Car Rental in Reykjavik

Does anyone know which car rental companies have facilities at the airport and the dock? We're thinking we'll just pick up a car at the airport, tour on our own and return the car prior to boarding Crystal Symphony on May 31. Also, are there shuttles from the car rental office at the dock to the ship or is it easily walkable with luggage?

We rented from Blue Car rental at the airport in 2015. There is a shuttle to the cruise pier from the airport but I dont think they run on a regular basis. There are taxis or the Flybus that you could take to the pier.

Blue Car was awesome. They were very helpful before we arrived in Iceland and the day of the rental. We would definitely recommend them if you rent a car.

We were inReykavik about 3 yr. ago on Carnival. We called a Thrifty or Dollar, don't remember for sure. They picked us up at the cruise port and took us to the rental office. Renting a car was great! We did most of the " Golden Circle", getting there between the bus loads of people so we were not part of a mob. Very enjoyable, we could stop and take pics , have lunch and keep our own schedule. The catch, we had to be back at the rental office by 5 to get shuttled back. We got there at 5 min till and they had closed! One lady was still there and called a taxi. We had been told everyone in Iceland speaks English( HA!). Thank goodness someone had a pic of the ship!!! Just call and ask about to and from shuttles, and be back a little early. It is definatly worth renting a car instead of doing the mob on wheels.

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I booked a car with Europcar last week and they have a temporary depot at the cruise port.

They say that the rentals are for cruise passengers only, so you may find that the online system doesn't allow for pick up somewhere else.

Worth looking at though.

I got dolllar at the port

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I booked a car with Europcar last week and they have a temporary depot at the cruise port.

 

They say that the rentals are for cruise passengers only, so you may find that the online system doesn't allow for pick up somewhere else.

 

Worth looking at though.

The Europcar website states that the Port Depot is only open when cruise ships arrive. My ship will be docked for 2 nights...do you think the depot will be open all day each of those days? I don't yhink they have another city office.

The Europcar website states that the Port Depot is only open when cruise ships arrive. My ship will be docked for 2 nights...do you think the depot will be open all day each of those days? I don't yhink they have another city office.

Have a look at this site:

https://www.holdur.is/en/rental-locations

It is the specific website for the Iceland Europcar franchise. I would say that if you can book the cruise depot then it will be open on that day.

Thank you so much!

BTW, do Europcar and Avis have shuttles to the ships?

Someone recommended this company, and I've booked a car from the airport, as indicated in my notes below. This is basically a company that arranges rentals - i.e., it is not Avis, Dollar or one specific company. I've seen enough about them on Cruise Critic to feel pretty safe in renting from them. I also looked at Saga Car Rental, sadcars (or saddcars?) and a couple others, and while they were cheaper, I wasn't quite willing to take a chance on such an unknown company. Also, some companies make you reserve and pay in advance, and have horrible cancellation policies. I didn't want anything too set, in case we didn't make it or didn't make it on time.

I think I found a map of the airport on Google Earth or perhaps just Google, and they showed which car rental places are off-site. They're not far away, but I certainly wouldn't want to use them unless they provide a shuttle. We're flying from Iceland to meet our cruise in London, so I didn't really explore renting a car in Reykjavik. It's not cheap to get from the airport into the city, so it made more sense for us to just rent the car in the airport and then return it there 2 days later when we flew on to London. However, I did find some places in Reykjavik (but not near the cruise port) where you could rent cars. Several companies required a two day rental, some not. If push comes to shove, if you rent in Reykjavik and have to get to the port for a cruise, there IS a public bus that goes near the cruise port.

http://www.reykjavikcars.com/car-hire-iceland recommended. VW Golf manual $145 (might be Avis), pay $22 up front, unlimited miles. If CX 15 or more days ahead, only lose 2-4% fee (max $6) for credit card fees. If CX 14 days or fewer days ahead, lose $22. Car can be 2-4min. drive from airport. They meet us in airport terminal with sign; can return 6AM on 17th. Can’t tell what company it is.

Thanks for the info Roothy but that doesn't quite answer my question. I will be picking up at the airport and dropping off at the cruise terminal and am wondering if Europcar or Avis have shuttles from their city offices to the ship.

stay FAR away from rental companies with words like SAD and CHEAP in their names. Well over half reports from users of these companies report breakdowns or dangerous conditions (doors held closed by bungee cords) in their vehicles.

I also wouldn't use one of the resellers of other car services because you don't know what you'll end up with, you don't know all the contract terms, and if you have any problems they'll each point their fingers at each other.

Trying to save $10 or $20 or $30 on a car rental in Iceland can easily cost you hundreds of dollars. Not the place to save.

Is there a parking near the cruise port, where one can leave the car for the night?

Is there a parking near the cruise port, where one can leave the car for the night?

Yes, there is plenty of parking

This picture was taken from the ship. The larger building in the foreground is the shop. The two little huts to the left of it are the Hertz and Europcar offices and the cars you can see behind the shop are where we parked overnight.

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To answer some of my own questions above...we ended up using Avis and because I am a Chairman member we received an upgrade at the airport to a Range Rover. We drove it for a couple of days and returned it to the Avis city office about a mile from the dock. Again, I think because of the Chairman perks they drove us in our rental directly to the ship’s dock. The Chairman benefits are not always valid internationally so it was a nice surprise to get the same benefits we receive domestically.

To answer some of my own questions above...we ended up using Avis and because I am a Chairman member we received an upgrade at the airport to a Range Rover. We drove it for a couple of days and returned it to the Avis city office about a mile from the dock. Again, I think because of the Chairman perks they drove us in our rental directly to the ship’s dock. The Chairman benefits are not always valid internationally so it was a nice surprise to get the same benefits we receive domestically.

We are looking at doing the exact same thing for our cruise in June 2019. Can you give me more information on (1) what you did with the car touring-wise over the couple of days, and (2) was it easy/costly to park it overnight in Rejkyavik? Thanks.

we took the car rental in town and they picked us up and drove us two town. We drove the golden triangle then with the waze app. then went south (theres not many roads) toward Selfoss where be had booked a hotel for that night. We headed over toward Vik and black beach there were Turf houses right off the road. When we got to Selfoss that night the only restaurant was coke and hamburger place $50 for 1 coke 1 beer and 2 hamburgers. woke up to drive to Blue Lagoon (we bought tickets online months before to get early spot) bring a old bathing suit to leave and money in for a drink they have lockers. Drove back to Reykjavik you can visit the town then. we did Akureyri too and we did the airplane over iceland was fantastic worth every penny but was exspensive but we saw everything and landed on a airstrip that NASA put up there for practicing the moon walk. The guy had just bought 2 nice planes and it was great once in a lifetime like the helicopter in Alaska or Hawaii. you only go once that was our bonus!

I booked a car with Europcar last week and they have a temporary depot at the cruise port.

 

They say that the rentals are for cruise passengers only, so you may find that the online system doesn't allow for pick up somewhere else.

 

Worth looking at though.

Hi Keith,

so did you contact them directly? Email?

Thanks

James

Hi Keith,

so did you contact them directly? Email?

Thanks

James

check on them because several people on trip advisor said that company was bad? I did the one in town and they picked us up to. If you use them post for others know if you liked them. I took all the insurance because of rocks and ash and took pics of the car. It was more than the rental I think but people were posting to get it? The one of the volcano is ready to blow so insurance made since.

check on them because several people on trip advisor said that company was bad? I did the one in town and they picked us up to. If you use them post for others know if you liked them. I took all the insurance because of rocks and ash and took pics of the car. It was more than the rental I think but people were posting to get it? The one of the volcano is ready to blow so insurance made since.

Do you know the name of the company you used?

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We are looking at doing the exact same thing for our cruise in June 2019. Can you give me more information on (1) what you did with the car touring-wise over the couple of days, and (2) was it easy/costly to park it overnight in Rejkyavik? Thanks.

We stayed at Black Pearl Apartments so the parking was included. It’s very easy to find your way in Iceland because most of the island is very rural and there aren’t that many roads! We just did the Golden Circle on our own. Parking is easy in Reykjavik.

I've rented cars three times in Iceland, and also read extensively on the Trip Advisor site. Its hard to say whether Icelandic car rental outlets are gouging, devious tricksters, or whether renters are careless dimwits, or whether both sides misunderstand each other.

To avoid problems, you should inspect your rental car carefully before you take delivery of it and also photograph ANY damage on the car. This includes tiny chips in the paint anywhere on the car; pits or scratches in the windshield; bumps, dents, or rubs on the body; dirt, scratches, or gouges anywhere on the interior of the car. If this seems like a waste of time, a repair of a small dent and restored paintwork could easily cost you several hundred dollars, and if you can't prove you didn't do it, you will be charged for it.

It's a beautiful country, the people are lovely, and you should absolutely rent a car to see it - it's the best way. But inspect that car carefully before you take it under your contract.

Its a mixed bag with the rental car providers. Quite a few companies have small kiosks (like tiny houses) right outside the small port building. But only some companies actually bring the cars to the port (Europcar does this). Most of the agencies transport their customers to their nearest office where they get their cars. We have used Europcar because they do have the cars at the port but even this is not always a good thing. Two years ago the Europcar Office was not even opened until about an hour after we arrived (one story was that their employee overslept). Last year the office was open but there was a queue of about 6 persons and it took a long time to process each reservation (they did all the paperwork by hand). Meanwhile, folks that had to be shuttled to another location may have actually received their cars faster. On the other hand it is really nice when returning Europcar's because you simply park at the lot by the port.

Be forewarned that rental cars can be very expensive. Those that book in advance usually get the best prices. We know some crew staff that did a last minute rental and paid about $300 for a one day rental.

Hank