, other than the stress caused by the damage and finding places to park (and paying for parking)...we did enjoy the convenience of having a car. We could drive to places that maybe we not as well served by public transport. We could travel at our own pace and not be tied to train or bus schedules. We could stay in places a little cheaper and more off the beaten path (we stayed at a lovely airbnb in Salon en Provence) as we didn't have to stay near to train stations. If you are only going to be visiting places that are well served by trains, you may be better off using them instead of a car. If you want to visit smaller towns not as well served by public transport, then a car would most likely work best.

We booked thru auto Europe so we paid for a 'voucher' and used that when we picked up the car. I don't think there would have been a way for us to change the card used. It was charged and paid for two months before going. I didn't know about the insurance rules until I had to file a claim. Amex I believe also offers a relatively cheap additional insurance...sort of a no questions asked thing. I'm not 100% sure how that works as I haven't looked into it too much since we haven't had another car rental. Next rental, most likely will get the additional coverage.

UPDATE Jan 22 - Amex is reimbursing us...

I would definitely rent a car as there are so many villages and the driving in Provence is exquisite. We have been twice and are returning again in the fall and will stay in VilleFranche, Moustieres, Crillon la Brave and Avignon. We have stayed in Arles and enjoyed that town. WE have loved the Mayle Trail (A Year in Provence) and will visit all of those villages once again. We did have damage to our vehicle once (actually, three different issues on the one trip) and fortunately the credit card (VISA) covered it but we will probably consider insurance now in Europe where we generally don't take it in the states when renting a car. I cannot recall the price but for us, it was reasonable and the only way to really get to all the villages. NO matter what, do visit Arles, St. Remy and Isle-sur-la-Sorge. We really enjoy the markets in St. Remy and Isle-sur-la-Sorge.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to respond. All the information was very informative. We are going to proceed with our plans including a vehicle rental.

Thanks for asking this, Janie. We will be visiting Provence in April and hadn't figured out about the car, so your question got me moving. Looks like we will be renting through AAA (Hertz) -- pretty good prices for an automatic transmission with A/C, and CDW for only $9 a day. We used Hertz for our Normandy driving two years ago.

"Comment on insurance: can't the credit card be changed when the card is picked up?"

I assume you meant "when the car is picked up."

That is Nicole's point. You can use any credit card you want, but if you are using a credit card to get insurance instead of getting it from the car rental company, you must follow the credit card company rules - and one of them is that you can NOT change the credit card. You must book and pay with the same card - and in her case, even the exact same card, not a spouse's card tied to the account.

On the other hand, if you're not using it for insurance, you can use any card to pay, or none at all (my sister once reserved a rental on her card, but then settled the bill in cash).

To the question of some other posters, my friend has used Amex's coverage in Hawaii and in England, and it worked well (he had problems in each place, and Amex took care of them).

I was checking car rental rates with Auto Europe today and for 9 days, mini, it's $140 picking up in Perpignon and dropping in Avignon. ( choice of hertz or Eurocar)

Back to the comment on using your credit card for insurance. Use the same card of the primary driver for each part of the transaction- reservation, upon pickup, and if you owe any thing upon turn in(gas, taxes, overtime, etc). If you rent after your international flight (not recommended) put a rubber band and a sticky note around your credit cards to remind you which card to use.

Suggest calling your credit card company and asking fir the full policy regarding car rental insurance

This is a really helpful discussion. I'm trying to figure out where to stay for seven days to tour the entire area with a car, wanting to go as far south as Arles, and north to Carpentras, Uzes, la Romaine, etc. I was trying to figure out if St. Remy would be better over Isle Sur al Sorge? I just saw the comment the Isle city is larger, and St. Remy is smaller and central. That might be a good location. I was thinking that for an avid antique hunter, the Isle might be better, but might just go there on Sunday for the big flea instead?many thoughts anyone? Maybe stay both places, doing Air B&B, so that could work.

Thanks for your help!!

rikis1, it's best to post a new topic with your questions in the France Forum, that way many more people will see it, and you'll be notified via email when a new response is made.

Ok thanks Dave! Will do.