Tag: getting around

The History And Future Of The Car Hire Industry

The history of car hire is almost a hundred years old; the first hire company was believed to have rented Ford’s Model T to customers and was started by an enterprising young man by the name of Joe Saunders. This was 1916, a time when many people did not even own a car, so Saunders’ enterprise must have been popular with those looking for transport, and also those looking for the novelty of driving.

Car hire companies were quick to exploit the fact that having your own means of transport made journeys far easier and infinitely less stressful than public transport. The ability to travel in your own time cannot be underestimated while the freedom of having your own means of transport is a liberating factor. Car hire can be an important element of any trip as no matter where you are the world a car hire desk is never far away.

The majority of international airports have a car hire desk almost as soon as you step off the plane, well at least in the arrivals lounge. The last thing you want to do as a traveller after a long journey is spend hours waiting for a train and coping with the rigours of the public transportation network. A far better option is to hire a car and head out of the airport stress free and under your own steam.

Since the first day’s, car hire companies have grown in number, today however they may well be entering a golden age. With inflated prices of public transport in Britain car hire offers a startling alternative to forking out for the shocking rail fares. If a group of adults has to travel any reasonable distance often the train can cost hundreds of pounds; a far better option is to hire a car and chip in together for the cost; the money saved is usually a considerable amount and can be better put towards activities.

Businessmen have realised this for many years and subsequently use car hire services extensively. For those who spend an eternity travelling, stopping in only one place long enough to have a meeting then board a plane again, the hire of a car shaves vital minutes off a trip. The commercial world has long been patrons of hire companies as frequent business is often rewarded. As most travelling businessmen will state, the less time spent travelling the better, especially for those with families at home.

Modern car hire companies have also realised the importance of holidays, unlike 1916, when Saunders’ started his business, most people now have a car, that is why offering car hire as part of a holiday package has been an impressive ploy in the car hire industry. Fly and drive holidays are becoming more popular for tourists, seemingly with the shortened attention spans of the modern generation, holidaying in one place for any length of time becomes quickly boring. Car hire allows travellers to visit many parts of a region and also creates the opportunity to stop off and have some truly unique experiences.

So what is next for the car hire industry? A good question as seemingly the business has taken all the avenues open to it. An option it to start providing technological innovations as part of car hire packages. This is increasingly becoming the case with satellite navigation systems being included in hire cars to make journeys as simple as possible. This technological increase twinned with providing unparalleled customer service is the way to make a profit in the industry, after all airport car hire desks have to deal with some of the most stressed customers and keeping these happy is the path to repeat business.

Things to Consider When Choosing Airport Transportation

Airport transportation is a transport service that helps you to either go from airport to your preferred destination within city or pick you up from your place of your stay to the airport. There are many reliable airport transport services available that will be able to take you to and from the airport. Most airport transportation services provide a wide selection of limousines that can greet you from the airport and provide you with a luxurious and comfortable ride into any destination that you choose.
Airport transportation services are meant to drop you off at a home, hotel, or business, and to pick up from these places to the airport. An airport shuttle service is extremely useful for those who do not possess a car, or for those who have a car but do not wish to leave it in the long-term parking lot at the airport. People who frequently travel by air usually opt for an airport shuttle service to get to and from the airport to their place of stay or from their place of stay to airport. Airport shuttle services are quite popular and also inexpensive. . Airport shuttle services offer buses, vans, and occasionally airport limousines to transport passengers to and from a local airport. All airports- small or big – provide some sort of an airport transportation facility. Information about airport shuttle service can usually be obtained at the airport’s information kiosks.

If you do not want to opt for airport shuttle services, you can drive your own automobile and parking it in one of the airport’s lots for a fee, or hire a taxi cab, or choose the public bus or train if available. If such facility is possible you can request a family member or a friend to drop you and/ or pick you up at the airport. Transportation fare and your personal convenience are the two primary things to consider when you select a particular mode of airport transportation. While airport shuttle service will certainly be more affordable than a taxi cab, fares for airport shuttle may vary among airport transportation shuttle service providers.

If you want to be picked up at the airport and dropped off at the same airport after a few days, then a discounted round-trip fare may be available with many the airport transportation services. Fortunately, most of airport shuttle companies have their own web sites which will enable you to strike an even better deal by reserving the shuttle online. The transportation expenses will depend on whether the airport shuttle transportation service you choose uses buses or vans, or if you prefer something like a limousine. One should obviously expect the airport limousines as well as private cars to be costlier. Some airport transportation providers employ vehicles that run on alternative fuel sources. This may be a trifle cheaper since they do not use as much gasoline.

Personal convenience is certainly another factor to be considered when selecting an appropriate airport transportation service. Some shuttle services run only at pre-determined hours or have a prescribed daily quota of trips. You also need to know whether the airport transportation service will be available if the plane arrives or leaves at odd hours. The regular airport traveler might also want to know the average waiting time for an airport shuttle and may choose a company that is punctual and available at convenient time of arrival / departure for his flight.

UK Car Hire – UK Car Rental

UK Car Hire and Rental – Compare Car Hire UK- Cheap car rental London

Our Car Hire UK Price Promise Guarantees you cannot get a better UK car hire deal from these trusted car hire suppliers on the net, for the United Kingdom. Grand and ancient traditions, superb facilities and great natural beauty combine to make the United Kingdom one of the world’s most travelled tourist destinations. We have extensive car hire coverage of UK and Ireland, as well as the Bahamas, Spain, Portugal and the US. Renting a car in UK has never been so easy. We have a huge database of useful information in our car rental UK content section. Anything from Car Hire Vehicle Guides, UK airport tips, Supplier information to reasons why to rent a car can be found in our content section. Our unique "quote and pick" booking system is applied throughout the United Kingdom and its overseas possessions. We specialise in retrieving the information on car rentals for all of our partners and putting them in front of you, the client, without fear or favour. For the adventurous, ancient shifts in the earth have created great cave systems added to by constant erosion of subterranean rivers and waterfalls. There
are castles and kingdoms, forests and fields, Roman ruins and iron age monuments,theatres, ceremonies, and wild, beautiful islands.

Our unique "Quote and Pick" system will offer you your own choice of instant online quotes and bookings and one way rentals throughout the whole of the Britain, including city and airport locations offering Sight seeing in UK.Visitors to the United Kingdom may drive rental cars using their national licence, provided it is in a language which uses Roman letters
and numbers with Driving Regulations. UK Car Hire specialises in UK car hire and UK car rental from United Kingdom and covers thousands of locations throughout the world.

The UK has some of the most "interesting" weather in the world for the minute weather forecasts in the UK and round temperature charts of UK. Scenic driving routes for a holiday in Britain by car which consequence of more than a thousand years of settled ways. Get cheap car hire & car rental in UK with best price holiday car hire deals worldwide. There is a wide range of cheap internet car hire deals, valuable information on our fantastic car rental a large selection of online services and a UK-wide network. We have over 100 car hire locations in Great Britain, and many more in Portugal, Spain and the United States. Pick up and drop off details will be on your booking confirmation in England, Wales, Scotland, The Channel Islands and Northern Ireland.

We aim to provide you the opportunity to get a feel for these places and to scope out the car hire situation there, so this guide will help you find the best deal in over 100 of our locations in the UK. A quick and easy way to view various types of hotel accommodation in UK. You find the hotel, motel or bed and breakfast accommodation that best suits your needs in the UK. In UK there are many Places to Stay Birmingham, Blackpool, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cambridge, Chilworth, Dover, Leeds for your hotel accommodation with Quote and Pick" booking system. Car hire with great rental deals, holiday offers, and discount UK car rentals to make car hire quick and easy with special offers and online discounts. We give you the whole listing of our suppliers with vehicles in your area,their type and price, for you to choose from.

We have extensive car hire coverage throughout UK ranging from major cities such as Birmingham, Blackpool, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cambridge, Chilworth,Leeds and many others. We can offer great deals to both business travellers and holiday travellers. We have a great selection of short golf breaks and holidays within the UK tried for a balance of accessibility, challenge and physical attractiveness. UK and Irish golf courses offer the best levels of hospitality, value and golf that anybody could desire, and we offer golfers the best in car rental. Get information about golf courses in Birmingham Blackpool, Bournemouth, Brighton, Cambridge, Chester, Leeds, London Oxford and Scotland.

UK Car Rental is a trading partner of The Car Hire Group. As such, we are agents for the main four car rental companies (Budget, Hertz, Dollar and Alamo through InterCar Auto Rental). We also realised that taking some of the more scenic routes would lead to a much more enjoyable holiday experience.

Please check our terms of condition of our service make one of the best car hire company in UK since 1997.

In case of any enquiry please contact us

Tips for arranging an affordable car rental on vacation

If you are going to buy a car rental for yourself, then you need to wary of many important things and above all other factors, it is the price for the car rental that should be paid best attention by you. As far as you are not well acquainted with all the tricks of car rental industry, it would be very difficulty for you to access the right price for cheaper car rental.

To making a feasible deal on buying a car rental, you can start proceeding with a price already set in your mind or can equally evaluate prices of different car vendors in order to get a better price for a car rental. And in present scenario, the situation is getting further compounded due to inflationary rates of products and rising prices of gases. So after considering over good ideas on saving money on car rental you can start bargaining for buying cheaper car rental.

For buying a cheaper car rental, you can log on to online websites instead of going to counters of car rental agencies if you are running out of time and have to arrange things in real quick time. At online websites not only there are provided a good number of offers for car rental are but also many schemes of deductions that one can found very advantageous for his or her use.

The other way to get comparatively cheaper car rental is to make best use of your car rental offer. As most of the car rental companies expect you to return the car filled with gas and as you are not yet sure about the quality of the gas at the time of receiving the car, the best you can do that get the car filled with the most low-cost gas which you can find easily. This way you can also save dollars on inflated rates of the petrol. The other useful method to get cheaper car rental is to hire from the same car rental agency for a number of times as possible to save money. This way you can have discounts on cost of rental as well on miles too.

You can rather change your flier miles which are about to expire into car rental miles, if the facility is provided by your car rental service provider. Early reservations are another useful idea to save money on car rental. As earliest you book a car rental as better discounted price you can avail for car rental. Reaching at car rental shop as earliest as possible in morning at the time of opening of shop you can because of shortfall on cheap car rentals can have free or a marked down upgrade. Further, to get a cheaper car rental, the other fine method is to purchase a hotel or rental package that sums up air fare, car rental and hotel stay all into one, as you can have discount on car rental fare on that particular package. By following the above given measures for buying rental car you can book a pleasurable and affordable car rental trip for your holiday.

Getting Around Rome

The seasoned tourist knows that the best way to get around Rome is on foot. However, for those looking for a bit more information than Walk, this guide to Getting Around Rome is can help.

Arriving in Rome. Visitors will most likely arrive by plane into Rome’s Lenoardo da Vinci Airport, also known as Fiumicino, after a nearby city. Situated about 25 kilometers outside of Rome, the best bet for getting into the city is the train. The airport train station operates a line to Rome’s Central Station (Roma Termini) daily between 6:30 am and 11:00 pm. The ride takes approximately half an hour. Tickets cost 11 euro and are available from one of the machines in the station. Keep in mind that the train really is the most efficient read: no traffic jams and least expensive option for getting into Rome. If your flight arrives, however, between 11:00 pm and 6:30 am, you will probably want to take a cab, rather than wait around. Expect to pay at least 50 euro.

Getting Around in Rome. Once you have settled into your guest accommodations in Rome, you will find that the quickest and easiest way to get around the city besides walking, that is public transportation. Please keep in mind that while the Metro and bus systems are quiet safe, it is still important that you stay alert for pickpockets. Carry your valuables in a secure money belt.

The central station for Rome’s Metro is the Termini, which is the hub of the system’s two lines, A and B. Line A crosses the city from east to west and includes stops at many tourist destinations, such as the Vatican, Piazza di Spagna, Piazza Barberini and Piazza del Popolo. Line B traverses Rome from northeast to southwest, with stops at the Coloseum, Circo Massimo, and St. Paul’s Basilica. The B train also stops at Rome’s three main railroad stations, Stazione Tiburtina, Stazione Termini and Stazione Ostiense. Remember the following stops and you should have most of your time in Rome covered: On Line A, Spagna for the Spanish Steps, Musei Vaticani for Vatican City and Ottaviano for St. Peter’s Basilica; on Line B, the Colosseo is closest to the Colosseum.

Rome’s Metro trains run approximately every ten minutes, from 5:30am until 11:30pm (and until 12:30am on Saturdays). Tickets for the Metro can be purchased from vending machines at the metro stops. A one-way ticket costs 1.00 euro. You can also purchase a daily ticket, which is good for unlimited travel by metro or bus, for 4.00 euro, or a weekly for 16.00.

If you get fed up with trying to figure out Rome’s somewhat notoriously complicated public transportation system, then your best bet really is to walk! The historic center of Rome is quite small and very walkable. And along the way you are certain to bump into one of Rome’s famous gelato stands or pizza stores, making the effort all the more worthwhile.

Why Do Car Rental Agencies Ask For Credit Card?

Houston, the largest city in the Texas and the fourth largest city in the United States witnessed its growth through the transportation at growing port, and railroad industry and discovery of the oil in the region. With the span of time during mid twentieth century, Houston became the center of medical world after establishment of Texas Medical Center-that is known for the largest concentration of medial health care and research centers and NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Mission Control Center is located here in Houston.

The city is habituated by multicultural population as many of them are from different countries across the globe. The city has a good number of centers for culture and exhibitions. The Houston Museum District attracts more than 7 million visitors every year. The climate of Houston is humid subtropical.

As for traveling within the city of Boston and adjoining areas you can select from a good number of available mediums. Personal car rental in Houston is one of those best modes of transport that provides all the luxuries of traveling through the city of Boston. By a personal car rental you can travel all the important centers of the cities without pondering much about traffic jams and isolation of your destination from public mode of transport. Hiring a private taxi is an expensive deal and you cannot keep changing your taxi all the time when you are visiting a new place.

Finally, as, you have set your mind on buying a car rental in Houston, the first question you will face from the counter clerk would be demand for your major credit card despite whatever is your mode of payment. It is a general practice among car rental companies that they demand for a credit card. Car rental agency does so to get security deposit against the loss or damage to the car while it is in your possession. Credit Card Company gets a credit card authorization to cover any expenses in case of damage to the rented while under your driving belt.

So in order to save your hard earned money it is best advised to return car to the renting agency in intact condition. As the car returned by you is found with any damage an appropriate fee is get deducted from your credit card on conditions as signed with you while delivering the car to you by renting agency.

As there is basic difference between a debit card, credit cars and check card, most of the car rental agencies do not accept debit card and check cards as security deposit. As there is no provision of advance approval for debit and check cards, therefore, companies refrain from accepting them as security against car rental.

While negotiating through the credit card, a car rental company just doesn’t take anyone’s credit card as for the sake of presenting it to the company. It should be your major credit card. And the name of the major credit care holder should also be on driving license as well on rental agreement and be presented physically at the time when car is rented. You can not use any other person’s credit card for renting the car.

Car rental a comfortable mode of transport to visit Italy

Italy situated on the Italian Peninsula and Islands of Sicily and Sardinia in the Mediterranean Sea harbored many ancient cultures like Etruscans and the Romans. The modern education system and Renaissance also began from here and soon spread to entire Europe. Rome, the capital of Italy was center of activities for western civilization for many decades. Presently, Italy is a developed country placing on the 8th place in terms of standard of living in the world is wonderful place for traveling and sightseeing.

While visiting Italy as for land transport you can start selecting car rental in Italy of your choice from a number of car renting agencies that provide their services on very affordable and competitive rates. But million dollar question is that where you would search for a car on affordable rates and price with appropriate type of insurance adeptly fitting to your requirement. Some wise decisions and smarter thinking helps you to choose right type of car renting agency.

You can start search for selecting an appropriate type of car renting agency from big car rental agencies that have better advantage over smaller companies. A big agency provides a wide variety of car classes and models and has offices and picking facilities at the airport. The other advantage of big car renting agency is that they offer more discounts and have partnership with other travel related companies and are more flexible in terms of locations as it help when you wish to change car at many locations.

After selecting car rental agency of your choice, you can go for discounts and promotional offers as offered by car renting agency. You can have approval for any of the offer scheme at car renting agency. In case you are falling under category of senior citizen, military personnel or any such category you can avail discount from a car renting agency. In order to obtain a discount you should have a discount code as to make sure when you are getting to have a discount.

Other important issue while renting a car on rent in Italy is insurance required during renting a car. You can avoid car rental insurance from agency, if your personal car insurance covers rental cars too. Also check out the possibility of having a car rental on any of your credit cards. But before signing the car rental insurance paper verify the cost for insurance from the market as different agencies offer different rates. And most important insurance, taxes and fees are normally not covered into the quoted rates.

As for searching the rates for car rental in Italy, there are a number of travel websites which offers excellent rates for car renting. At a website you can have an easy availability of car rental rates and models for a specific period you wish to hire a car on rent. There are many individual car rental websites that provide special rate for clients that buy directly from them. The other convenient and cheaper mode for car rental is special vacation packages that include air, hotel and car rental. These packages are comparatively cheaper than buying each of the services separately. Thus following the given instruction you can make journey of Italy enjoyable hiring car renal services.

Tips of caution, when singing a car rental contract

The process of bargaining for car rental thus results into a comfortable and pleasurable experience after paying considerable attention on some relevant points for booking a car on rent. However, above all the necessary points of caution for hiring a car, the one that should have utmost priority on your list ought to be car rental agreement.

Before driving away with car one should be dead sure about all the information contained in the signed agreement. Any confused clause lacking in clarity can bring about puzzled situation or legal complication before you. You should ponder over each and every point like what you would be charged for returning the car late by five hours or with a scratch.

After reading car rental agreement when you would arrive at the check out counter of renting agency to receive keys of the car you may confronted with question, whether you have opted for car rental agency’s insurance policy or not. At this, immediately not jump for denial, instead think over and review policy whether you may meet with an accident or get car damage when driving it on the travel.

Despite the fact don’t go singing up car rental agency’s insurance policy as the counter clerk ask you for the policy instead check out the options under your own vehicle’s car rental insurance whether it covers insurance on rental cars. It is good to have coverage on rental cars with your current insurance provider. If you are paying bill for bargaining car rental by credit card, then you can verify it from the credit card company about the provision of facilitating car insurance on rented car. Many of them provide this facility as soon as a car is rented on their credit card.

Unfortunately, if you don’t have car rental from any of these resources then you can think about buying it from car rental agency. More you need to be cautious while driving; otherwise, you may have to pay not only for damaged car but for the period a car is left at repairing shop.

Apart from car rental insurance other thing which can irritate you while paying bill for the car rental are hidden fees and charges. Tax is another thing and you being a citizen can’t refrain yourself from this responsibility. So to avoid any complication, just start planning for this situation from the moment you have decided to pick a car on rent.

You are charged for the gas in two ways, in the first method an agency charges flat fee for gas, in the second scheme a car renting agency expect you to return the car filled with Gas. Therefore, it is always expected from you to return the car filled with gas as car renting agencies always charge more from you in comparison to gas station nearest to you. In case driver of the car is below the age of 25 then a car rental agency charges additional fee. Even denial to this driver too results in extra burden as care rental agency would charge for other driver.

Car Rental – Why you should book before you go

A few days ago, I came across an online discussion about whether you should prepay your car rental before you travel or wait until you get to your destination. I found a comment that I just had to respond to, but since the conversation ended back in 2006, I decided to reply via this blog instead.

So what exactly was said to make me feel this way, I hear you ask? Brace yourselves:

“Under no circumstances should you prepay (if you make a change or cancel it will be a real hassle and will probably cost you quite a bit of money)”

I gasped. Oh the misconceptions and myths out there!

So I’m setting the record straight. Here’s why you should prepay your car rental before you go.

No Cancellation or Amendment Fees
Firstly, if you cancel it will not cost you hassle or money! At DriveAway Holidays, we do not charge amendment or cancellation fees. Very occasionally, suppliers will charge fees (and we will pass it on to the consumer) but generally this only happens if you cancel within a 72 hour period and applies to selected suppliers in selected destinations only.

Purchasing Power
With 20 years experience in the car rental industry, DriveAway Holidays’ relationship with reputable suppliers means we can offer you lower prices on car rental overseas than if you were to walk in off the street. Plus, we have a Price Beat Guarantee, so if you happen to find a cheaper rate, we’ll beat it!^

No Foreign Exchange Worries
Prepaying your car rental in Australian dollars before you go means that you don’t have to worry about exchange rate fluctuations. If you book your car hire when you arrive at a destination, changes in the exchange rate may mean you pay more than you would have at home in Australia.

Availability
By booking your car rental in advance, you can get the vehicle size you want. Whilst car rental suppliers do not guarantee a specific model, you will get the car class you reserved. If you wait until you are at the airport in a foreign country, especially in peak season, availability may be limited and so prices will be driven up. Avoid disappointment and save money by booking early!

Peace of Mind
Booking your car rental in Australia before you travel means there are no language barriers to consider and it is easy and convenient. You have time to consider your options and read the small print as opposed to being “up sold” to on the spot at a car rental counter in a foreign country. Plus, DriveAway Holidays has a 24/7 Toll Free Customer Service line, accessible from around the world, so if you do run into problems, there is someone here to help.

Added Value
We can offer added value to your trip on top of your car rental. We offer GPS rental, for instance, which is an invaluable travel accessory, as well as sightseeing packages and accommodation. Also, at certain times of the year there will be various special offers in different areas so you can pick up a bargain! Earlybird season (which is fast approaching in November) is a great time to book your car rental for next year, with lots of special offers and free upgrades when you book early. Watch this space for more information!

^Conditions apply. Visit www.driveaway.com.au for details.

Hire Car Rental in Ancient City of Seattle for Hassle Free Journey

Seattle that is the place of great anthropological value to the Unites States of America was inhabited for 4000 year’s is the largest city in the Pacific Northwest Region of the United States. Geographically, it is situated in the state of Washington between an arm of the Pacific Ocean known as Puget Sound and Lake Washington.

Seattle is great treasure for visitors, who in search of adventure come at this place as it is the birth place for grunge music and known for consuming coffee, heavily. There are many artisanal espresso roasters and cafes here in Seattle. It is also recognized as one of the most literate cities of the United States of America.

Seattle is also known for its cultural events and fairs as they keep on happening through out year. The most popular events of the Seattle are 24 days Seattle International Film Festival, Northwest Folklife Memorial Day weekend, Seafair events throughout July and August. Other important annual events for Seattle are Seattle Antiquarian Book Fair & Book Arts Show, Penny Arcade Expo that is a gaming convention and very special film festivals, such as the Seattle Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. These are only a few of the tourism attractions from the vast number that a person can have in Seattle.

You can choose any of the available options of Transport for the purpose of traveling throughout the city of Seattle. No doubt, public transport can be a cheaper medium; however, anyway it is not suitable for the purpose of official visit as it can eat up your valuable time while trapped amidst traffic jam. Whereas taxis are easy solution to overcome the traffic of the city are an expensive bargain when is booked for several days as you have to travel from place to places on your trip.

In this position of dilemma, it is the car rental in Seattle provides a very rational solution to problem of conveyance and car rental in Seattle. By hiring a car rental you can easily reach any of your destinations in Seattle in real quick time and even to the places that are beyond the reach of public transport and taxi cabs. You can hire car on rent in Seattle from a number of places, but one of the best place to get cheaper car rental is getting it online. From an online car rental agency you can have a good number of attractive offers for car rental in Seattle as due to the competition in car rental sector, every car rental agency because of good competion tries to focus more on cheaper and attractive offer for their customers.

The option of selecting a budget car over luxury car will always save money for you, handsomely. The point of considerable attention while you are going for car rental is insurance as offered by car renting agency. You should first compare both yours auto insurance as well as renting agency’s car rental insurance and then finally go for the best one when selecting a car renting agency in Seattle.