Renting a car in Bath

Hi Laura,

Check out National Car. Last year when I wanted to rent a car, they had great prices and were reasonable. Once I got there, they were helpful about explaining everything to me. They explained how to get around Bath as well. I dropped off the rental at Heathrow and was given back my full deposit which posted to my account within days. I am planning on going back to Britain again this year and will be going with National Car as well.
Hope it goes well for you!
Natalie

Hi Laura,

Have you tried the Auto Europe site. They are a broker for multiple companies. I have used them and I don't think i've heard a bad word about them on the helpline.

Thanks Wayne. I was thinking to book directly with an agency because Rick says that some places claim to be in Bath but are several miles and a taxi cab ride away. I thought AutoEurope was a consolidator.

Laura- I have to say it... have you considered NOT driving and taking the train???

Yes, Auto Europe is a consolidator. The AE site lists two pick up points in Bath. According to viamichelin.com, the one on Windsor Bridge Road is 2km west of the Bath Spa train station. The other one is a bit farther west.

Hi Laura, both Naional Car Rental and Europcar has locations in Bath and Edinburgh. It doesn't sound crazy to want to know how much you will be paying. You will be so glad that you rented a car. You will drive thru so many beautiful small villages that you would miss if you go by train or bus.

OK, I'm looking for the same thing. I tried National Car Rental with the CDW and a GPS. the rate they gave me was almost three times as much as the quote I got from Auto Europe which didn't have the CDW and GPS included in the quote--nor did they give the option to get that information. I'd like to know what I'll be paying too.

Laura, We've used Auto Europe several times. Never a problem.

I believe Thrifty does have a pick up at the train station in Bath. I found this out when England last June. The other two car rental agencies are a ways out of town. If you are coming from London, you can pick up a rental car in Tilehurst from 1car1 (an agency that ETBD has used). Tilehurst is two stops out of London. If they are not busy they can pick you up at the train station or it is about a 10 minute walk to their office. No problems with our rental. I believe it was cheaper than AutoEurope.

Bath must be near the top of the list of cities not to start your experience of car hare in the UK.
Its is a maze and has a chronic traffic problem, most locals wouldn't taje their car into the centre but would use public transport.

If you're hiring outside the main airports and entry points and you want an automatic gearbox make especially sure that this is in your contract. In the UK the vast majority of people choose to drive manual cars and car availability reflects this.
Its like hiring a car in the US and expecting to get a manual transmission but in reverse.

I just booked a car for two weeks through www.kemwel.com with Bath pick up and Edinburgh drop off. Rate was slightly lower than that of www.autoeurope.com. They offer an inclusive package that includes the CDW with a $1,395 deductible. Both companies do a pretty good job of spelling out what you get and, more importantly, what you DO NOT get. Kemwel told me the Bath office doesn't have GPS's on site but that for $40.00 they'd ship one to me in the US and charge me $5 a day until returned. I'm debating whether that works for me or not because we will be in Britain two weeks beyond dropping of the car.

We just got back from Britian where we rented a car in Bath and dropped it off in Endinburgh. We got the car from Hertz on Windsor Bridge Road through Auto Europe. It was just a few minutes from our B&B (Holly Villa) which was one that Rick recommended. We had no problems with Bath and turned the car in at the airport before going into Edinburgh. We had a detailed quote of all expenses before we left the States. The CDW was included in the rate quote.

Second the comment about driving in Bath. We picked up a car in Cardiff and drove to Bath. I then had a hellish 4 hours getting there (road works on the M4/5?) and then all the twisty lanes once I got there. Found the city car park behind our B&B and left the car there until I could safely abandon it to the hire agency in Oxford 2 days later. Will take the train/bus next time. If you can find an agency that is just outside the town, pickup the car on the way out and then drive to Scotland.

Bath is lovely, buy the bus ticket, and then hop-on/off to get around all the parts of the town its too far to walk. We spent 2 days, and had a blast. The Museum of Bath at Work is 5 minutes walk from the Royal Cresent was a pack rats dream!

Glenn in Tucson

Thank you all. We will be picking the car up on our way out of town and we will be taking several days and stops on our way to Scotland. We rented from National, great website. We may have paid more, but everything was clearly spelled out.