The most vital thing to do when collecting your car is to examine it for any pre-existing defects or damage. If any should be found, make sure you report it to the provider and they document it, or you could wind up being charged for it later. Also, return the car with the same level of fuel as when you drove it away. This will stop the provider from billing you for the fuel at an exaggerated rate.
Understand the road laws of your destination and stick to them. You should always be a responsible driver, just as you would at home. Of course, you should never drink and drive, use your phone behind the wheel, or drive while fatigued.
Nine car hire providers have branches at Frankfurt Airport. They are found in Terminal 1 in the Airport City Mall, Section A, Level 1 (Arrivals). While you can book a car on the spot, a great amount of money can be saved by booking in advance online.
Company | Telephone Number |
---|---|
Advantage | +49 (0) 180 - 58000 |
Alamo | +49 (0) 69-69 869270 |
Avis | +49 (0) 69-690-32631 |
Budget | +49 (0) 69-690-74440 |
Enterprise | +49 (0) 69-69 869270 |
Europcar | +49 (0) 180 - 58000 |
Hertz | +49 (0) 69-69 593244 |
National | +49 (0) 69-69 869270 |
Sixt | +49 (0) 180-5262525 |
The average price of unleaded petrol in Frankfurt is €1.44 per litre. Using a medium-priced vehicle such as the Smart for Two, which gives 67 miles to the gallon, the approximate fuel cost per 10 miles would be €2.16.
If you do want to contact the company by telephone, then
Destination | Distance | Journey time | Journey time | Directions | Video |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Staedel Museum | 11.1 km | 14 minutes | https://goo.gl/7F3OMR | https://goo.gl/olqLLC | |
Senckenberg Natural History Museum | 13.6 km | 13 minutes | https://goo.gl/PbSP4L | https://goo.gl/Iz26BI | |
Main Tower | 12.2 km | 19 minutes | https://goo.gl/aTnmYg | https://goo.gl/WjMlI9 | |
Palmengarten | 14.7 km | 17 minutes | https://goo.gl/K9xgNh | https://goo.gl/9VdaZZ | |
Cathedral of St Bartholomew | 12.5 km | 19 minutes | https://goo.gl/v0O6ag | https://goo.gl/nOhpaM | |
Goethe House | 12.3 km | 20 minutes | https://goo.gl/FW5uRt | https://goo.gl/kTOZ4o | |
Frankfurt Zoo | 20.6 km | 22 minutes | https://goo.gl/B7EtoR | https://goo.gl/XgX3m0 | |
Museum of Modern Art | 12.1 km | 18 minutes | https://goo.gl/Rfxw1j | https://goo.gl/yHjtV6 | |
St Paul’s Church | 12.6 km | 17 minutes | https://goo.gl/o6vr2Z | https://goo.gl/gwVFY6 | |
Museum Embankment | 11.6 km | 16 minutes | https://goo.gl/SfFXBA | https://goo.gl/zGhiRW |
Before you can pick up your car, you’ll need to produce some documents and meet certain conditions. The driver’s licence from your home country is sometimes sufficient, although if it’s not in English, you’ll also need an International Driving Permit (IDP). Despite the legal driving age in Germany being 18, you usually need to be 21 to hire a car.
You normally get a basic level of cover when you hire a car at Frankfurt Airport. This usually takes the form of a Collision Damage Waiver or Theft Cover, which is designed to offer protection in case of an accident, but would not prevent you from paying a large excess. To get around this, you could buy some excess insurance directly from the provider, but it invariably works out cheaper to get it from an outside specialist such as insurance4carhire.com. This would also bring you coverage for areas such as the windscreen, tyres and undercarriage.
Frankfurt Airport is Germany’s busiest airport. Its expansive area of over seven square miles includes two terminals and four runways. With almost 60 million passengers passing through per annum, it is the third busiest airport in Europe and the 11th in the world. It sits 12 km (7.5 miles) south-west of the city of Frankfurt, near the intersection of the A3 and A5 autobahns, making it ideally placed to hire a car with which to explore the city or many other popular tourist destinations. The airport first opened for commercial use in 1936, including as the main base for the airships of the era including the doomed Hindenburg. During the Second World War the airport was taken over as a military base by the Luftwaffe. The runways were bombed by the Allies in 1944. During the 1950s, Frankfurt began to grow rapidly as an international airport. The main terminal, now Terminal 1, opened in 1972, and Terminal 2 in 1994. Plans are underway for a third terminal to be opened by 2021. The airport also has two train stations. There is a host of amenities surrounding the airport including Airport City, encompassing offices, hotels, shops and conference rooms. The Airport City Mall is on the land side of Terminal 1 with many international retailers.
Many information points are to be found at Frankfurt Airport. In Terminal 1, they are at B Concourse, Level 2 in the departures and arrivals areas, as well as in the Transit area. In Terminal 2, an information point is between Concourses D and E.
Flight information: +49 (0) 180-6 372 4636
Lost & found: +49 (0) 69 690-66 359
Expansion of the airport: +49 (0) 800-23 45679
Security: +49 (0) 69 690-78 578