Provence- renting cars

Reserve from here, that's important. Click Favorite Links above to find links to car rental companies. No, rental cars in France don't automatially come equipped with GPS, if you have a Garmin with European maps in it--bring it! If you don't, consider buying one here that does, one through Costco online is $200. More than a few people have reported in here that it was a good $200 investment. And Rick recommends Auto Europe, among others.

Thanks Kent.

We reserved our car from here ahead of time (also picking up in Avignon). We did it through gemut.com (I think that was the name) and got a great rate. We didn't have a GPS but we should have. I would definitely bring one with European maps loaded. My cousing had his and it worked very well.

Sue, the best rate we got this summer for the kind of car we were looking for out of Avignon was from Sixt. Even with the GPS, it was cheaper than comparable cars with no GPS from other agencies. We rented a VW Passat wagon and found to our surprise it had automatic transmission, no extra charge. There are two Sixt agencies, one near each TGV station in Avignon, and they will deliver the car to whichever agency you need depending on where you want to pick up the car. We had a good experience with Sixt.

I don't see the sense in waiting to reserve a car. We reserved ours in February for travel in July. Other people may get good results not reserving in advance (is it cheaper?) but I don't want to take the time when I get there. I'd rather just hit the road ASAP.

If you are literate with a modicum of intelligence I really do not understand this need to have a GPS to drive in France. A Michelin map and a navigator with a room temperature IQ will suffice. Save your money for a good bottle of wine.

Norma: Good news! You can have both a GPS and the bottle of wine (maybe not at the same time). Your comments are always well written and with a dash of humor or irony thrown in. And so you'll no doubt be pleased to know that I've added you to the exclusive and minuscule list of Helpline readers who don't like GPS for driving in Europe: that makes it about 100 to 2 in favor of GPS (or is it 3?, I forget).:)

Norma,

The somewhat provocative wording of your Post was quite entertaining, however I don't necessarily agree with it.

I'm generally considered to have at least a "modicum of intelligence", but even so I prefer to use a GPS these days when driving in Europe. As I travel "solo" most of the time, the GPS unit tends to substitute as my "navigator with a room temperature IQ". In my experience as a professional driver, having the benefit of spoken directions tends to be a safer method of driving (especially in unfamiliar areas).

However, I also travel with Michelin Maps as it's always a good idea to have a "backup" to both double check GPS directions (if necessary), or to use if the GPS fails. If you've read any of my previous posts on the subject, you'll note that in my experience these are not infallible.

GPS units can be a useful travel accessory even for those travellers that have the benefit of a "navigator". If you're comfortable driving in France without one, that's certainly your choice.

Fortunately, I don't have to choose between the GPS and a bottle of good wine. I can have both!

Cheers!

Rental cars are less expensive when you book them from here. Check out AutoEurope.com One Hint: get quotes from several different agencies i.e., Europe by Car, AutoEurope, etc. Then bargain on the phone. AutoEurope, for example, will match other companies quotes. Since fewer Americans are travelling abroad this year, their rentals are down. Also, on their website, it indicates a free GPS rental with a 7 day rental car--maybe you can get one for 4-5 days. In ref to a GPS, last year we drove the smaller red roads between the small towns in Italy. The GPS saved us in those areas. Have fun making memories!

We got a GPS in our Hertz rental in Marseille a few years back. We hadn't asked for it, but we reserved a pretty big car (Peugeot 407) and it came with one. It was nice not to worry about getting lost - except we got lost anyway trying to return the car to the Hertz office.

I consider the GPS 'nice to have' in Provence, but not essential. If you pick up a Michelin atlas it has fabulous detail.

The biggest problem we had driving in Provence was not getting lost but in figuring out the parking rules. We in the States hate to pay for parking, but over there it's pretty much the norm.

Thank you everyone for your responses! I will plan to bring a GPS and buy wine, too!

Merci.

I am in agreement with Norma about not necessarily needing a GPS. We have already rented our car for our upcoming trip in two weeks and I never even thought of needing a GPS..I also would rather spend the $ on something else.