Corfu Airport Auto Rental: 10 Mistakes to Avoid When Booking

Corfu rewards the traveler who can flow on their possess time table. The island seems to be small on a map however once you get off the foremost roads, distances think longer, buses thin out, and taxis upload up swiftly. That is why so many guests prefer up a vehicle the instant they land at Corfu International Airport Ioannis Kapodistrias.

I have rented vehicles at Corfu airport for work and holidays, in high season and in past due October drizzle. The trend is always the similar. The folks that did a few book CFU airport cars homework are on the road in 20 minutes. The ones who rushed the reserving stand in queues, argue over assurance at the table and discover marvel fees on their card a week later.

If you choose a comfortable Corfu airport vehicle condominium knowledge, the excellent lesson is to apprehend where others move incorrect. The following ten blunders are the ones I see as a rule at Corfu airport, along with what to do as a replacement.

1. Assuming “airport motor vehicle condo” consistently manner on-site

Many visitors search for “Corfu airport auto condo” or “appoint automobile Corfu airport” and anticipate each outcomes is in the terminal. It is just not that functional.

At Corfu, a few manufacturers have desks within the arrivals corridor and their vehicles within the airport parking just throughout the street. Others perform “meet and greet” or shuttle providers. You go out arrivals, seek for an individual keeping a small signal, and ride a minibus to an off web site lot a few minutes away.

That isn't always necessarily undesirable. Off website online agencies may well be less expensive and more versatile on things comparable to mileage or further drivers. The challenge appears to be like if you expect to stroll for your automobile in five minutes and in its place lose forty minutes monitoring down a commute in 30 diploma heat after a 3 hour flight from London.

If you wish a actual on website online Corfu airport employ a auto option, examine carefully. Look for clear wording comparable to “desk within terminal” or “on airport”. If the affirmation mentions a go back and forth, meeting factor or “place of work 400 m from terminal”, build that into your timings. It issues on arrival, and it somewhat subjects when you have an early morning departure and want to drop the auto and still assess in on time.

2. Booking purely on rate and ignoring the insurance coverage structure

I nevertheless see men and women brag that they came across the “correct automotive rental Corfu airport” for 12 euros an afternoon in August. That base payment is meaningless devoid of awareness the coverage.

In Greece, effortless protection repeatedly includes third birthday party liability and a few shape of collision harm waiver (CDW) with a prime excess. I even have observed excesses from 700 to one,800 euros for an financial system car or truck. If there's destroy, you pay up to that quantity except you have got additional duvet.

The usual mistakes are two. First, folk pass any more disguise and move their arms, then spend their break irritating about slender streets in Corfu Town. Second, they buy an “excess refund” coverage from a broking web site and do now not realize that the rental organization will nonetheless block the total excess on their card at sequence.

A real looking strategy at Corfu airport automobile condo counters is to resolve upfront the way you prefer to address danger. Some travelers are comfy with a enormous deposit because they have a amazing credit card and feel with condominium claims. Others sleep superior with a “zero extra” equipment that fees greater according to day yet shrinks the security block and fiscal exposure.

Read the coverage area formerly you click on “Book”. Compare the money of adding full duvet from the condo visitors with a standalone extra coverage from a reputable insurer. There isn't any single true answer, but strolling as much as the desk devoid of a plan is the quickest course to stress and dear upsells.

three. Not checking gasoline coverage and mileage formerly confirming

Corfu airport rental vehicles basically normally use the identical couple of fuel regulations. The predicament is that they seem to be related at a glance, yet money very different amounts over every week.

“Full to complete” skill you go with up the automobile with a full tank, go back it full, and simply pay for what you operate. This is most of the time the fairest selection, specifically for those who plan to drive across the island.

“Pre acquire” or “complete to drain” capacity you pay for a tank of gasoline at choice and will return it on fumes. It sounds effortless however hardly works to your favour except you can actually use maximum of the tank and the supplier expenditures gas at practically pump prices plus a small money. Many do no longer.

Mileage is an additional quiet catch. Most Corfu car condominium organizations offer limitless kilometres, which is ideal for exploring Paleokastritsa, Kassiopi, the south coast and inland villages with no concerned about distance. A few low rate bargains conceal a in step with kilometre price above a modest every single day minimize.

If your affirmation electronic mail is vague or uses terms you do now not understand, e-mail or message the friends and ask for clarity. You choose written confirmation of the two fuel policy and mileage. Verbal factors at a hectic airport table are easy to misunderstand and masses harder to dispute later.

four. Overlooking riding realities on Corfu whilst picking motor vehicle size

Looking at glossy photos, it's tempting to upgrade to a bigger automotive. More space for baggage, more suitable air conditioning, perchance even an automated for remedy. On Corfu, the bigger the auto, the extra you desire to place confidence in wherein you intend to pressure.

The road from the airport into Corfu Town is huge adequate, but as soon as you wander into older districts, roads narrow to 1 lane with stone walls on each sides and tight corners round homes. Some coastal villages and hilltop settlements are even tighter, with parking that barely suits a compact hatchback.

If you're staying at a motel on the primary east coast highway, a bigger auto may not be a trouble. If your villa is up a steep lane inside the north of the island, a small to medium auto with first rate strength and extraordinary turning circle is a far more advantageous option than a cumbersome SUV. I have watched humans spend 15 minutes maneuvering a sizable car or truck out of a lane that became basically designed for scooters and donkeys.

For maximum travelers, the sweet spot for Corfu airport car or truck apartment is a small or compact automobile, guide or automatic relying for your comfort. Enough boot house for baggage, however small satisfactory to slide into tight parking areas and meet oncoming traffic with room to respire.

five. Ignoring reports of express Corfu airport branches

Many visitors do a rapid examine of the company identify and cease there. They see a mammoth overseas organisation they know from domicile, anticipate a average sense, and reserve. In practice, department first-class can differ generally.

Search peculiarly for the service provider identify plus “Corfu airport” and examine the current stories for that region. Patterns matter extra than exclusive proceedings. If one adult mentions an extended wait time, that could just be a hectic Saturday in August. If 20 folks across 3 months report aggressive spoil claims or unexplained costs, pay recognition.

This recommendation applies equally to native vendors. Some small Corfu hire a automobile enterprises near the airport are best, with friendly service and bendy insurance policies. Others minimize corners or depend upon technicalities to lift cash. Reviews most of the time make the difference clear.

A 15 euro difference on per week’s condo isn't really well worth an uncongenial argument over “pre latest” scratches you had been by no means allowed time to report.

6. Not getting ready your data and card correctly

One of the dullest difficulties, yet I nevertheless watch it unfold in line at the airport each and every summer time. The documents for hiring a automotive in Greece is straightforward, however there are a few very important data.

You quite often need:

1. A valid riding licence that you just have held for at the very least twelve months, many times two, based at the organization and motor vehicle neighborhood.
2. For non EU / EEA drivers from specific nations, an International Driving Permit alongside your place licence. Check this beforehand, considering that you are not able to reap an IDP whenever you are already in Greece.
3. A credit card inside the important driver’s title with adequate conceivable decrease to conceal the deposit or excess block.
4. Passport or national ID card for identity.

Where humans get stuck is with the card. Many Corfu airport car condominium desks do now not receive debit cards for the security deposit, only for money. Others accept them however handiest with steeply-priced greater insurance plan. Prepaid playing cards are continuously refused outright.

If your affirmation does no longer truly state that debit playing cards are accredited for the deposit, anticipate you need a usual credits card with embossed title and numbers. Also be sure the cardboard limit is prime enough. I watched a pair from Germany turned away because their modest prohibit couldn't accommodate a 1,500 euro block for the excess plus their motel’s pre authorisation.

Print or store your confirmation e mail as a PDF, which includes the voucher should you booked through a dealer. Mobile information superhighway at Corfu airport is traditionally high-quality, yet a lifeless battery or roaming obstacle should always now not stand among you and your auto.

7. Chasing “no deposit” deals with no reading the small print

The word “Corfu airport auto apartment no deposit” is engaging, above all if you dislike the notion of hundreds of euros blocked for your card. Genuine low deposit or no deposit alternate options do exist, but the devil sits in the detail.

Usually, whilst a employer advertises no deposit, it capacity one of two matters. Either they've outfitted the menace into a top day by day price with mandatory complete assurance, or they are going to still preserve a smaller volume as a gasoline or traffic effective guarantee. Sometimes each.

There is not anything unsuitable with paying a touch greater for the peace of thoughts that comes from now not having 1,000 euros frozen on your card. Just remember what you're procuring. Check:

The actual volume they can hold to your card, if any.

Whether the no deposit offer is tied to a particular assurance equipment. How they care for minor hurt, consisting of small scratches or chips.

Compare this to a conventional package deal from any other firm that uses a deposit yet gives you lower premiums. Over per week’s vacation, the full settlement can swing both means. The worst mistake is to publication at the strength of “no deposit” alone after which detect an extended list of exclusions and further expenditures when you reach the table.

eight. Skipping the inspection and image habitual at pickup

You are drained, the queue has been slow, and the beach is asking. The agent aspects to the car, you signal the shape, throw your bags in the boot and pressure off. That five minute shortcut can cost dearly if there's latest destroy that by no means made it onto the record.

At Corfu airport, in which dozens of automobiles rotate between renters every week in summer season, small bumps and scrapes are movements. Most groups are trustworthy about this and mark every thing they know. Some are usually not thorough, specially at height times.

Treat your inspection as component to the rental, now not a nuisance. Walk around the automobile, investigate every panel, the wheels, and the entrance and rear bumpers specifically. Pay awareness to:

Small scratches and dents.

Alloy wheel scuffs and hubcap injury. Chips or cracks inside the windscreen. Any wreck at the roof whenever you are tall enough or can see from an attitude.

Photograph everything, even concerns which might be already marked. Capture the automobile from both nook, the odometer examining, and the fuel gauge. Time stamped images on your cellphone create a checklist it is rough to argue with later.

Encourage the team of workers member to feature any lacking marks to the style earlier than you signal. If they appear reluctant, keep polite yet organization. A jiffy here is valued at a ways more than an indignant email alternate after you come home.

9. Forgetting to devise parking and get entry to at your accommodation

Corfu airport vehicle condo is the effortless piece. The tougher section, surprisingly in top season, is residing with the auto if you reach your lodging.

Many historic villages and a few portions of Corfu Town have very limited parking. Some beachfront lodges have private plenty, others rely fullyyt on corfu airport car rental deals public areas that top off without delay in July and August. Steep private driveways are frequent for villas, many times with awkward angles and unfastened gravel.

Before you e-book, ask your accommodation approximately parking in one of a kind, sensible phrases. Do no longer settle for “parking out there”. Ask no matter if that's individual or public, how many areas they've, how tight the entry is, and whether or not large motors have compatibility comfortably.

This needs to outcome now not simplest your decision of apartment automotive dimension, as mentioned previous, but also regardless of whether you even want a motor vehicle to your overall continue to be. For instance, for those who are spending 3 nights in Corfu Town and then every week in a north coast village, it's possible you'll do greater to spend the first facet strolling and taxis, then set up a Corfu airport automobile condominium establishing at the day you leave the town.

Thinking in segments like it will retailer cash, parking headaches and the pressure of threading a automotive with the aid of the metropolis’s one means machine if you happen to are still jet lagged.

10. Returning the automobile in a hurry and neglecting the basics

I have lost matter of how many disputes soar at drop off due to the fact that the renter is hurrying to catch a flight. When you are rushing, you forget about gasoline, you park where you usually are not supposed to, or you give up keys without checking the very last documents.

Give your self a right kind buffer for go back. If your flight is at 13:00, do no longer plan to roll into the automobile park at eleven:forty five, peculiarly in the event you rented off website online and want a commute trip returned to the terminal.

At go back, intention to:

1. Refill the tank at a station just about the airport while you are on a complete to full policy. Keep the receipt. There are several petrol stations within a quick pressure, however a few should be busy.
2. Remove all individual items from the automobile, including door pockets and under seats.
3. Walk round the car or truck with the agent the place likely and ask them to confirm in writing that the auto is lower back with no new harm and with a full tank if relevant.
4. Take remaining portraits, consisting of the gas gauge and odometer.

If it's worthwhile to use a key drop field in view that you are returning exterior place of job hours, pix and a quick video walkaround was even greater fundamental. Corfu airport rent a motor vehicle carriers regularly deal with those returns quite, yet a transparent visual file protects you in case a new dent looks at the inspection sheet later.

A short pre booking checklist

Used neatly, a auto turns Corfu right into a versatile, uncomplicated island to explore. Used badly, it turns into a thread of anxiety strolling by using your break. Before you decide to any airport auto rent Corfu deal, run by way of this brief list.

1. Verify if the business is on airport or off site with a commute, and how that impacts your timings.
2. Read current reports principally for the Corfu airport department, not just the logo.
3. Compare total value, inclusive of coverage, gasoline coverage and any mileage limits, not simply the base day-after-day cost.
4. Check parking and entry at your lodging and decide upon car or truck size thus.
5. Confirm what playing cards and records you need and regardless of whether any “no deposit” present has restrictive stipulations.

Handled with this degree of awareness, Corfu airport condo motors believe less like a chance and more like a smartly managed software on your time out.

Final thoughts from the queue at Corfu airport

If you spend half-hour inside the arrivals hall on a hectic afternoon, one can almost predict who will breeze by means of and who will come to be annoyed. The ones with printed confirmations, clear selections on coverage and practical expectations about the automobile and the island have a tendency to leave smiling. The ones who booked on cost on my own and did not learn a word of the terms are those arguing on the table.

Corfu automotive rental does now not have got to be tough. It is just a be counted of matching the truth at the flooring with your own tolerance for threat, budget and using self assurance. Look past headline quotes, have an understanding of how insurance and deposits paintings, choose the precise dimension of car for Corfu’s roads, and deliver your self time at either pickup and go back.

Do that, and your rent a car or truck at Corfu airport will become what it must always be: an trouble-free gateway to mountain villages, quiet shorelines and overdue dinners in small tavernas, in your personal clock in place of all of us else’s.