In July, we plan to fly into Bergen, pick up a car rental and begin our journey up through the fjords. With research, it appears that we need to drop the car in Trondheim in order to avoid a large surcharge for dropping in say, Molde. Trondheim is likely a great city to visit, but it adds time and expense to our itinerary that we wish we could avoid. I realize we could simply pay the surcharge and overall and save on the Trondheim visit. But my question to the travel community is whether there are any insights that we might be missing about picking up and dropping off car rentals. Thus far, Avis seems to be the best deal.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
At AutoEurope.com, I think I'm seeing the same test results that you are, with Avis offering the lowest total rate in the economy category. Pick up at Bergen downtown adds an $80 fee vs Bergen airport, and then another $206 for Molde, $180 for Aandalsnes, or $110 for Trondheim. They must not have much business for pick-ups at the outer locations. But the total quote I get is only $100 different between Molde airport and Trondheim airport (for a 3-day rental in May).
Posted by
OP
America's Vancouver and the First
94 posts
Thanks, Laura! Pretty amazing about the drop-off price differential that you found. It seems that a lot of times, picking a car up away from the airport is often less expensive. Not so in Bergen, at least with Auto Europe. It looks like we simply need to keep checking this out. You'd think the rate would be even less in July for high season than May.
Posted by
Boston MA
6 posts
Hello,
We are going from Oslo to Hamar, and need rental car(s) on Sunday 8/27 til Tuesday 8/29 10:00 a.m.. Prefer 1 - way, automatic transmission, 8 people with luggage. Everything looks like it's only available to rent and return at the Oslo airport.
Can anyone find any in my specifications? Any alternatives? We want to visit relatives and they won't have transportation for all of us, and they suggested we rent car at airport and turn it in in Hamar. But can't find any rental sites that allow it.
It would be okay to return in Lillehamar or other towns north. We'll be leaving by train to Trondheim.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
-Dee
Posted by
OP
America's Vancouver and the First
94 posts
Dee, you might want to start a new topic with your question so that people will see it. It is not easy to rent a car for one way. The drop charge is very expensive. If you can't find a drop location in Hamar, you might need to drop it in Lillehamer. Expect to pay an expensive drop charge - like $200 or more. We are renting from Avis. We're picking up the car in Bergen and driving for about 3 weeks with it. Our final destination after making a loop north to Molde will be to drop it in Oslo, with a drop fee of about $200. Automatic transmissions cost more in Europe as they typically use manual. Hope this gives a little insight.
Posted by
Boston MA
6 posts
Kay,
Hi thanks for the reply. -- I'm new at this forum and now I'll understand better how to reply to a post or start a new one. I've seen the high charge for the auto vs standard transmission; and I think we'll look into returning in Lillehamer as you said.
tks,
Dee