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Renting a car in England

Hi all --

My husband and I will be arriving in Edinburgh on July 20th and will spend 8 days traveling from Edinburgh to London. We plan to rent a car in Edinburgh and drop it off in London. (We are then planning to take the Eurostar to Paris on the 28th). Is it better to drop the car off at a London airport and take public transportation into London or is it better to drop the car off at an agency in town?

I anticipate we will be dropping it off at 11 a.m. so I am not concerned about it being closed. However, is London so bad to drive in (besides the fee to get into the city) that it's better to spend the time and expense to travel into the city via public transportation?

Thanks for your help!
Tara

Posted by
343 posts

Than you, all. If I do decide on the airport dropoff, I would lean towards Heathrow just because it's no so far south. Or, does Gatwick's small size really make up for it being further south?

Posted by
1298 posts

When we did it, we dropped the car at the airport and took the tube into London. We just didn't see a need to fight traffic into the downtown area. The airport is set up for easy returns. We dropped it off, they shuttled us over to the airport, we bought a day pass for the tube, and we were off to London. It could not have been easier. Our friends picked their car up right in the heart of London. They have a couple of funny stories about trying to find their way out. if you do choose to drive into London, pick an easy to find location. I probably would choose to drop at the airport again. (It can be more expensive to pick up a car at the airport, but I have never been charged extra for dropping of at one.)

Posted by
1298 posts

No, drop it off at Heathrow. It is pretty easy to find the tube. What area are you going to from the airport? If you are headed to Victoria Station area, you will have to change lines. Change at the Hammersmith stop. You just have to cross the platfrom. Some of the other stops you can change lines to get to V.S. involve climbing up and down stairs in crowds to switch lines. Hammersmith is the best choice. Have a great trip.

Posted by
2800 posts

I would suggest to drop the car off in St. Albans which is 27 miles north of London. You then could take the train into London.

Posted by
32331 posts

Tara,

Heathrow would be a better choice than Gatwick, as you'll be coming from the north. The suggestion to drop the car in St. Albans (or other nearby location) is worth considering.

Happy travels!

Posted by
1446 posts

We've dropped our car at Heathrow many times and then made our way to London - quite easy; however, I agree with the others - find a spot to the north where you can drop it and save yourself some time.

Posted by
712 posts

We have picked up cars at Heathrow after a stay in London on previous trips.
Last time we dropped of a rental car in Oxford and then took the train into London from there. You need to find out if you rental car company has a drop off location in a place like Oxford, St. Albans's, York, etc. Our Avis rental car drop off in Oxford was hard to find but walking distance to the train.

Posted by
1022 posts

London isn't as bad to drive in as some people make it out to be. Though it can be hard sometimes to find street names when the signs are posted on the sides of buildings, on fences, etc. and sometimes not at all. Having a GPS would make it a lot easier in that regard. If you don't have that, I would get a good London map; London A to Z is the best, but maybe too much for just the bit you'll need it. If it were me, I'd drop the car in London and taxi to St. Pancras.

Posted by
668 posts

Used Enterprise a couple of years ago from Perth to Manchester and found their drop off charges very reasonable.

Posted by
2800 posts

Enterprise has several locations in Edinburgh and has an office in St Albans so you could drop off it off there.

Posted by
177 posts

We dropped our car off in Oxford then took the train to London. We were able to catch the 1 PM Eurostar. We had picked up car at Heathrow. I don't recall any drop charges.

Posted by
343 posts

Thanks so much for your replies, everyone. My husband is willing to drive it into London; I'm the nervous one. So, we'll flip a coin, I guess! We'll have a GPS, so if we do drive into the city, I suppose that will help. Thanks again!

Posted by
343 posts

Yes, thank you for letting me know the amount. The congestion fee seems less than taking the tube or the train for the two of us if we drop off outside of London, although dropping off in town would be more hectic. But, just taking a taxi from the rental car place to St. Pancras seems simpler.

Posted by
2800 posts

Tara, remember if you drive into London you will have to pay the conjestion fee of £8, if its not paid the fine will be between £60-£180.