We have just returned from Italy and can confirm that the queues at the Goldcar desk was ridiculous - people were waiting for hours to be served. We hired through Avis this time around (a first for us) and we found that their excess was over E2000 and to take this down to zero we would have needed to pay over E300 (which is similar to my years car insurance in the UK), which I declined after being given a very hard sell (and after she dropped the price to E250). We wanted to add another driver half way into our holiday and we were told that we would have to pay for two drivers for the full rental term, which contradicted what we were told at the the time I collected the car in the first instance. When I complained they gave us the extra driver for free! I think that much of the time they just try their luck with tourists. We have previously tried Hertz and Advantage, which were better but not perfect. I now have a friend going out in July who has asked me who to book through, and it is proving difficult to recommend anyone with confidence. Thanks by the way for the links to 3rd party insurance cover - I think this is a good idea.
I was told by a friend yesterday that all of the UK flights to Pisa has been pulled over the winter. I have tried to get flights from Bournmouth, East Midlands and Liverpool to Pisa for Christmas and there is nothing! Ryanair will be flying to Bergamo but that is still some drive down to Tuscany and not one you want to make in the winter. We may have to fly from London instead using a different airline.The good news is that the Ryanair flights to Pisa start again in earnest in April 2010 (from Leeds as well)!
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We have just returned from Italy and can confirm that the queues at the Goldcar desk was ridiculous - people were waiting for hours to be served. We hired through Avis this time around (a first for us) and we found that their excess was over E2000 and to take this down to zero we would have needed to pay over E300 (which is similar to my years car insurance in the UK), which I declined after being given a very hard sell (and after she dropped the price to E250). We wanted to add another driver half way into our holiday and we were told that we would have to pay for two drivers for the full rental term, which contradicted what we were told at the the time I collected the car in the first instance. When I complained they gave us the extra driver for free! I think that much of the time they just try their luck with tourists. We have previously tried Hertz and Advantage, which were better but not perfect. I now have a friend going out in July who has asked me who to book through, and it is proving difficult to recommend anyone with confidence. Thanks by the way for the links to 3rd party insurance cover - I think this is a good idea.
I was told by a friend yesterday that all of the UK flights to Pisa has been pulled over the winter. I have tried to get flights from Bournmouth, East Midlands and Liverpool to Pisa for Christmas and there is nothing! Ryanair will be flying to Bergamo but that is still some drive down to Tuscany and not one you want to make in the winter. We may have to fly from London instead using a different airline.The good news is that the Ryanair flights to Pisa start again in earnest in April 2010 (from Leeds as well)!