My husband and I will be in La Rochelle France. We plan to pick up a rental car somewhere near there on Monday, September 9th, go to Nantes to visit an exchange student - then to stay in Amboise, Loire Valley until Sunday, Sept 15th. We will return to Paris on Sunday. Our hotel is the Ibis at Charles de Gaulle Airport for Sunday night. We fly back to the US on Monday.
Should we drop the rental car in Tours on Sunday and take the train back to Paris from Tours? Or would Orleans be a better drop-off destination? Can I return Europcar or other rental in these destinations on Sunday even if they are closed? We will each have one carry-on bag. We could maybe stash our bags somewhere in Paris for a few hours, spend a little time in Paris and take the RER B to the hotel by late afternoon/evening.
Prices seem high for the one way car rental but we can do that if that's our best option. We'd appreciate recommendations or alternate options for logistics to return the car and return to Paris?
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
6006 posts
We returned a car at the Tours train station and then took a high speed train to Paris. I recall it was a Sunday, otherwise we would have returned in Amboise. We rented from Europcar and parked at the train station. We then had to drop the keys at a location across the street from the train station. I can't recall if it was a hotel or restaurant/coffee shop. The drop off was quite easy. Our rental was also a one way, Colmar to Tours. Did you go through Autoeurope to get a comparison between multiple car companies?
Posted by
Paris
7019 posts
On a Sunday morning (=light traffic), I would drive the 2.5 hours from Amboise to Orly airport, return the car there, take metro line 14 to the city using any luggage locker service around Châtelet (e.g. Nanny bag), then take the RER B to airport.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you for your responses. I’d like to leave the car in Tours. On Autoeurope, Sixt is the only company coming up for $440 Mon-Sunday. Most forums I’ve seen travelers refer to using Europcar. In my searching I saw a permanently closed message for Europcar St Pierre des Corps. I don’t know if that is true. Are car rental places for Saint Pierre des Corps and Tours two different locations? I believe Sixt is also closed on Sundays. I’d like to make sure they have a key drop. Good to know about the locker location in Paris.
Posted by
Loire Valley
786 posts
Europcar's website says that Saint Pierre des Corps office is open. They certainly were last time I was there (2 weeks ago maybe)
There are no actual cars at Tours station. The offices and cars are a fair walk away, and less convenient for driving to and from. Saint Pierre des Corps is on the edge of Tours and a lot easier to navigate. Most of the car hire places in the area have an office there.
From Saint Pierre des Corps you can catch a train direct to CDG. None of the other stations you mention give you that option.
Posted by
Twin Cities of MN
6006 posts
If you are seeing folks referring to Europcar on other forums, it doesn't mean they are not using Autoeurope. I always check Autoeurope and usually end up going ahead, and the car rental company thru Autoeurope is usually Europcar. I have always gotten a lower rate for Europcar thru Autoeurope. When I returned my Europcar in Tours it was at the Saint Pierre des Corps train station.