Auto Europa Car Rental at St Etienne Airport

Saint-Etienne Airport is located quite nearby to the city of Saint-Etienne, in the Massif Central area of France, and in the Loire department of the country. It is a small French airport, handling only around 70,000 passengers per annum, but is nonetheless in a prominent location nearby the famous city of Lyon, as well as other important French cities and attractions. The Rhône-Alpes region is the second most popular region for tourism, and contains a number of natural parks. Auto Europa Saint-Etienne Airport is one of the companies providing arriving passengers with car rental services, and is a major car hire company in Europe. Auto Europa is present at most of the French airports.

The single terminal building of Saint-Etienne Airport covers a total area of 2,300 square metres, and has all the facilities required for its passengers. There are meeting rooms for business passengers, a bar and snack bar in the departure zone, a shop selling tobacco and newspapers, as well as payphones, internet connections and information counters. ATMs and a Bureau de Change are available for monetary affairs. The Saint-Etienne Airport car hire companies are located within the terminal building, and are generally open during hours when passengers are expected, but not twenty-four hours a day. They are also not often open over weekends.

However, for the return of vehicles, a drop-off box for the vehicle keys may be provided. This will allow the customer to return the vehicle even if the rental location is closed. Auto Europa one way hire services may also be possible to arrange, and this option is most convenient for passengers who do not wish to drive their car back to Saint-Etienne Airport. One way hires from this location may not incur additional costs, but all details are best discussed with Auto Europa. Cross-border rentals are when the vehicle will be driven out of the country of France, perhaps to the nearby countries of Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany or Belgium. This is generally permitted, and cars may even be taken to the United Kingdom, provided that they are returned to the mainland.

It is recommended to hire your car in advance, and all items required for the vehicle and journey should also be booked as early as possible. These items may include a satellite navigation system, child seats or luggage racks. The GPS units supplied by the Saint-Etienne Airport car rental companies are mostly of good quality, and can provide detailed directions to any destination in voice or visual mode. They come with colour touch screens, clear and accurate visuals and are pre-programmed with thousands of points of interest. Points of interest may include locations such as restaurants, gas stations, hotels, tourist attractions, golf courses, medical centres and places of business. A child seat is very important if you have a baby or toddler, as all persons travelling in a vehicle on French roads are required by law to wear a seatbelt.

Saint-Etienne Airport welcomes disabled passengers with a terminal that is equipped for their special needs. There are adapted toilet facilities, lowered information counters and payphones, pavement ramps and reserved parking spaces. The car hire companies of the airport have various services for their needs as well, such as hand control equipment. Auto Europa hand controls are free of charge, and available by reservation only from the rental location of Saint-Etienne Airport. Hand controls are best used by persons with a lower limb disability, as they operate the brake and accelerator pedals of automatic vehicles. A disabled person who is unable to drive may still be the primary renter of a vehicle, by appointing a designated driver. The disabled person will use his/her credit card to pay for the rental, but the contract will be validated by the appointed driver’s driving license. This person is not seen as a conventional additional driver, and may be registered on the contract free of charge.

Under normal circumstances, all primary renters at Auto Europa will need to be at least 21 years of age or older to hire a vehicle, and will need to be in possession of a valid drivers license. In some cases, an International Driving Permit will be required, especially if the local license is printed in a non-Roman Alphabet. An IDP will be issued in your country of residence, before you leave for Saint-Etienne Airport. Although 21 is the minimum age of the rental location, drivers younger than 25 will be liable to pay for young drivers insurance, which is an additional amount per day of car hire, and per ‘underage’ driver listed on the rental contract. Drivers of this age may also not be permitted to hire cars from certain vehicle categories. These categories usually contain vehicles of a larger or special nature, such as vans or convertibles. Auto Europa will expect the rental to be paid for by a major credit card, as cash or debit cards are not accepted. The cards which can be used include American Express, Diners Club, Eurocard, Mastercard and Visa.

Auto Europa offers basic and all-inclusive rental rates for their vehicles, and the customer may choose which one will suit them best. Basic rates simply cover the costs of VAT, fire insurance and third party liability insurance, while all-inclusive rates cover the same, as well as collision damage waiver and theft protection insurance. All vehicles, besides a few of a more special nature, are hired with unlimited mileage. Vehicles from Auto Europa may be similar to the Renault Twingo, Opel Corsa, Citroen C3, Renault Laguna, Renault Megane Scenic, Volvo S60, Opel Zafira, Renault Espace Minivan and the Renault Traffic for nine passengers.

Contact Auto Europa, Saint-Etienne Airport, for any further questions and information.

From North America only:

Tel +1 207 842 2000

Fax +1 207 842-2222

1-888-223-5555 toll-free

Alternatively – view international phone list on Auto Europa’s website, at www.autoeuropa.com.