Named after a 5th century Greek poet, Diagros Airport (RHO) is located on the west side of Rhodes, about 14km north of the capital city. Greece’s 4th busiest airport, it’s extremely well connected to mainland Europe and other major cities in Greece. Diagros Airport (RHO) also serves as a military base, meaning it’s forbidden to take any photos here.
A plane on the tarmac at Rhodes International Airport (Photo: Aero Icarus via Flickr / CC BY 2.0)
RHO airport’s main terminal is actually two separate buildings with a joined corridor in the middle. With the exception of Europcar, which operates from a building just across the road from the airport terminal, you’ll find all the major car hire corporations have reception desks in the Arrivals Hall.
To determine which rental car companies offer the best vehicles across our three categories (Most Affordable, Best for Luxury, Best for Minivans), Travelmag.com has carefully researched the prices, availability, policies and customer reviews of the car rental companies operating out of RHO Airport. Here are our findings.
Local car rental companies like SK Rent and Surprice often appear as the cheapest rentals in Greece, but those prices are not always backed up by user reviews. If you do opt for one of these companies, you’ll most likely be asked to leave a credit card (€600) on picking up your car or be pushed into taking out an expensive insurance policy. For a more recognised brand, Europcar had a Fiat Panda for rent at €95 per week, while Budget had an Opel Corset at a slightly higher price but with a free cancellation policy and a requirement to only leave €200 deposit on a credit card.
On most of our sample dates, we found SK’s Rent iconic Volkswagen Beetle Cabriolet and Avis’s Mercedes Benz A Class could be rented for just over €250 per week. For €30 more, Sixt had an Audi A3 for rent and the Mini Countryman at €387 per week. However Avis had the largest selection of luxury cars. Aside from a variety of premium Peugeots, Avis also had the popular Citroen C3 and, for those planning to venture into rougher terrain, the Jeep Renegade.
Stepping into the car rental market in Greece is a bit like stepping into the unknown: Auto Union, Caldera, SK Rentals, Drive, Surprice… anyone? If you’re willing to throw the dice, Auto Union receives the most favourable reviews, renting out the Volkswagen Transporter and the Citroen SpaceTourer at competitive prices. For a more established and recognisable brand, we found Budget leasing out an Opal Vivaro at just over €500 per week.
