Information about car hire in France and Europe, airport car rental and garages in France - Day-tripper.net the web magazine for visitors to France.

Car Hire in France (Calais)

In order to rent an car in France, you must be at least 20 years of age and have had a driving licence for at least one year. Visitors staying less than 90 days and carrying a valid EU, international, or U.S. (state) licence may drive in France. It is mandatory to choose insurance coverage as offered in the rental terms.

What's special about this page? Day-tripper.net believes that the best way of finding the cheapest deal is to do lots of research. Comparison sites are good place to start, but they can't be relied upon for 100 per cent accuracy or even offering the best fare. This is because they don't necessarily compare all the fares on the market, and many fares may be out of date at the moment you do your search. Furthermore, for many different reasons they do not list all companies, with preference being given to those from whom they get the best commission. We list all the companies we know of, the vast majority of whom we get no commission from.

School holidays and Bank holiday weekends can see a shortage of supply. Why not check out a local company which we list here - comparison sites tend to use the bigger companies only.

2010 - Many people were shocked at the prices being demanded last year when hiring a car in France and Spain. Many operators reduced their fleet sizes in anticipation of fewer customers because of the poor exchange rate. We suggest you shop around and don't forget to include the smaller independent companies which you will not find on comparison sites.

May 2009 - HERTZ EUROPE has lowered the minimum age for students renting a vehicle to 19 years.

Now that air travel can be so cheap when using budget airlines to go to France, cost effective airport car hire is important. But check the small print - extras such as "excess insurance" can add to the final bill.

Car rental provides the freedom to explore and discover remote hot spots and hidden glory of holiday destinations. Most companies allow you the option of picking a car up in one place and dropping it off elsewhere. If you are crossing a border however, it is essential you make this clear before taking possession of the vehicle.

Please also read the insurance exclusions. Do not take it for granted for example that windscreens are covered or have a small excess. Insurance policies offered by car hire companies are notorious for exemptions, get out clauses and vagueness.

Hire a Citroen 2CV (North France only). www.les-belles-echappees.com

• Related site pages •

Car hire companies (France) - Car hire in Spain - Camping car hire - Car hire tips and advice - Insurance for car hire

Quick travel booking links

Short Sea Ferries - Long Sea Ferries

Cheapest ferry fares Dover to Calais with P O Ferry. Daytrips only £19 plus six bottles of wine FREE (Car and up to 9 people)

Train companies

Car hire - Book a hotel in France & the U.K.

Travel offers, vouchers & deals

Ferry offers: Short Sea - Long Sea - North Sea - Mini Cruises - Ireland

DFDS Seaways Ferries . Mini cruise breaks to Amsterdam from Newcastle. Great deals available.

Brittany Ferries Offer. Daytrip from £75 (£29 a car plus £23 per passenger, minimum two people). Direct ferry booking links

Hotel offers: France - United Kingdom

Travel offers: Airport parking - Camping - Car hire - Coach travel - Driving - Ferry - Flights - Holidays - Insurance - Rail - Skiing

Garages for car servicing in Calais

Car Hire Companies in Calais and France

- ADA. 211, rue Nationale. 62200 Boulogne SUR MER. Tel: 0033 321 80 80 82. Fax: 0033 321 80 80 76. Also in Le Havre, Cherbourg, Saint Malo, Morlaix (Roscoff). www.ada.fr

- ADLER. 5, rue J. Quehen. Calais. Tel: 0033 321 97 96 00. www.adler-location.com

- Alamo. Ferry Port,Calais. Tel: 0870 400 4562. www.alamo.co.uk

- Avis Car Hire. 36, place d'Armes. Calais. Tel: 08705 900 500 /0844 581 0147. Fax: 0161 246 8964. www.avis.co.uk

- Budget Leisure. Car. 44, place d'Armes. Calais. Tel: 0033 321 96 42 20. Tel: (UK) 0 8701 565 656. Fax: 01442 280 092. www.budget.co.uk

- Car del Mar AGENCY. Tel: 0905 848 0102 (0.25 GBP/minute). www.CarDelMar.co.uk

- Dollar Car hire. Tel: 0808 234 7524. www.dollar.com

- FranceCars. 47, Bld.des Alliés. Calais. Tel: 0033 321 96 08 00. Fax: 0033 321 97 62 30.

- Enjoy Car hire. International. www.enjoycarhire.com

- Europcar. 22, place d'Armes. Calais. Tel: 0033 321 34 81 00 / 0825 358 358. Tel: (UK) 0870 607 5000 / 0345 222 525. Fax: 01132 429 495. www.europcar.com

- Guy Salmon. Tel: 0870 191 6922. Tel: (Non United Kingdom) 0044 116 204 50 69. www.guysalmon.com

- Hertz. 38, place d'Armes. Calais. Tel: 0033 321 96 52 33 / United Kingdom; 0870 844 8844 / 08705 996 699 / 0207 026 0077. www.hertz.co.uk

- National Car Rental. Terminal Ferry Port. Calais. Tel: 0033 321 34 58 45. Fax: 0033 321974542. Tel: (UK) 08705 365 365 / 0870 400 4559. www.nationalcar.co.uk

- OPEL RENT. www.opelrent.fr

- Rent a car France. 26, rue de la Lampe. 62360 Boulogne.Tel: 0033 321 80 97 34. Fax: 0033 321 33 70 68. www.rentacar.fr

- Rent and Drop van hire (Lille). www.rentanddrop.com

- Sixt rent a car (nearest to Calais - Arras). Durrant House, 47 Holywell Street. Chesterfield. Derbyshire. S41 7SJ. Tel: (UK) 01246 220 111. www.e-sixt.co.uk

- TC Location (Belgium). Brussels South, Charleroi Airport. Tel: 0032 71 32 33 34. Fax: 0032 71 25 12 66. www.tc-location.com

- Thrifty. Tel: 08705 168 238 / 01494 751 600. Fax: 01494 751 601. www.thrifty.com

- VoitureLib, hire car from a private owner. www.voiturelib.com

Price comparison web sites

Price comparison sites certainly make getting the best price easy, but they don't always find the best deals. Increasingly companies are not allowing their companies to be quoted. We strongly advise shoppers to start with a price comparison web site, and then see if they can better the deal through agents and individual car hire company web sites.

- CarRentals United Kingdom Largest selection available - over 50 companies quoted. Tel: 0845 225 0845. www.carrentals.co.uk