Hello - Great site! My family and I (4 persons) are flying in to Munich (gotta use the miles somehow) and driving from Munich to Nice to visit grandparents - first time in a long while! Looking forward to taking a day or two drive through the alps - kids have never been there. While in Nice, we would like to be able to go out as a family - all 6 of us in the same car. Does anyone know of a car rental agency that has a wagon or estate car with the jump seat in back? That way for the few times we will need it, we can safely have all 6 in the same car without needing a second car - taking 2 taxis, etc. Have considered renting a minivan - but the rental rates are very high.
Posted by
California USA
4053 posts
We have not rented a car in Europe for about 30 years (always do house exchanges where we get to use their car), but my brother rented one in 2003 in Germany (Frankfurt). What they got was a Volkswagen Touran (not available in the US) which was rather small but comfortably sat 7 people (not much room for luggage in this configuration). On our house exchanges we have driven Renaults (Espace and Scenic) that had seven seats. I believe we had a different Volkswagen in Switzerland that had 7 seats, but I can't recall the specific model. My suggestion is to contact a rental agency directly to see if they will allow you to specify one of the smaller cars (MPV) that seat 6 or 7 people. That is what my brother did. Europcar has the Touran at about $1000 for 3 weeks.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
Yes, you need a minivan. European Estate/Wagon vehicles can be very small. Since MiniVans are so much more expensive for you then just take the train all the way to Nice (yes through the Alps, too) and pick up the Minivan when you arrive in Nice. You'll have a much shorter rental period that way. Visiting the Alps is much nicer in the train anyway.