Renting a car in Europe

[grosnl19]

We are going to Palma de Malloraca this weekend and DH's co-workers said we had to rent a car and drive around. We will need an automatic. What website do you recommend we use? Expedia?

This will be the first time renting a car in Europe that isn't work related.

[tktravels]

We have rented from Sixt a number of times, and found their prices to be reasonable and often better than the competition. I don't recall every seeing automatics though, but I also wasn't specifically looking for one. Driving manual really isn't as difficult as it initially seems though.. I bet you all could figure it out if you had to.

[Shreddingbetty]

I always use Orbitz and have had good luck. Not sure how it works if you have a non US address. I seem to remember trying to rent a car for my sister one time while she was visiting us here and I think I ended up just doing it on my login. I don't remember if it was just easier because I already had a log in or if it was a billing address issue. Anyway, I think you have to request an automatic and I think it is more expensive than a manual transmission

[allibally]

We've used Sixt in Switzerland. There prices were always good. DH drives both but we had two cars from them that we're automatic from what I remember. So it's not impossible.

I could probably drive manual and get around the block a few times. But no way in hell would I drive around in a different city without some proactive there first.

[pittpurple]

We rent from wherever is cheapest but we both drive manual (well, I don't realy drive but I can). A lot of times, local places will have the cheapest rates - so I just google 'car rental santorini' or wherever and see what happens. Otherwise, we've used Expedia and Europcar without any problems.

[Deleted]

Europcar is pretty good (I think it's the same company as Enterprise?) -- you will have to specifically ask for an automatic and it might cost a little bit more, but it's definitely easier to drive!

[Deleted]

I've used thrifty, sixt, europcar, budget throughout Europe. You may pay extra for an automatic but if you do not usually drive manual, I wouldn't recommend doing it in a rental car. Unless you have full comprehensive insurance with no excess.
You may also have to shop around to get an auto, I'm not certain, I'm comfortable driving on either side of th road in a manul.

[Deleted]

skyscanner.nl is what I used. There is an english button.
Have fun!

[mouseinlux]

I second going with a local place!

[anna7602]

We used Sixt in Portugal and requested an automatic. Neither of us drive a manual. I'd much rather pay more to get a car I am comfortable driving and cut back on some other aspect of our vacation. I don't get the idea that it's worth saving x amount per day in order to feel like a complete stress case every time you get on the road. Someone please explain this to me.

The only time I've been to Palma was for a wedding and we were shuttled around everywhere by the bride and groom and their family members, so I can't speak to whether it's actually necessary to have a car there or not.