We have 9 passengers so I was hoping to get a 9 passenger van at the Gatwick airport-we are arriving at Gatwick from a flight from Italy at the end of our trip. We have a day before our flight home through Heathrow so I thought it would be fun to drive out to Hever Castle that day and then make our way to our hotel which is by the Heathrow Airport. Since we have all 9 of us with our bags it seems to make sense to have our own vehicle but I'm not having luck finding a car hire place that allows pick up at Gatwick and drop off at Heathrow. Am I missing something? Maybe I would take a taxi to a further location where a van is available but I think I'm running up against the drop off location. I would think there would be lots of people who would want to pick up at one airport and drop at another. Would I maybe want to just rent two smaller regular cars for our party? Any suggestions would be great.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
11147 posts
I did a look on expedia and found a bunch of options for one way rental. A 7 passenger van ( or 5 passenger SUV) listed at ~$225-$250 , so 2 vehicles is ~$450-$500 ( rate for random date in April)
3 Taxis ( or other car services) may be cheaper?
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
You will be hard pressed to find a vehicle that holds 9 people AND 9 pieces of luggage. Actually - it will just be impossible.
Posted by
Folsom
2700 posts
You’ll likely need two vehicles. Then you’ll have 2 drivers trying to find their way driving on the left side of the road. I would not do this on a bet.
Posted by
Minneapolis
1210 posts
Hi Abby. You say "I'm not having luck finding a car hire place that allows pick up at Gatwick and drop off at Heathrow. Am I missing something?" This is a common rental, if you are not finding it, yes, I think there is something wrong with your rental search. We did this a few years ago, and it worked great; allowed us a day to explore by car between flights. I just did a sample booking on Avis website for a random day and there were many cars / sizes available. However, like others have said, I doubt you will find a vehicle big enough for 9 people and luggage. But you could rent two vehicles. Enjoy your trip!
Posted by
Portsmouth
5254 posts
I did a random search on Hertz for a date in May, pick up LGW and return to LHR the following day and found plenty of vans. Of course none would be suitable for you because a van in the UK is a commercial vehicle intended for carrying goods not passengers. What you need to search for are MPV's (multiple passenger vehicles) I found a VW with 9 seats available but you wouldn't fit the luggage in.
You could rent two Skoda Oktavia's at £133 each, that should be sufficient for all passengers and luggage but you may find a pre-booked taxi service to be cheaper.
Are any of the passengers under 12 years old or 135cm/4ft 5in tall? If so then they'll require a child car seat. However there are exceptions for taxi's:
In taxis, minicabs and Uber
children under three can travel without a child’s car seat or seat belt, but only on a rear seat
children aged three or older can travel in a rear seat without a child’s car seat if they wear an adult seat belt
Posted by
Paris
9546 posts
In France, you have to have a special license to drive a vehicle that carries that many people, I don’t know if it is the same in the UK. In any event, as others have mentioned, I really don’t think you will find a passenger vehicle that can fit 9 people and their luggage — you will have to go with two, I am pretty sure.