We are currently in France and staying for a couple of months; we flew over, so we needed to hire a car once here. When I got quotes from the various car hire companies at the airport, the cheapest I could find was £850. I had heard that supermarkets in France hire out cars so I thought I would see the price difference and it’s a huge saving.
Where the airport hire companies advertise as approx £10-£15 a day for a small eco-car, the supermarkets say from €4 a day to hire a car in France.
If you aren’t fluent in French, it is a lot more difficult to get from the supermarkets but still doable, and I think the savings make it worthwhile. When I looked on my phone, I couldn’t get anywhere, but when I looked on a desktop computer, it automatically allowed me to translate the website from French to English.
We flew into Bergerac airport, so I went with Leclerc, which is approximately 15 minutes drive from the airport. We have hired a Renault Clio, and it has cost us €150 to hire for four weeks, and we pay for the kilometres we use. I estimated what it would cost us for the full 53 days, and it would be about £450, which is a saving of £400 compared to the airport rentals, making it the cheapest French car hire for us!
The deposit is bigger that you have to give credit card details for as it’s €1200 rather than £300 that the airport companies tend to charge, but they give you information on how much will be charged for what damages etc. so that’s a bit more reassuring. They wouldn’t let me hire it for more than 30 days, though, even when I was in the office, so I’m going in to renew the contract after 30 days for the next 23 days.
I also hired a car seat for Lucas, which was €10 as opposed to around £50, which the airport hire companies charge. As well as Leclerc, there is also Super U and Carrefour to try depending on where you want to hire from.
Driving in France
Now you know where to hire a car in France, knowing the road rules is important to ensure a safe and enjoyable trip.
Drive on the right side of the road
In France, drivers must keep to the right side of the road. This can be tricky for those used to driving on the left, but it’s important to stay alert and pay attention to road signs.
Follow the speed limit
The speed limit in France varies depending on the type of road you’re on, with a maximum of 130 km/h (80 mph), while on other roads, it can be as low as 20 km/h (12 mph). Be sure to check the signs and adjust your speed accordingly.
The national speed limit in France:
- Motorways: 130 km/h (80 mph)
- Dual Carriageways: 110 km/h (68 mph)
- Main Roads Outside Built-up Areas: 80 km/h (49 mph)
- Main Roads Within Built-up Areas: 50 km/h (31 mph)
Wear your seatbelt and check your car seats
It’s mandatory for all passengers to wear seatbelts in France.
Children who are younger than ten years old can’t ride on the front seats of vehicles unless there aren’t any rear seats, the rear seats are full of other children under ten years old, or there aren’t any seat belts in the back. If any of these cases occur, a child shouldn’t sit in the front seat with their back facing the road if the vehicle has an airbag for passengers unless that airbag has been turned off. Instead, the child needs to ride on a seat or restraint suitable for their size and meets safety standards.
A rear-facing baby seat is required for a baby weighing up to 13kg.
A child weighing 9 and 18kg needs to be placed in a child seat, while a child who weighs over 15kg and is under ten can use a booster seat with either a seat belt or a harness.
The driver has the duty to ensure that all passengers under 18 years old are properly restrained.
Don’t use your phone while driving
Using a mobile phone while driving is illegal in France, even using a hands-free device. If you need to make a call or send a message, pull over to the side of the road.
Don’t drink and drive
The legal blood alcohol limit in France is 0.5 g/l, which is lower than in some other countries. If you plan on having a drink, have a designated driver or use public transportation. Be aware that, especially in high tourist season, police will do random checks on drivers for alcohol and drugs.
Carry the right documents
When driving in France, you must always have your driver’s license, registration, and insurance documents with you. If you’re renting a car, ensure you have all the necessary paperwork before you hit the road.
Carry a driving kit
When driving in France, you must carry high viability vests for each passenger, a warning triangle and a first aid kit.
Exchanging money in France
To hire a car in France, you are going to need euros. If you are looking for the best way to exchange money whilst travelling, I recommend Wise.
Wise gives you a free debit card and has an app for you to track your money and transactions easily. You can even freeze your card on the app if needed. They use the real-time exchange rate as you’ll find on independent sources like Google, XE, and Yahoo Finance. (Their fees are as low as 0.35%.) You can hold and manage money in more than 50 currencies. This lets you avoid exchange rate movements and prepare for future transfers.
Wise is regulated by the FCA in the UK, FinCEN in the US, and many other regulators around the world. It means that they operate according to the rules they’ve made to protect consumers in each region. They safeguard your money in established financial institutions like JP Morgan Chase, Barclays, and Deutsche Bank. Safeguarding means that, by law, they have to keep all of your money in accounts that are completely separate from the ones they use to run their business. So, if anything were to happen to Wise, your money would be safe.
Jon says
Not a bad price that for car hire over there! I’ve only ever taken my own when we go over on the ferry but it’s good to know it wouldn’t cost the earth if we did fly!
MELANIE EDJOURIAN says
Oh wow, what a great saving. Sounds like it’s best to do it via the supermarkets.
Claire says
I can’t believe the difference in price!
We hired one in Portugal and it cost £40 for 4 days. When we’ve looked at hiring a bigger car in the UK for camping the cost was astronomical!
Have a wonderful time in France x
Phoebe Thomas says
This is such a great tip for visitors to France, thanks for sharing with #AllAboutFrance
Neha says
That sure is a bargain. Last time we were in France we took our car but hiring seems like cheaper option especially at this price.
Kizzy says
This is really interesting to know. It just shows you how important it is to shop around.
Melanie williams says
Wow how cheap is the car hire over in France!! This makes a holiday out there very affordable for sure xx
Sarah | Boo Roo and Tigger Too says
Such a difference in price, really worth checking out hiring locally rather than through an airport
Anosa says
Wow, that is pretty expensive trying to hire at the airport, thanks for the tips definitely will consider this in the future.
fashionandstylepolice says
Oh nice. I love France! Enjoy your time there.
Kara says
We hired a car in France and were not prepared for the pedals to be the opposite way around – cue much kangaroo hopping and stalling!!! Next time we are going for an automatic!! (and one with satnav in English)
Jenni says
We’ve soon got used to the pedals and the sat nav x
Ben Whitlock says
Hi Jenni. Sorry to hijack an old thread. Interested if you have any advice for booking car hire from one of the supermarkets (carrefour, hyper U, E.leclerc etc) with a British address/driving licence. All the websites seem to require french post codes and driving licence numbers. Any advice? Thanks!
Jenni says
Hi, we used our rental accommodation as the address for where we were staying in France so that would solve that problem if you are renting a gite. I have a UK driving license and there wasn’t an issue with that, however, this was pre-Brexit so I don’t know if it will be more difficult now. Good luck
Craig says
Do yo need to book online or can you go I store. I have an exchanged licence from uk to Irish so still in Europe, which should make it easier, any advice would be greatly appreciated
Barbara Zagyi says
HI, I know you wrote this a long time ago, but it will save us a lot of money, so I would like to thank you for it 🙂 I have only one problem, we would need to drop the car at a different location than the pick up, but on the website I see no such possibility. As I speak no French I thought to drop them an email about it, but found no email address whatsoever. Do you think this can be agreed on the spot? Thanks!
Jenni says
I booked online but you can go to the store
Jenni says
Email addresses for any company in France are a nightmare to find. I think you would struggle to agree to it on the spot, especially if you can’t speak French to them. I would recommend asking someone who can speak french for you to ring them up beforehand. Good luck
Aimee says
Hi,
Thank you for this thread, currently looking at £850 for a 2 week hire from Bergerac airport in August or €187 from leclerc.
Like one of the previous posters said, they won’t accept a British postcode. I was just wondering did you put in the address of your gite when booking online? Then all the other details from your UK driving licence etc. or did you hire in store?
I have a French address where we are staying so could put that down. Thank you!
Jenni says
Hi, I put the address of the gite where we had booked to stay. Hope you manage it