Indigo Car Hire > Articles by: Robert Gillespie

Car Hire In Budapest For Young Drivers

March 12, 2014 Car Hire Offers Comments Off on Car Hire In Budapest For Young Drivers

We have just got off the phone with a supplier in Budapest, and have some great offers for our customers. Budapest? I hear you say..

Yes, Budapest is one of the largest cities in Europe and a huge favourite for tourists from all over the world. The vast majority of travellers to Budapest are in the under 30 bracket due to its busy nightlife, although it has some beautiful sights.

Younger travellers are the subject of the offers that we have in Budapest as it can get very expensive if you are under 25 and want to hire a car in Europe. Well not anymore, this supplier has given us some very special offers for us to pass onto our customers.

Under 25? No Problem..

We can offer car hire to people of 22 years and above with NO ADDITIONAL CHARGES, some comapnies charge upwards of £15 per day if you are under 25 but not if you nook through Indigo.

Under 22? Thats Ok Too..

We can also offer rentals to those of you under the age of 22, in fact providing you are over 17 and have held a full clean licence for 12 months we can arrange a vehicle for you. There is a small daily surcharge of €6 EUR but this is much lower than any other young driver charge that we are aware of.

If you would like more information about our deals in Budpest or would like to make a booking then please contact us by phone, email or online chat. We are happy to help.

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Krakow Airport Car Hire Without A Credit Card

March 12, 2014 Car Hire Offers Comments Off on Krakow Airport Car Hire Without A Credit Card

John Paul II International Airport Krakow Balice or more commonly known as Krakow airport is a main international airport that is located within the village of Balice just on the southern part of Poland. The airport gets around 3.7 million passengers a year that pass through its gates from destinations all over the world, making it a very popular destination for car hire.

Often people find one of the main issues with car hire is amongst other things the payment methods that you have to use majority of the time is a credit card. We wouldn’t be Indigo Car Hire however if we didn’t managed to arrange some fantastic deals, and this is no exception.

The deal we have managed to arrange means that you can rent a car at Krakow Airport in Poland with a debit card. There are however some restrictions in regards to which debit cards can be accepted. To check if your card meets the restrictions, please contact our team directly.

If you are interested in getting a car at Krakow Airport but don’t have a credit card then don’t worry as we can help, however to get this deal you must contact us directly so we can deal with the companies at the airport specifically as majority of the companies located at the airport do not allow this deal.

You can contact our experienced and friendly reservations team on +44 (0)113 880 0748 or email them at sales@thealternativeagency.co.uk in which they will get right back to you and answer any questions that you may have about car hire in general or car hire without having a credit card.

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How to survive a long car journey with kids

March 12, 2014 Car Hire Tips, Fun Stuff Comments Off on How to survive a long car journey with kids
Travelling With Kids

Lets face it, kids can often be hard work especially when going on a long car journey. The familiar phrase “Are we there yet?” can often get irritating when its repeated by children what feels like a million times. Children’s attention span is not the same as an adults so in order to avoid this you need to keep them entertained. There are a few of ways to keep children entertained in a car whilst on long journeys, here are some of our favourites.

In-Car DVD Player

This is a simple concept in which a small screen goes in the backseats of your and plays dvds, it all depends how many and which DVD’s you get of course but the best thing to do is stock up on as many as possible. This option is quite expensive but great if you travel regularly as its a long term solution.

I Spy

Great little time waster, playing eye spy with kids keeps them surprisingly entertained for a little while, and it costs nothing. However it can become tedious and the kids can quickly get bored of the game but it will buy you a possible 30 minutes.

Backseat Bingo

Print off some bingo sheets, bring some pencils and put some numbers in a hat. Not too difficult to prepare and kids can be entertained with a small game like this for hours at a time, every games different even bring along small prizes which will make them want to win more making the game more popular with them.

21-Card Game

Often called hit or twist its a great game and all you need is a pack of cards. You can also play different games with cards but the most simple is probably 21, it will also keep the children entertained for a good amount of time as its quite competitive.

Board Games

Some board games are good to bring in the car as long as they dont contain too many small pieces that can easily be lost due to a bumpy ride, there are tons of board games kids can play like draughts or battleships.

Hangman

Hangman is another great game that keeps the kids guessing, it can keep them entertained for a good while as you can change the word and different things that will keep them enticed.

Or for the modern families among us, how about downloading a few games onto your tablet or mobile. If allowed, my son will spend hours trying to get a minnion to run and jump over obstacles or get a racing car around the track as fast as possible.

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Travel Insurance, Have You Checked The Small Print?

March 12, 2014 Car Hire Tips Comments Off on Travel Insurance, Have You Checked The Small Print?
Travel Insurance

Many of us associate the small or fine print in any agreement as the bad stuff, the information they don’t want us to read. Although they insist that we tick a box to confirm that we have read it.

With travel insurance, this isn’t always a bad thing, infact it could save you a lot of money if you know exactly what your policy covers.

As we grow as a company we are starting to se more and more enquiries from long haul travellers from Asia, Australia and the USA. Many of those travellers are coming to Europe for a while, usually 2-3 weeks and therefore they ensure that they are covered with insurance.

Many travel insurance policies also cover other elements of your trip, especially Car Hire Excess. This is a brilliant way of keeping your rental costs down to a minimum, all rental companies nowadays will offer you an additional insurance product, Super CDW, Excess Protection, Zero Excess Policy or Deductable Cover all of which are the same product and usally cost between £7 and £15 per day of rental and the costs can easily mount up.

Large numbers of people who are not aware of what they are already covered for will take out one of these policies for extra peace of mind, knowing that if they are involved in an accident then they will not be liable for huge repair costs.

So, we have 2 great tips for you:

  1. When buying travel insurance, dont just pick the first one you see or the cheapest of the lot. Actually look at what is covered as it could save you money in the long run.
  2. If you already have some kind of Car Hire Excess protection in your travel insurance policy, you should consider whether you actually need to purchase additional insurance at the rental desk.

We are here to offer advise on this or any other car hire related subject, so if you have a question please pick up the phone, chat with us online or email us on sales@thealternativeagency.co.uk.

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Locations For A Perfect Picnic

March 11, 2014 Fun Stuff, UK Comments Off on Locations For A Perfect Picnic
Picnic

With the great weather we had at the weekend I took a trip to Golden Acre park in Leeds for a picnic with the kids.

I have never seen so many people in my life, everyone had had the same idea and we couldnt even get parked unless we wanted to walk a mile to the entrance. So we ended up walking round Yeadon Tarn and had a lovely day, it did get me thinking though, where is the best place for a picnic?

Picnics are great on a warm sunny day, impulse decisions to go enjoy a nice lunch on a grassy green hill with a beautiful view. England offers some great places to picnic with its vast country sides and its lovely views. Here are some of the prime locations to debate whilst planning where to travel for your lunch out.

Brimham Rocks, North Yorkshire

A great location for picnics with grassy areas all around the balancing rock formations. Popular with climbers and picnic goers its known as natures playground, full of fun balanced with relaxation.

Fountains Abbey, North Yorkshire

An old abbey destroyed through the rein of King Henry 8th when he ordered the dissolutions of monasteries, today a world heritage site next to a beautiful river and various grass lands a great picnic location with a mesmerizing view of the abbey.

Avon Valley Adventure Park, Bristol

Great picnic for the family a grass area with loads of activities and fun parks to climb and adventure very popular with kids it’s a great place to take them if you want to keep them entertained for a few hours.

Wellington Country Park, Berkshire

A massive 350 acres of park land in a quiet and tranquil location with several play areas, toddler areas and activities like climbing walls it’s another hotspot popular with the children. Specific areas for BBQers and picnics alike

Ragley Hall, Warwickshire

A huge lakes with various wild lives around the area, picnics are regular on the outer grass of the lake as the view is tremendous. Popular with couples it’s a nice and sedate location, great for a bit of peace and quiet.

Somerset House, London

Somehow doing the impossible it deflects from the hussle and bussle of London life, the museum and fountains in the courtyard make for some lovely sites. Nice benches adequate for a picnic. If you live in London it’s a great place to go to have a bit of freedom from all the people and traffic.

Brownsea Island, Dorset

A great peaceful island famed for being the birth place of Scouting and Guiding. A thriving natural habitat you can follow in the footsteps of Lord Baden-Powell, a perfect place for anytime of the year.

Clywedog Valley & Trail, Wrexham

A 7-mile stretch great for walkers, dotted with picnic spots through the trail great for stopping and relaxing. The place is also dotted with several parks and museums; there is absolutely no danger of getting bored whilst walking this trail.

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Cross Border Travel: USA To Mexico

March 11, 2014 Car Hire News, USA Comments Off on Cross Border Travel: USA To Mexico
cross border car hire

Cross Border Travel: USA To Mexico is quite a confusing subject for car hire companies in general. Cross border travel within the US is fine but it gets complicated when you want to go to Mexico. We got a question on our live chat recently that asked if we can permit travel from Mexico to the USA, unfortunately we can’t as no car rental supplier will allow us to do this. We wanted to look further into this however to see if there was anything we can do.

Strangely, we can allow for you to pick up a hired vehicle within the USA (North America) and drive it to Mexico as long as you bring it back to the USA after your rental period. So Cross Border Travel: USA To Mexico is possible only if you’ll bring the car back to USA.
Confusingly however you can’t do this the other way around, if you pick up a car in Mexico you will not be allowed to drive it into North America.

CROSS BORDER TRAVEL: USA TO MEXICO comes with a charge

Cross Border Travel: USA To Mexico with a car hire comes with a charge. There is one supplier who will allow us to do this and they charge a daily fee of $31 on top of the price of your rental.
This also must be paid on a credit card as debit cards will not be allowed for this kind of travel. The car groups are also restricted to groups A, B, C, D, E, F and G.

We realise how confusing this question is so if you have any questions then please contact us directly on +44 (0)113 880 0748 or email us at sales@thealternativeagency.co.uk and we will be happy to answer any questions you may have. We also will find you the best deal available inclusive of the cross border fee; we will take everything into account and try find the best OVERALL cost suited to you.

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Double Deal Beziers Airport & Train Station

March 10, 2014 Car Hire News, France Offers Comments Off on Double Deal Beziers Airport & Train Station

Beziers is a town within France in the Languedoc-Roussillion region, within this city are two popular car hire locations, the airport and the train station. There where a significant amount of passengers that passed through the airport last year with predictions this year pointing in the same direction so hiring a car is in extremely high demand; unfortunately however car hire has a few hurdles to get over first. One of the biggest problems people encounter is the payment methods accepted by car rental companies.

We wouldn’t be Indigo Car Hire if we couldn’t try and arrange a deal for our customers to ensure that they can get a vehicle when they need one. We firstly got on the phone to our supplier at the airport and eventually we managed to get them to agree to a deal, soon afterwards we arranged the same deal with a supplier at train station too and that was that we can allow for car hire without a credit card, a fantastic DOUBLE DEAL!

We only however can accept certain types of debit cards and they need to meet certain conditions depending on the supplier. To find the best deal and check your card is eligible for this offer, please contact us.

If you want more information on hiring a car without a credit card then you can contact our experienced and knowledgeable advisors who will be happy to help answer any questions, to contact them just call +44 (0)113 880 0748 or email us at sales@thealternativeagency.co.uk. Booking a car without a credit card doesn’t have to be hard when you book with us, we organise everything for you from when you first car right up until after you return the car.

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How Long Does It Take To Get An International Licence?

March 7, 2014 Travel Advice Comments Off on How Long Does It Take To Get An International Licence?

How Long Does It Take To Get An International Licence? When hiring a car in another country you are often required to have an international licence. The reason for this is that your licence may be in another language therefore it’s hard to identify for the car rental company if the information on the licence is correct. If your licence is from inside the EU then its fine.

One of the problems we often find with this is that people are unsure whether they actually need one or not as the confusion is caused because you don’t actually need an international licence to drive in the UK but in order to hire a car, you do and several of these unsure people leave it until the last minute to call us.

With so many people leaving it until the last minute the worry turns to whether you can actually get an international licence in this short period. One example we had was a Kenyan customer arriving into Heathrow who left it until the last minute, he applied for a licence and got it that day, although this was an exceptionally quick return and on several locations it takes longer than this but it’s often not as long as people think.

We suggest that you check on your countries government website as they have several FAQs about applying for international licences, one of which is the time it will take to apply and receive your new international licence.

In order to be able to pick up a car if you aren’t based inside the EU or a country which has a driving licence written in English then you need to present your valid driving licence for your company and a valid international licence.

Despite the turn around time being quite quick we urge you to get your car booked as soon as possible so we can sort any possible issues well in advance. If you have any questions about international licences or just car hire in general then please ask our experienced reservation agents on +44 (0)113 880 0748 or email us at sales@thealternativeagency.co.uk.

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No Young Driver Surcharge South West England

March 6, 2014 Car Hire Offers Comments Off on No Young Driver Surcharge South West England

Although hard to find due to most suppliers having an age limit of 25, there are a few companies such as ourselves which will allow for young drivers to be accepted in several locations across the United Kingdom. One of the locations we have been particularly focusing on recently has been on the south western part of England for example Truro, Falmouth, Plymouth and Torquay where areas that we specifically wanted to further arrange deals.

We have previously mentioned on the website that we can allow young drivers from the age of 21 throughout the most of the United Kingdom, but here we have gone one step further. When hiring a car as a young driver you often get charged a young driver additional surcharge which can be as high as £39 per day on top of the price of your rental which for many just isn’t an affordable option.

We contacted a specific company we work very closely with in that area and eventually managed to arrange a fantastic deal that meant there was NO YOUNG DRIVER SURCHARGE for our customers meaning a massive amount of saving on your typical car hire. This is available in several of the south west locations where they are based, however they also do a meet and greet service dependent on the length of the rental.

Being a young driver however you will be limited to the vehicles that you can get, and the company that we have arranged the deal in this particular case are a Toyota dealership meaning that they just supply Toyota vehicles, and for young drivers there will only be the Yaris vehicles.

Since this is such as tailored offer for young drivers in south west England we require that you please call us so we can contact the branch directly in order to get you booked in. You can contact our expert reservation agents on the phone +44 (0)113 880 0748 or email sales@thealternativeagency.co.uk, don’t worry their friendly!

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Car Hire Guernsey Airport

March 5, 2014 Car Hire Offers Comments Off on Car Hire Guernsey Airport

We have just come off the phone with a supplier based at Guernsey Airport who have offered our clients a very special deal.

Not only will they accept a debit card as payment but all rentals booked through Indigo with this supplier will come with a Zero Deposit.

This is fantastic news, as most suppliers require a pre-authorised deposit when accepting a debit card payment. So if you are travelling on a budget and require a rental car without leaving a large depsoit then contact us.

This exclusive offer is not available when booking online, if you would like to take advantage of this then please email us, chat with us online or call us on +44 (0)113 880 0748.

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