Corfu Airport Auto Rental: 10 Mistakes to Avoid When Booking

Corfu rewards the tourist who can cross on their very own agenda. The island seems small on a map but if you get off the principle roads, distances believe longer, buses thin out, and taxis add up effortlessly. That is why so many site visitors pick out up a car or truck the instant they land at Corfu International Airport Ioannis Kapodistrias.

I have rented cars at Corfu airport for work and vacation trips, in high season and in past due October drizzle. The development is always the comparable. The people that did a few homework are on the road in 20 minutes. The ones who rushed the booking stand in queues, argue over insurance coverage at the desk and discover surprise bills on their card a week later.

If you desire a soft Corfu airport vehicle rental trip, the most fulfilling lesson is to fully grasp in which others go flawed. The following ten error are those I see most likely at Corfu airport, along side what to do instead.

1. Assuming “airport car condo” normally manner on-site

Many visitors look for “Corfu airport auto condominium” or “appoint auto Corfu airport” and expect every effect is inside the terminal. It is not very that elementary.

At Corfu, some manufacturers have desks inside the arrivals corridor and their autos within the airport parking just across the road. Others perform “meet and greet” or commute products and services. You exit arrivals, look for an individual retaining a small signal, and trip a minibus to an off web page lot a few minutes away.

That is just not essentially poor. Off site vendors may well be more cost-effective and extra versatile on issues consisting of mileage or extra drivers. The main issue seems for those who assume to walk for your car or truck in 5 mins and alternatively lose 40 minutes tracking down a shuttle in 30 stage heat after a three hour flight from London.

If you desire a actually on site Corfu airport appoint a automobile selection, take a look at in moderation. Look for transparent wording including “desk inner terminal” or “on airport”. If the confirmation mentions a trip, assembly level or “place of work 400 m from terminal”, build that into your timings. It subjects on arrival, and it rather things when you have an early morning departure and desire to drop the automobile and nevertheless investigate in on time.

2. Booking simplest on cost and ignoring the coverage structure

I still see folks brag that they located the “highest quality vehicle condominium Corfu airport” for 12 euros a day in August. That base worth is meaningless without knowing the assurance.

In Greece, overall coverage oftentimes entails 3rd birthday celebration liability and some model of collision spoil waiver (CDW) with a prime extra. I even have visible excesses from 700 to at least one,800 euros for an economic climate automobile. If there is smash, you pay as much as that amount except you will have additional cowl.

The common blunders are two. First, people bypass any excess canopy and move their palms, then spend their holiday traumatic approximately narrow streets in Corfu Town. Second, they purchase an “excess refund” policy from a broker site and do now not realize that the apartment manufacturer will still block the overall extra on their card at collection.

A really apt strategy at Corfu airport automotive condo counters is to figure out beforehand the way you prefer to handle hazard. Some visitors are snug with a mammoth deposit on the grounds that they've got a sturdy credits card and revel in with condo claims. Others sleep more desirable with a “zero extra” kit that expenses more in step with day but shrinks the safety block and fiscal publicity.

Read the coverage area previously you click “Book”. Compare the money of adding complete duvet from the condo supplier with a standalone extra policy from a reputable insurer. There is not any unmarried exact solution, however jogging as much as the table without a plan is the fastest route to strain and dear upsells.

three. Not checking gasoline coverage and mileage formerly confirming

Corfu airport Corfu Airport Car Rentals condo cars essentially regularly use the comparable couple of gas insurance policies. The problems is that they seem comparable at a look, but rate very one-of-a-kind quantities over per week.

“Full to full” potential you decide upon up the automobile with a full tank, return it full, and merely pay for what you employ. This is almost always the fairest option, quite if you happen to plan to pressure around the island.

“Pre purchase” or “full to empty” manner you pay for a tank of fuel at sequence and might go back it on fumes. It sounds convenient however infrequently works in your favour except possible actual use so much of the tank and the organization prices gas at with regards to pump prices plus a small charge. Many do not.

Mileage is any other quiet lure. Most Corfu car or truck rental agencies supply limitless kilometres, which is right for exploring Paleokastritsa, Kassiopi, the south coast and inland villages devoid of enthusiastic about distance. A few low payment offers cover a consistent with kilometre payment above a modest every day decrease.

If your affirmation e-mail is vague or makes use of terms you do now not recognise, e-mail or message the agency and ask for clarity. You would like written confirmation of either fuel policy and mileage. Verbal factors at a hectic airport table are ordinary to misconceive and plenty harder to dispute later.

4. Overlooking riding realities on Corfu when picking out car size

Looking at sleek pics, that is tempting to improve to a bigger car. More area for luggage, stronger aircon, might be even an automated for relief. On Corfu, the larger the auto, the extra you desire to have faith in in which you plan to power.

The avenue from the airport into Corfu Town is broad ample, but as soon as you wander into older districts, roads slim to at least one lane with stone partitions on the two aspects and tight corners around constructions. Some coastal villages and hilltop settlements are even tighter, affordable car rentals Corfu airport with parking that barely matches a compact hatchback.

If you are staying at a inn on the principle east coast highway, a larger car or truck would possibly not be a drawback. If your villa is up a steep lane in the north of the island, a small to medium car or truck with respectable vitality and top turning circle is a miles superior decision than a bulky SUV. I even have watched people spend 15 minutes maneuvering a titanic automobile out of a lane that became essentially designed for scooters and donkeys.

For so much visitors, the sweet spot for Corfu airport automobile condominium is a small or compact motor vehicle, guide or automated based in your convenience. Enough boot area for baggage, but small ample to slip into tight parking areas and meet oncoming traffic with room to breathe.

five. Ignoring critiques of exceptional Corfu airport branches

Many travelers do a rapid take a look at of the company identify and prevent there. They see a big foreign service provider they understand from homestead, assume a preferred ride, and reserve. In apply, department good quality can range commonly.

Search notably for the business enterprise call plus “Corfu airport” and learn the contemporary comments for that place. Patterns be counted greater than exotic lawsuits. If one person mentions a longer wait time, which can just be a hectic Saturday in August. If 20 people across three months file aggressive break claims or unexplained quotes, pay interest.

This suggestion applies equally to neighborhood providers. Some small Corfu lease a car or truck agencies close the airport are fantastic, with friendly service and flexible rules. Others reduce corners or rely upon technicalities to enhance salary. Reviews most of the time make the big difference transparent.

A 15 euro distinction on every week’s apartment isn't well worth a foul argument over “pre existing” scratches you had been not at all allowed time to rfile.

6. Not getting ready your documents and card correctly

One of the dullest issues, but I still watch it unfold in line on the airport each and every summer time. The forms for hiring a motor vehicle in Greece is easy, but there are a few noticeable data.

You as a rule desire:

1. A legitimate using licence that you have held for at the least twelve months, once in a while two, depending on the manufacturer and car or truck workforce.
2. For non EU / EEA drivers from definite nations, an International Driving Permit along your private home licence. Check this in advance, simply because you shouldn't acquire an IDP while you are already in Greece.
3. A credit score card within the important motive force’s call with sufficient achieveable minimize to conceal the deposit or excess block.
4. Passport or national ID card for identification.

Where of us get caught is with the card. Many Corfu airport automotive rental desks do not settle for debit playing cards for the security deposit, purely for charge. Others settle for them however simply with dear additional insurance coverage. Prepaid cards are ceaselessly refused outright.

If your affirmation does no longer sincerely country that debit playing cards are favourite for the deposit, think you desire a prevalent credit score card with embossed title and numbers. Also confirm the cardboard decrease is excessive satisfactory. I watched a pair from Germany turned away on account that their modest reduce couldn't accommodate a 1,500 euro block for the extra plus their lodge’s pre authorisation.

Print or save your affirmation email as a PDF, such as the voucher if you booked through a broking. Mobile net at Corfu airport is mostly superb, however a lifeless battery or roaming difficulty have to now not stand between you and your car.

7. Chasing “no deposit” deals without reading the small print

The phrase “Corfu airport vehicle condo no deposit” is beautiful, enormously if you happen to dislike the concept of heaps of euros blocked on your card. Genuine low deposit or no deposit ideas do exist, but the satan sits inside the aspect.

Usually, when a employer advertises no deposit, it capacity one in every of two issues. Either they've got built the menace into a larger on daily basis expense with vital full coverage, or they'll nevertheless hold a smaller quantity as a fuel or visitors pleasant assure. Sometimes equally.

There is nothing wrong with paying just a little extra for the peace of thoughts that comes from not having 1,000 euros frozen in your card. Just be aware of what you might be purchasing. Check:

The distinctive amount they are going to grasp on your card, if any.

Whether the no deposit supply is tied to a selected insurance plan kit. How they maintain minor destroy, equivalent to small scratches or chips.

Compare this to a same old bundle from another corporate that makes use of a deposit yet supplies cut rates. Over a week’s excursion, the total money can swing both manner. The worst mistake is to book at the potential of “no deposit” alone and then find a protracted list of exclusions and extra fees should you succeed in the table.

eight. Skipping the inspection and picture pursuits at pickup

You are worn-out, the queue has been sluggish, and the coastline is asking. The agent elements to the automobile, you sign the shape, throw your bags in the boot and power off. That 5 minute shortcut can price dearly if there is present destroy that under no circumstances made it onto the report.

At Corfu airport, wherein dozens of autos rotate between renters every week in summer season, small bumps and scrapes are regimen. Most organisations are sincere approximately this and mark every little thing they comprehend. Some will not be thorough, relatively at height instances.

Treat your inspection as element of the condo, now not a nuisance. Walk around the car, look at various every panel, the wheels, and the entrance and rear bumpers specifically. Pay realization to:

Small scratches and dents.

Alloy wheel scuffs and hubcap harm. Chips or cracks within the windscreen. Any hurt at the roof should you are tall adequate or can see from an angle.

Photograph all the things, even concerns which are already marked. Capture the auto from every single nook, the odometer studying, and the fuel gauge. Time stamped pictures in your cellphone create a file which is onerous to argue with later.

Encourage the staff member to add any lacking marks to the shape before you sign. If they seem reluctant, keep well mannered however enterprise. A little while here is price a long way extra than an offended email substitute after you come back homestead.

9. Forgetting to plan parking and entry at your accommodation

Corfu airport auto rental is the straightforward piece. The more difficult phase, enormously in peak season, is residing with the auto whenever you succeed in your lodging.

Many previous villages and some ingredients of Corfu Town have very restricted parking. Some beachfront resorts have private so much, others matter totally on public areas that top off without delay in July and August. Steep inner most driveways are generic for villas, occasionally with awkward angles and loose gravel.

Before you publication, ask your accommodation about parking in one of a kind, real looking phrases. Do no longer accept “parking available”. Ask no matter if it's confidential or public, what percentage spaces they've got, how tight the entry is, and regardless of whether better vehicles have compatibility very easily.

This must always have an effect on not purely your determination of condo automotive dimension, as noted earlier, yet also no matter if you even need a auto to your finished keep. For instance, in the event you are spending 3 nights in Corfu Town and then a week in a north coast village, you can actually do improved to spend the 1st aspect taking walks and taxis, then manage a Corfu airport vehicle condo starting on the day you go away city.

Thinking in segments like this will keep cash, parking headaches and the strain of threading a automobile thru the town’s one way equipment after you are nevertheless jet lagged.

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

I have misplaced count number of what percentage disputes leap at drop off due to the fact that the renter is hurrying to trap a flight. When you might be dashing, you put out of your mind fuel, you park where you are usually not presupposed to, or you hand over keys with no checking the ultimate office work.

Give your self a real buffer for return. If your flight is at 13:00, do not plan to roll into the car park at eleven:45, peculiarly while you rented off web site and need a commute trip returned to the terminal.

At go back, target to:

1. Refill the tank at a station with reference to the airport while you are on a complete to full policy. Keep the receipt. There are various petrol stations within a short power, yet some can be busy.
2. Remove all personal items from the car, which includes door wallet and under seats.
3. Walk round the auto with the agent the place manageable and ask them to be certain in writing that the auto is back with no new destroy and with a full tank if suited.
4. Take last pix, consisting of the gas gauge and odometer.

If you've got to use a key drop box in view that you might be returning out of doors place of job hours, pix and a brief video walkaround transform even extra critical. Corfu airport hire a car services sometimes tackle these returns slightly, yet a transparent visible rfile protects you in case a new dent looks on the inspection sheet later.

A short pre booking checklist

Used good, a automotive turns Corfu right into a flexible, effortless island to explore. Used badly, it will become a thread of anxiety operating thru your break. Before you decide to any airport car rent Corfu deal, run via this brief list.

1. Verify if the provider is on airport or off web site with a go back and forth, and how that influences your timings.
2. Read fresh experiences chiefly for the Corfu airport department, not simply the model.
3. Compare entire money, including insurance plan, gas policy and any mileage limits, now not simply the base day-to-day cost.
4. Check parking and access at your lodging and settle upon auto size for this reason.
5. Confirm what cards and documents you desire and even if any “no deposit” supply has restrictive situations.

Handled with this stage of realization, Corfu airport apartment motors suppose much less like a chance and extra like a nicely managed instrument to your travel.

Final recommendations from the queue at Corfu airport

If you spend 30 minutes inside the arrivals corridor on a hectic afternoon, one can just about predict who will breeze by way of and who will come to be annoyed. The ones with printed confirmations, clear selections on coverage and practical expectancies approximately the automobile and the island have a tendency to go away smiling. The ones who booked on fee by myself and did no longer study a be aware of the terms are the ones arguing on the table.

Corfu car or truck rental does not should be puzzling. It is in reality a subject of matching the fact at the floor together with your possess tolerance for hazard, finances and riding confidence. Look past headline prices, bear in mind how insurance coverage and deposits work, settle on the proper length of car or truck for Corfu’s roads, and deliver yourself time at the two pickup and return.

Do that, and your employ a automobile at Corfu airport will become what it must be: an basic gateway to mountain villages, quiet seashores and past due dinners in small tavernas, to your possess clock as opposed to any one else’s.