Le Havre rent@car/sixt question

[faith1118]

Hi, I was going to be sailing into Le Havre port on the ruby princess on aug 14, 2014 and I wanted to rent a car and I was looking on here that a lot of people rented a car from rent@car located at the cruise terminal. My qaestion is did you book in advance and how do you go about doing that? I have seen an email address, but no website to book on. Do I email them to rent a car?

Also, does anybody know if sixt is located at the cruise terminal? I looked on their website and it said that it was located at the cruise terminal: 87 Quai de Southampton, 76600 Le Havre, which would put it at the cruise terminal. Can i just rent from there then? Any thoughts? Thanks

[Hlitner]

Rent-a-Car is the only agency located right in the port, but they are relatively expensive (over 100 dollars for the smallest car). Best way to reserve with them is to send them a direct e-mail and they usually respond within a day. Sixt (and Europcar) are located outside the Port (you turn left once you clear the port and get to the road) and can be walked in about 20 min. We recently rented from Europcar for about half the price of rent-a-car and Sixt will likely offer similar savings.

 

Hank

Edited June 5, 2014 by Hlitner

[Chairsin]

We rented a car for two days outside the port( 20 minute walk is correct) two years ago when we were on the Seabourn Pride. It does not appear to be a big operation so do reserve in advance --- Especially if like me you want to make sure you want one of the few automatic transmission cars. One day we drove to St Mere Eglise and the second day drove the Route de les Abbayes along the river.

 

 

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[faith1118]

Thanks for the info. Yes, I have booked an automatic with rent a car directly from their website. When comparing prices it was actually cheaper, and they were the only one with an automatic left, however they said I have to pick it up at their office, which is about 3 km from Port. And also when I emailed him to confirm it was automatic, he said he would try to have one left hopefully he will

 

 

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[Chairsin]

Yes, I prefer not to driving a stick when I am trying to read road signs in a foreign language.Good lick with getting the automatic. Where are you going to drive?

 

 

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[Hlitner]

I think we would put the odds of getting a one-day automatic rental at a little better then 50-50 if in France, and about 25% (or less) in Italy. And the premium charged by many agencies is ridiculous! Fortunately, we love driving a manual and there is a lot to say for using manuals on European roads.

 

Car rentals in Europe are always an "adventure." We had a confirmed reservation (Europcar) for a Mercedes for a 3 week rental. When we got to the Europcar dealer he tried to give us a VW Golf and I nearly hit the roof (not of the car). Europcar said to us, "you should not complain because nobody is getting what they want this week." In the end we managed to get a very high end Kia (actually a bit nicer then the cheaper Mercedes) with a huge discount off our confirmed price. If we had booked an automatic we would be walking through France...as we saw 1 couple turned away (this was in Paris) because they did not have the promised Automatic.

 

Hank

P.S. Currently driving through France with our 6 speed :)

Edited June 6, 2014 by Hlitner

[faith1118]

Thanks :) We are planning on driving to Deauville and Honfleur. Do you have any experience driving over there? Any suggestions on restaurants or what to do?

 

Yikes! I'm crossing my fingers then for an automatic, then. Hopefully they have one bc I don't know how to drive a stick. I guess is worse comes to worse, I think my dad might know how, but it's been a looong time since he's driven one, so fingers crossed it works out ok :) Hope youre enjoying France :)

[Hlitner]

Deauville and Honfleur (IMHO this is the far better of the 2 cities) is very easy to drive. You just head out of Le Havre, drive over the beautiful Normandy Bridge and then follow signs (or even better have a GPS). In Honfleur we always love to have lunch in one of the cafes/restaruants arrayed around the small harbor. We normally walk past all the eating venues and read their daily menus (the best deal in any French café/restaurant). We then go to the place that feels right and has the menu that best meets our desires. On some visits we opt for moules et frites (always great in Honfleur). On our most recent visit (about 3 weeks ago) we drove all the way to the tiny village of Bouvron en Auge (a very small village with some cute artsy craft shops) to kill time and have a relaxing morning. We then drove over to Honfleur and caught the end of their market day after which we enjoyed lunch. Later we stopped at another small village in the area and then returned our car. A delightful day. The car cost us about $85 Euros for the day (that includes our fuel cost) so I guess we could argue that we had a full day tour for $60 per person (not including the cost of lunch). If we had taken another couple with us our tour cost would have been only $30 pp! But DW and I generally prefer to be by ourselves so we can do whatever we please, when we please.

 

Hank

Edited June 7, 2014 by Hlitner

[faith1118]

that sounds like a lovely day Hank. Thanks for the suggestions and tips :)

 

 

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