Car Rental in Santorini Airport

Looking for Car Rentals? Discover All the Santorini Airport Car Rentals

Rent a Car in Santorini Airport

A vast majority of tourists arriving at JTR Airport settle on renting a car rental for their airport transfer and for exploring the beautiful and wild scenery of volcanic Santorini. All in all, renting a car at the airport has pros and cons. Still, the pros seem to outweigh the disadvantages. Do you doubt that? Just take a look at the main advantages and disadvantages of Santorini airport car rentals:

Car Rentals ProsCar Rentals Cons
Moving around at your own pace. Begin your journey whenever you feel like it, stop wherever you like, and return when you think it’s time. With a car rental, you have full control of your transfers.You have to drive the car yourself. Even if you don’t feel like it.
Discover unknown parts of the island, unreachable otherwise. Parking can be an issue.
Time is on your side. You get to waste no more time searching for a taxi or waiting for the next available bus route.You have to orientate yourself around Santorini. Nevertheless, if you use a GPS, this is hardly a problem.
Hassle-free transfers are a reality. With a car rental, you don’t have to change bus lines, carry your personal things around or struggle to find the right bus stop for your destination.
Adjust your transfers to your needs. By choosing the type of car rental that ideally suits your requirements, you get to travel in comfort and ease.
Cost-effective in comparison to taxis. Taxis are convenient, fast, and can take you everywhere too, but apart from being few, they can be rather expensive.

Hence, if you are looking for the top Santorini airport car rentals, all you have to do is search and compare. As plenty of car rental companies operate at Thira Airport, finding the best value for money car renting option is only a matter of checking the available car hire deals and offers, contrasting them, and coming up with a cheap car rental serving your needs and your pocket!

Car Rental in Santorini Airport: the Airport Car Rental Companies

Santorini Airport is really small. Thus, all the car rental desks lie at the Arrivals hall and are easy to be found after the baggage claim area. Overall, both international and local car rental companies are present at JTR Airport, providing passengers with plenty of options and deals for their car rental.

  • Avance
  • AVIS-Budget
  • Hertz-Thrifty
  • Sixt
  • Suntime Car Rental

Our Tip: Please note that other car rental agencies provide their services at Thira Airport as well. However, the above-mentioned are the ones with an on-the-spot desk at the airport.

Handy Tips about Santorini Airport Car Rentals

  • Even though car rental offices are to be found at the Arrivals area of the airport, booking your car in advance is always recommended. In fact, the sooner you make your reservation, the more appealing prices and the better vehicle types you’ll secure access to.
  • In-advance reservations will also save you time at the airport. After all, why waste your precious time on the island waiting in line to book a car rental?
  • Santorini airport car rental agencies provide passengers with all car types, from compact convertibles, economy, and mini-vans to manual and automatic vehicles.
  • Additional amenities (child seats, GPS, Bluetooth, etc.) can be provided upon extra payment.
  • If you want to add drivers, you’ll be charged an extra fee. 
  • Car rental in Santorini Airport requires an ID or passport, a credit card, and your driving license. If the driving license isn’t issued in a country member of the EU, you’ll have to provide an International Driver’s Permit as well. 
  • It’s rare, but some car rental companies also accept payments via debit cards.
  • The pick-up location for Santorini airport car rentals is the airport’s parking.
  • The car rental companies are operating while the airport is open. However, after-hour services can be provided, usually for a small charge.
  • If you want to save money on your car rental, you should choose the fuel-to-fuel option and refill the car at the local gas stations, as car rental companies tend to overcharge fuel. 
  • The charge for car renting is calculated per 24h. Thus, you should return the car wisely so as not to pay for an extra day. 
  • Full insurance is always advisable in order to be covered in case of damage or an accident. Nevertheless, before settling on the insurance type, check if the used credit card also offers some kind of insurance coverage.  
  • Before starting your journey, you should take some pics of the car rental to capture existing damages.
  • The legal age for renting a car is 21, while the driving license must be acquired at least one year before the rental time. However, some car categories set a 25-year age limit. In any case, young drivers usually have to pay an extra fee.
  • Santorini’s roads are narrow and often steep. Moreover, Greek drivers are famous for their rather dangerous driving. Thus, you should always respect the road rules to stay safe.

FAQs

Should I rent a car ahead of time or at the airport?

Renting your car in advance gives you access to more car types and special discounts and deals. Thus, as soon as you schedule your trip to Santorini, it is recommended to book your car rental as well.

How late is the Budget car rental desk open at Santorini Airport?

The Budget car rental office is theoretically operating from 06:00 am to 11:59 pm. However, it is, in fact, open as long as the airport remains open, that is, from 06:30 am to 10:15 pm in winter and from 06:00 am to 11:00 pm (00:15 am on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sundays) during the summer months.