Hi,
We will be arriving in Paris by train from England at the end of June, and will be departing from Frankfurt a week later. Where should we rent a car? We know Paris is expensive.
We thought about taking a train from Paris after a couple of days, over to somewhere in Germany and renting a car there, before heading south toward Switzerland for a few days and eventually ending up in Frankfurt for the flight. Any ideas or experiences? Thanks
Posted by
Mansfield, GA
850 posts
Renting a car in Germany is usually cheaper. I use gemut.com and have gotten the best quoted rates from them. Autoeurope also is good and gemut has a tie in with them. Rates should be comparable between those two. Excellent service from gemut with the Bestor family. Their website offers some nice tips about driving.
Posted by
Anaheim, CA, USA
1455 posts
We rented our car in Paris to sightsee the Normandy region and used sixt.com. I was pleased with the company and no hidden fees. They also have specials in Germany as well.
Posted by
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10229 posts
You will pay a big premium to rent a car in one country and return it to another. I think your idea to train to Germany before you rent is a good idea.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
689 posts
Ditto what Andrea said. Rent the car in the country in which you will drop it off, otherwise the costs will be outrageous.
You can play around with costs online via AutoEurope, Hertz, etc, just as you would when pricing a rental car in the US.
Posted by
Cleveland, ohio, U.S.A.
18 posts
Craig,
I did something very similar last year. I stayed in Paris for 4 nights and took the train from Paris to Frankfurt. I actually only needed to go to Mannheim Germany, one stop before Frankfurt. It work out well the train only took a few hours. Definitely talk to gumut.com as others have said. I have used them twice without any problems. The car rental company sixt is also an option if you want to book direct. They have many German locations.
Posted by
San Diego, CA
344 posts
Like another traveler here, Craig, I traveled between Paris and France, only I did the reverse trip. I landed in Frankfurt, rented a car via Hertz, picking it up at the airport. I then returned the car to the Mannheim airport, and took the high speed train to Paris. I was surprised how low the fee was (compared to the US) for picking up the car in one city and dropping it off in anther city. The second thing that surprised me was that when I got to the Mannheim train station there was no obvious place to leave the car---unlike in the States. So if you do rent a car, get very very specific instructions as to where/how to return the car (mine was to go to the 2nd floor executive lounge, ask for a certain person, and give them the key...after parking it in a rental car lot of only 3 spaces, behind the Mannheim post office! This was the only frantic moment of a 2 week trip, I had assumed there would be signs directing me to a return lot). Have fun---the trains between Frankfurt and Paris are so clean, and quiet, and smooth. If you can book ahead, you can get a great price.