My wife has a huge issue with taxis and it's really hard to convince her to take one. Yet, on the 2 occasions we took a taxi in Athens, prices were either what was promised by the hotel, or just slightly higher.
So, here's the question: Where did you take a taxi, and were you ripped off or treated fairly?
European countries have different regulations on public transport. If it comes to taxi (commercial individual transport of persons in a vehicle) there are four main questions:
For Germany:
1. yes
2. yes
3. yes
4. Additional but not hidden costs, e.g. some airports take a fee.
These four things are handled very differently in Europe and will determine a traveler's taxi experience in a country. Sometimes tourists just do not know the rules, act not accordingly and might feel ripped off even if they were not.
I've had one or two minor rip-offs in Marseille, France (basically, drivers taking the long way around), but otherwise, no issues ever in France, Spain, Portugal or Italy.
I take taxis very, very rarely. Perhaps once for every two or three months of travel. I have been overcharged on trips departing from train or bus stations several times. Most recently I remember incidents in Viterbo (Italy) and Zadar (Croatia). Neither overcharge involved a large amount--probably the equivalent of about $5. I have never taken a taxi away from a foreign airport; in the pre-meter days I had plenty of cabbies try to overcharge me on that run in my own hometown.
On my last trip to Italy last fall, I took cabs in some cities for a number of reasons and never felt cheated or overcharged:
.
I rarely use taxis here at home and I will admit I am a little intimidated by it all when traveling. Particularly when no meter is available. I am no good at bartering and I I am sure they can tell - so we won't talk about those experiences :-(. However, my few times using them Nov 2017 in Spain - Toledo and Cordoba, there was a metre and price was in the estimated amount and no rip offs.
We do not take taxis often but general have had good experiences -- some experiences have been funny -- but no major rip-off or at least so we think. Often some problems are caused by now known local practices or rules. For example -- in Italy -- if you call a cab, the meter starts with the call and not at the pick up point.
We’ve taken hundreds of taxis, a Lyft three times, and never an Uber. No real problems except in our own town in Indiana once, but that company went out of business. And once in Mexico in 1977, and once in Bordeaux from the airport, which makes it less than 3%. One Lyft charged more than I agreed to, so that’s a 33.33% rip off rate, with no commission or way for us to report it or complain.
Hope your wife gets over her prejudice.
We used taxis all the time (well, at least 3 or 4 times each month) when we lived in Rome. It was the best way to get home in the evening from the centro storico or Prati as we lived north east of Villa Borghese. Never, ever scammed.
As travelers, we take taxis from train station to lodging in larger cities (Paris, London) and in situations where the town is far from the train station such as Assisi. Using the official queue have had no problems.
This year we used a taxi as our personal limo in the Alsace to take us to and from some of the villages. Certainly cheaper then a car rental and the driver was delighted to be called on personally and served as a tour guide to the degree his English served him.
Got ripped off a couple of times in Orlando last year by some Uber drivers (fare exceeded the quote but also by the end of week one I had a fair idea of the local area through driving myself during the day that I knew they were taking a long route). No other problems with Uber drivers elsewhere.
Got into an argument with a tuk tuk driver in Bangkok who claimed he didn't know a prominent hotel on Sukhimvit Road and took a very long detour (every Bangkok taxi and tuk tuk driver must know Sukhimvit Road like the back of their hand!). He settled on half the fare.
Every other taxi I've ever taken (and there have been many) I have not been ripped off. I've been concerned by the driving of some, Rome in particular, but with the exceptions above have never knowingly been ripped off.
No issues anywhere in Europe (so far). Drivers were nice, price was as expected. But I would rather use the Tube in London or similar public transit in other locations and do that most.
I have been driven the long route by 2 taxi drivers in Las Vegas from the airport to my hotel. If they turn right leaving the airport, it is almost always the longer more costly route to your hotel. They basically lost the tip I would have given them, and I paid the same amount the shorter route plus tip would have cost me.
Some taxi drivers will try and complete the journey off-meter. We ran into this in Krakow. They are overcharging you and probably also stealing from the cab company, pretending as if the ride never happened and pocketing the whole fare. Prague is notorious for taxi rip offs. Worse is a drunken taxi driver as I experienced in Lisbon. Or the driver in Rome who must have hit 120 mph taking us to the airport. I paid 15 Euros to go four blocks in Nice because the driver took one look at my tired wife and her huge luggage, and knew we were getting in that cab. Often you can avoid the off-meter ripoff by calling for a cab. That way the taxi company knows about the ride and the driver does not try and pretend it never happened. A few weeks ago the taxis at Milan airport were charging 25 Euros to go a mile and a half to my airport hotel from the terminal. All of this said, most taxis are honest in most places, most of the time.
We, two late 60s/early 70s women, took the taxi from FCO to our Rome hotel, then from our independent travel hotel to RS tour hotel. In Naples from our hotel to NAP/Hertz. The next day from Hertz to hotel at Napoli Terminale. No problems, no rip offs. So much easier than lugging luggage around. Convenience is more important than bus/train price.
We were just in Amsterdam. We were about 1 KM from the hotel, and I was tired. We asked a taxi, and he quoted 20E, which was ridiculous. So, I will call that an attempted rip-off.
In your opinion, what should the price have been?
@ OP: Did you inform yourself before taking this taxi in Amsterdam?
Basically, taking a taxi is not an option, unless under specific circumstances, so therefore, very rarely do I take taxis.
When I take a taxi in Germany, I never speak English with the driver, always German, whereas, when in France, the Mrs does all the talking with the driver only in French. Doing that makes a difference.
Traveling solo in Germany before I get in, I always ask, how much would it cost, ie from here to "B" "so ungefähr?" If the price quoted is reasonable, worth it, I get in. Male or female driver I usually engage him/her in a bit of conversation, depending, and I watch if the meter is set.
The last time I took a taxi was in Vienna in 2017 as the train was more than one hour late in arrival at Wien Hbf. Since I knew pretty much what the fare was from Wien Hbf to the hotel close to Karlsplatz, I said nothing when the girl didn't turn on the meter....bad mistake.
If she had intended to rip me off (why wasn't the meter turned on?), she may changed her mind when I mentioned I was from here to her surprise because she wasn't used to foreigners talking in German to her. This girl herself was not ethnically Austrian, which I had guessed all along. When she reached the hotel, the price she gave me was less than the price I had in mind, then she says, no change. Definitely, I was not going to pay her with a credit card.
No, I don't believe I've ever been ripped off taking a taxi in Germany, what they tell you in terms of the fare, be it DM or Euro, I have found the estimate pretty dead accurate. If it's quoted at 12 Euro, the ride ends up at 11-12 Euro.
In France and Paris too, mostly good experiences, but a couple of drivers were not too easy to deal with, had an attitude, etc. I let the Mrs handle all these situations in France as she is fluent in the language, Those times in the past I had to take a taxi in France when solo, I tried French and relied on the driver's English...it was fine, say from the harbor in Boulogne to its train station.
Only bad experience was in Selcuk, Turkey where taxi driver overcharged us and wouldn't let us out until we payed. After much arguing we finally gave him part of what he wanted then left. It was scary and made us not want to take taxis anymore in Turkey-luckily we never did.
Everywhere else was fine with Spain having clean taxis and cheap fares.
Rarely take a taxi, but do remember years ago having a similar experience as JC in Orlando. Driver took us a very long route from our hotel to a restaurant. Didn't realize it until our return to the hotel was half the cost. Made sure we informed the hotel. On a positive side, two cities with our favorite taxi experiences have been London and Washington DC. Our memories of the drivers have always been delightful conversationalists and extremely informative as well as fascinating.
I've taken taxis a few times in Paris. The driver on every occasion seemed to have less knowledge of Paris than I did. I'd rather walk or metro.
In Rome, I've taken a cab when the subway isn't working. The drivers are crazy drivers. They don't stop at red lights or pay attention to lanes. They'll definitely try to shortchange tourists. I always ask an estimated cost before I get in. If you taxi in Rome, have exact change ready before you arrive. I'll tip if the driver's cost estimate is close. If not, he's burning into his tip when he goes over.
I've taken taxis many times in Asia and Mexico. In Phillipines and Korea it's an inexpensive option. Mexico used to be a good, low cost, idea but I don't have confidence in anything being safe these days.
I took one black cab in London, based on Rick's recommendation. The driver didn't seem either knowledgeable or chatty. I haven't taken another - the tube works fine.
Never really had a problem except for Rome. Took a supposed taxi from the Termini to our hotel near the Vatican, turned out to not be a metered cab, but he got us there. Had to stop short of the hotel when he could not go down the street because I believe it was monitored. Probably cost us an extra 5€. Ever since then I check for a meter. Live and learn.
I always take a taxi in from the airport in Paris and that's a flat rate so no problem. A couple of trips ago for some reason there was so much traffic that the meter actually clicked over from the flat rate of 55E to charging. (It was actual traffic, not a "long way" as I know the general route pretty well) The driver was an older Frenchman. I was wondering what he would do and figured if there was an issue that my pathetic language skills couldn't solve I'd pop in and get the hotel reception person to come help. We pulled up to the hotel and it showed 62E or something. He pointed to the meter and said NO, wrong. 55Euro.
Otherwise I'm not much of a taxi-taker. However in Edinburgh last year SIL fell and hurt her knee so we took taxis a couple of times and the cabbies driving the official Black Cabs were hilarious. They were great story-tellers and we were sad the rides ended. The guy that took us to the airport had actually been to Idaho which was a huge laugh. He was visiting Utah and they drove to Idaho to buy liquor, hahaha! We did not have the same experience with a "taxi" the hotel called for us - which was actually a private car service, so we insisted they call a Black Cab after than when we needed one.
I've never lived in a place that actually had taxis so have only taken them when traveling!
My wife has a huge issue with taxis and it's really hard to convince
her to take one.
I'm with your wife. I avoid taxis as much as possible especially when there is convenient public transport to/from the airport, rail station and my hotel. I live in a city with taxis galore and I haven't taken a taxi in years. I have some mobility issues w/r/t my back and I still find public transport easier than taxis.
For my own city, I will avoid taxis at all costs just because lately I have had very rude drivers. The Lyft or Uber drivers are way more pleasant. Some background: coming home from a very long flight, I went to the official taxi que and said I need a cab to Burien (about 3-4 miles away, if that). They had a flat rate taxi pull up for me and I refused it saying I’m just going to Burien, not downtown Seattle and I don’t want to pay a flat fee of whatever it was ($40-50) when the fare will be little more than $15-20. Well, you would have thought I was asking for the world. I was given a driver that sure had something up his, you know what! That put the kibosh on taxi rides from SeaTac ever again.
One time In Madrid I pre-arranged a taxi from my accommodation to the bus terminal for a trip to Granada (this was back when the train tracks were under repair/construction). Any way, the driver took me into the freeway for 2-3 miles then back on surface streets saying there was too much traffic. I’m not convinced he really needed to do that. My fare ended up about 5-7 Euros more than I expected AND I was very nervous thinking he was taking me somewhere I didn’t want to go.
Now, a nice story; although, at the time, I was a very upset mother.
In San Jose, CR the night before returning home from our 2 week trip, my 14 YO daughter was so ill from eating something spoiled/ bad that i wanted to get some Gatorade or drink with electrolytes in her. Traveling alone with a sick child in a country your not familiar with is nerve racking at best but I set out from our hotel to find a grocery store. I got so turned around that I could not find the hotel after my purchases and was so upset - talking streaming tears here. When along comes a taxi with two grandmas that stopped alongside me after seeing me crying, they invited me in and comforted me until we eventually found the hotel. The taxi driver was one of the most gracious and understanding men I have ever encountered on a trip to a foreign country. Since that fateful day, I have NEVER LEFT MY HOTEL WITHOUT THEIR BUSINESS CARD. BTW, daughter had an ambulance ride to a nearby Houston hospital for an IV of fluids for 4 hours before making our re-booked connecting flight to SeaTac. Oh, the stories a mother has😲. I will never forget the end of that trip.
In Paris, I took a taxi where the fare was 4 times the normal rate, but it was with my knowing consent.
I was heading to CDG and hopped on the metro at the St Paul station. The train was just sitting there. After about five minutes, there was an announcement and about half the riders got off. I asked one of the riders if he could translate the message. He said that there was a system-wide failure and no estimate when it would be resolved.
I left the station and got in the taxi queue. I was maybe 5th or 6th in line. The woman in front of me was going to CDG and we agreed to share a taxi when our turn came.
Meanwhile, taxis kept driving by without stopping and the queue kept growing and growing. After about 30 minutes, an American couple about 20 back in the queue came and asked if we were going to the airport and if they could share a taxi with us if one came. We agreed.
There were several taxis parked a block away and the taxi drivers were just standing around. The man from the couple said he was going to try to negotiate with them. He came back and said one of them was willing to take us to the airport for 40 EUR a person (160 EUR for the 4 of us). At this point, we were all in danger of missing our flight, so we took it. We had to sit with some of the luggage on our laps. I got to the airport 1 hour and 40 minutes before my flight was scheduled to depart. I made my flight back to the US (barely), so it was worth it.
I don't take taxis too often when traveling, preferring to walk or use public transport. But when I do, I do my best to rely on the hotel to call--that often helps. Last year in Poland, I stuck to using taxis to get from the train station to my hotel and I would ask the driver how much before getting in. It's not a perfect system, but it helps. If you're more likely to want to be hailing one off the street (or are in a city where the taxis are not as well regulated), you might just download the uber app. I did that when going from the ferry terminal in Stockholm to my hotel. It was super easy, apart from having a little trouble finding the pick-up spot!
Caroline
