Corfu Airport Auto Rental: 10 Mistakes to Avoid When Booking

Corfu rewards the vacationer who can stream on their personal time table. The island appears to be like small on a map however while you get off the most important roads, distances really feel longer, buses thin out, and taxis add up immediately. That is why so many visitors decide on up a car or truck the instant they land at Corfu International Airport Ioannis Kapodistrias.

I airport car for rent Corfu have rented autos at Corfu airport for work and vacations, in high season and in past due October drizzle. The development is normally the equal. The people who did a few homework are on the road in 20 mins. The ones who rushed the booking stand in queues, argue over insurance plan at the desk and discover surprise fees on their card every week later.

If you favor a tender Corfu airport auto rental trip, the most popular lesson is to have in mind in which others pass unsuitable. The following ten error are the ones I see as a rule at Corfu airport, which include what to do in its place.

1. Assuming “airport car rental” all the time manner on-site

Many viewers search for “Corfu airport auto condominium” or “rent vehicle Corfu airport” and assume every outcome is within the terminal. It seriously is not that simple.

At Corfu, a few manufacturers have desks in the arrivals corridor and their autos inside the airport parking simply across the road. Others perform “meet and greet” or shuttle capabilities. You exit arrivals, search for somebody retaining a small sign, and ride a minibus to an off web site lot a few minutes away.

That will never be inevitably negative. Off site corporations is additionally inexpensive and greater bendy on issues such as mileage or additional drivers. The problem appears to be like while you expect to stroll on your automobile in five minutes and in its place lose forty mins monitoring down a go back and forth in 30 diploma heat after a 3 hour flight from London.

If you favor a definitely on web page Corfu airport hire a automobile selection, inspect cautiously. Look for clear wording comparable to “table interior terminal” or “on airport”. If the affirmation mentions a trip, meeting level or “place of job four hundred m from terminal”, construct that into your timings. It topics on arrival, and it actually issues in case you have an early morning departure and want to drop the car and nonetheless determine in on time.

2. Booking purely on rate and ignoring the assurance structure

I nevertheless see folk brag that they chanced on the “most efficient auto condo Corfu airport” for 12 euros an afternoon in August. That base expense is incomprehensible devoid of figuring out the coverage.

In Greece, universal policy in many instances entails 3rd social gathering legal responsibility and a few type of collision harm waiver (CDW) with a prime excess. I have obvious excesses from seven hundred to at least one,800 euros for an economy car or truck. If there is break, you pay as much as that amount except you may have extra canopy.

The prevalent blunders are two. First, persons bypass any greater disguise and go their arms, then spend their break stressful approximately narrow streets in Corfu Town. Second, they buy an “excess refund” policy from a broker web page and do now not recognize that the apartment agency will nevertheless block the full extra on their card at series.

A functional frame of mind at Corfu airport vehicle apartment counters is to figure out prematurely the way you prefer to handle danger. Some travellers are cushy with a massive deposit considering the fact that they've got a potent credit card and adventure with rental claims. Others sleep enhanced with a “0 excess” kit that expenditures more in keeping with day but shrinks the safety block and fiscal publicity.

Read the assurance phase earlier you click on “Book”. Compare the expense of adding complete disguise from the condo organisation with a standalone extra coverage from a good insurer. There isn't any unmarried appropriate reply, but running as much as the table with out a plan is the fastest direction to rigidity and costly upsells.

3. Not checking gasoline coverage and mileage before confirming

Corfu airport condo autos nearly consistently use the related couple of gasoline regulations. The drawback is they seem to be comparable at a glance, but rate very unique amounts over every week.

“Full to complete” manner you pick up the automobile with a full tank, go back it full, and in simple terms pay for what you employ. This is oftentimes the fairest selection, noticeably if you happen to plan to drive round the island.

“Pre purchase” or “full to drain” capacity you pay for a tank of fuel at sequence and can return it on fumes. It sounds easy however rarely works to your favour until you could actual use so much of the tank and the guests prices gasoline at just about pump expenditures plus a small check. Many do no longer.

Mileage is yet one more quiet lure. Most Corfu automotive apartment businesses provide limitless kilometres, which is good for exploring Paleokastritsa, Kassiopi, the south coast and inland villages with out brooding about distance. A few low expense offers disguise a in keeping with kilometre fee above a modest every day minimize.

If your affirmation email is vague or makes use of terms you do not realise, e mail or message the enterprise and ask for readability. You need written confirmation of both gasoline policy and mileage. Verbal causes at a busy airport table are basic to misunderstand and masses more durable to dispute later.

4. Overlooking driving realities on Corfu when selecting motor vehicle size

Looking at shiny portraits, it truly is tempting to upgrade to a larger motor vehicle. More area for bags, greater air-con, perhaps even an automated for consolation. On Corfu, the bigger the car, the greater you want to concentrate on the place you plan to force.

The avenue from the airport into Corfu Town is wide satisfactory, however as quickly as you wander into older districts, roads slender to one lane with stone partitions on each facets and tight corners round homes. Some coastal villages and hilltop settlements are even tighter, with parking that slightly matches a compact hatchback.

If you might be staying at a resort on the main east coast avenue, a larger motor vehicle might not be a predicament. If your villa is up a steep lane inside the north of the island, a small to medium auto with first rate drive and important turning circle is a much stronger decision than a bulky SUV. I actually have watched human beings spend 15 mins maneuvering a extensive auto out of a lane that turned into basically designed for scooters and donkeys.

For maximum visitors, the candy spot for Corfu airport automobile condo is a small or compact car or truck, manual or computerized depending on your convenience. Enough boot house for bags, but small sufficient to slide into tight parking spaces and meet oncoming site visitors with room to breathe.

five. Ignoring reviews of distinctive Corfu airport branches

Many travelers do a brief examine of the company name and end there. They see a monstrous Corfu Airport Car Rentals international visitors they be aware of from dwelling house, think a typical sense, and reserve. In observe, branch good quality can differ greatly.

Search primarily for the issuer identify plus “Corfu airport” and examine the latest reports for that vicinity. Patterns count number greater than uncommon lawsuits. If one adult mentions a longer wait time, that will just be a busy Saturday in August. If 20 of us across 3 months document competitive destroy claims or unexplained expenditures, pay attention.

This assistance applies equally to regional suppliers. Some small Corfu appoint a auto enterprises near the airport are correct, with friendly carrier and versatile guidelines. Others cut corners or rely upon technicalities to boost salary. Reviews many times make the change transparent.

A 15 euro distinction on every week’s condo is not very worth a bad argument over “pre present” scratches you had been never allowed time to rfile.

6. Not getting ready your paperwork and card correctly

One of the dullest complications, yet I still watch it unfold in line at the airport each summer season. The documents for hiring a auto in Greece is simple, yet there are a few appropriate facts.

You commonly desire:

  1. A valid riding licence that you have held for at least one year, mostly two, depending on the issuer and automotive institution.
  2. For non EU / EEA drivers from positive international locations, an International Driving Permit alongside your private home licence. Check this upfront, on the grounds that you is not going to attain an IDP whenever you are already in Greece.
  3. A credits card inside the essential driving force’s title with adequate feasible restrict to cover the deposit or extra block.
  4. Passport or nationwide ID card for identity.

Where human beings get caught is with the card. Many Corfu airport car condominium desks do no longer take delivery of debit cards for the protection deposit, only for fee. Others be given them however simply with luxurious greater insurance coverage. Prepaid playing cards are steadily refused outright.

If your confirmation does no longer clearly country that debit cards are widespread for the deposit, suppose you want a widely used credit card with embossed identify and numbers. Also make certain the card limit is prime enough. I watched a pair from Germany became away on account that their modest prohibit couldn't accommodate a 1,500 euro block for the extra plus their inn’s pre authorisation.

Print or store your affirmation electronic mail as a PDF, which includes the voucher if you happen to booked by a broking. Mobile net at Corfu airport is almost always satisfactory, but a lifeless battery or roaming concern will have to no longer stand between you and your car or truck.

7. Chasing “no deposit” delivers with no interpreting the small print

The word “Corfu airport car condo no deposit” is attractive, tremendously for those who dislike the conception of countless numbers of euros blocked in your card. Genuine low deposit or no deposit alternatives do exist, but the satan sits inside the element.

Usually, while a friends advertises no deposit, it way one of two issues. Either they've developed the possibility right into a better each day price with crucial complete insurance coverage, or they may nevertheless keep a smaller quantity as a gas or site visitors pleasant guarantee. Sometimes either.

There is nothing mistaken with paying a bit more for the peace of mind that comes from not having 1,000 euros frozen in your card. Just understand what you're purchasing. Check:

The targeted amount they're going to carry on your card, if any.

Whether the no deposit present is tied to a specific assurance kit. How they handle minor wreck, inclusive of small scratches or chips.

Compare this to a elementary package deal from an extra supplier that uses a deposit however offers scale down quotes. Over per week’s holiday, the total payment can swing both way. The worst mistake is to publication on the strength of “no deposit” alone after which notice a protracted record of exclusions and extra quotes for those who attain the desk.

8. Skipping the inspection and photo movements at pickup

You are drained, the queue has been gradual, and the beach is asking. The agent elements to the auto, you signal the sort, throw your bags within the boot and force off. That five minute shortcut can cost dearly if there is latest hurt that on no account made it onto the file.

At Corfu airport, in which dozens of cars rotate among renters every week in summer time, small bumps and scrapes are regimen. Most firms are honest about this and mark the whole thing they know. Some will not be thorough, fantastically at top instances.

Treat your inspection as a part of the apartment, not a nuisance. Walk round the auto, check each panel, the wheels, and the front and rear bumpers chiefly. Pay cognizance to:

Small scratches and dents.

Alloy wheel scuffs and hubcap destroy. Chips or cracks within the windscreen. Any harm on the roof if you are tall satisfactory or can see from an angle.

Photograph everything, even subject matters which are already marked. Capture the car from every one nook, the odometer analyzing, and the fuel gauge. Time stamped pictures on your phone create a file it really is demanding to argue with later.

Encourage the personnel member so as to add any lacking marks to the kind before you sign. If they seem to be reluctant, live well mannered yet company. A couple of minutes right here is value some distance more than an offended e-mail substitute after you return house.

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

Corfu airport auto rental is the user-friendly piece. The more difficult half, above all in top season, is residing with the auto once you succeed in your lodging.

Many previous villages and some materials of Corfu Town have very constrained parking. Some beachfront lodges have confidential a whole lot, others depend solely on public areas that replenish quick in July and August. Steep deepest driveways are favourite for villas, often with awkward angles and loose gravel.

Before you guide, ask your accommodation approximately parking in express, sensible phrases. Do now not settle for “parking feasible”. Ask regardless of whether that is non-public or public, what number of areas they've got, how tight the get right of entry to is, and no matter if greater autos fit with ease.

This ought to impact no longer in simple terms your alternative of rental vehicle measurement, as reported previously, yet also no matter if you even want a auto to your comprehensive dwell. For illustration, for those who are spending 3 nights in Corfu Town after which a week in a north coast village, you may do bigger to spend the first component walking and taxis, then set up a Corfu airport automobile rental establishing at the day you go away city.

Thinking in segments like it will store check, parking complications and the strain of threading a motor vehicle by using the metropolis’s one means procedure if you are nevertheless jet lagged.

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

I actually have lost remember of what percentage disputes get started at drop off considering that the renter is hurrying to trap a flight. When you're dashing, you put out of your mind fuel, you park wherein you aren't purported to, or you surrender keys without checking the remaining office work.

Give your self a real buffer for return. If your flight is at 13:00, do now not plan to roll into the auto park at eleven:45, fantastically in the event you rented off site and need a trip experience to come back to the terminal.

At return, aim to:

  1. Refill the tank at a station almost the airport when you are on a full to full coverage. Keep the receipt. There are a couple of petrol stations within a brief pressure, but a few is additionally busy.
  2. Remove all own goods from the car, which includes door pockets and underneath seats.
  3. Walk across the auto with the agent wherein achievable and ask them to confirm in writing that the automobile is lower back without a new ruin and with a complete tank if relevant.
  4. Take final pix, including the fuel gauge and odometer.

If you've got to use a key drop container when you consider that you are returning external workplace hours, photos and a quick video walkaround changed into even extra exceptional. Corfu airport appoint a automotive providers veritably take care of these returns noticeably, but a transparent visible rfile protects you in case a new dent appears on the inspection sheet later.

A fast pre reserving checklist

Used good, a automotive turns Corfu into a flexible, smooth island to discover. Used badly, it becomes a thread of tension operating due to your break. Before you decide to any airport auto appoint Corfu deal, run via this brief listing.

  1. Verify if the firm is on airport or off web page with a commute, and the way that impacts your timings.
  2. Read recent critiques especially for the Corfu airport branch, not just the manufacturer.
  3. Compare general payment, adding insurance, gasoline policy and any mileage limits, no longer just the base everyday price.
  4. Check parking and access at your lodging and settle on automobile size to that end.
  5. Confirm what cards and paperwork you want and even if any “no deposit” present has restrictive prerequisites.

Handled with this point of cognizance, Corfu airport apartment automobiles believe much less like a big gamble and more like a smartly controlled software in your holiday.

Final options from the queue at Corfu airport

If you spend half-hour within the arrivals corridor on a hectic afternoon, you possibly can very nearly are expecting who will breeze by way of and who will find yourself pissed off. The ones with printed confirmations, clear selections on coverage and lifelike expectations approximately the car and the island tend to depart smiling. The ones who booked on price by myself and did not read a phrase of the phrases are the ones arguing on the desk.

Corfu auto rental does not should be puzzling. It is absolutely a count number of matching the actuality at the flooring with your possess tolerance for threat, funds and driving confidence. Look beyond headline expenditures, take note how assurance and deposits paintings, opt the properly size of motor vehicle for Corfu’s roads, and deliver your self time at the two pickup and go back.

Do that, and your hire a car or truck at Corfu airport turns into what it may want to be: an uncomplicated gateway to mountain villages, quiet shorelines and late dinners in small tavernas, to your possess clock in preference to all of us else’s.