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Car rental at the airport of Munich
Car rental in Munich
Munich is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Germany. It is no wonder that car rental in Munich is a highly demanded service among the travellers. The roads in Germany have an excellent quality, therefore, travelling by car is a quick and convenient option to reach different tourist destinations.
You can also travel around Germany by public transport, for example, by trains or by buses but in case you would like to travel on your own, the car rental is the best option to do it. You can rent a car in Germany if you have a passport, a driver’s license and a bank card to pay for the service.
After some research, I decided to put together information I have previously found out and create a complete guide on how to rent a car in Munich. In my point of view, the process of renting a car is quite simple and does not take much time. It is enough to choose a car, sign the documents, arrange insurance and pay for the rental. You can additionally speed up the process, booking a car in advance via the Internet on special online services, then the registration on the spot will be reduced to a minimum in time. I definitely recommend booking a car in advance via online services as it will really shorten a registration time on the spot and you will be sure you will take that class of a car that you need.
⇒ To rent a car, you will need a passport, an international driver’s license and a bank card.
You can rent a car in Munich both in the city and at the airport after arrival. There are a lot of rental offices, both international and local in Munich. You can find such world-famous distributors as Global, InterRent, Budget, Thrifty, Alamo, Avis, Europcar, Enterprise, Hertz, as well as the national distributor Buchbinder and some others. According to my research, tourists can find rental offices in all areas of the city. In the city center there are following rental companies:
- Flizzr (address is 163, Tegernseer Landstrasse);
- Sixt (address is 9, Wotanstrasse);
- Global (address is 22, Lortzingstrasse);
- Buchbinder (address is 46, Boschetsrieder Strasse);
- Thrifty (address is 46, Boschetsrieder Strasse and 170, Ingolstaedter Strasse);
- InterRent (address is 24, Marsstrasse) and others.
- Also, 7 suppliers at once (Flizzr, Global, Buchbinder, Keddy, Thrifty, Sixt, Europcar) operate at Munich Central Station.
You can book a car for renting in advance on different online services:
Discover Cars is a service for searching, comparing and saving on car rental;
Economybookings is a service for finding cheap car rentals around the world.
⇒ In order to find the most suitable option in terms of price and quality, you can check the offers on all the listed services for comparison.
I can recommend both services as they have a decent search with a lot of useful options to find out the best available car rentals.
Why is it better to book car rental services in advance? The option of renting a car in Munich is very popular. This is due to the fact that Bavaria is considered to be the most touristic region in Germany, and the tourist traffic here is year-round. In summer and autumn people come here to admire the Bavarian Alps and take part in Oktoberfest, in spring – to see the palaces and castles, in winter – to celebrate Christmas and enjoy holiday markets. Without booking a car in advance, you may encounter a situation where all the cars of the class you need will already be booked, and you will have to take a car in a more expensive segment or at a higher price from another available supplier. In addition, renting a car on the spot is almost always more expensive than in advance. To my mind, it is best to book a car at least 2-4 weeks before your travel dates.
In addition to rental offices in Munich, you can also find rental points at the Munich International Airport upon arrival. You can also book a car at the airport in advance, which will reduce your time standing in queues, which are not rare at the airports. See more information below.
Car rental at the airport of Munich
With over 140 cars for renting at the Munich Airport, this is one of the largest car rental parks in Munich. 9 + more different providers operate here at once, including InterRent, Buchbinder, Flizzr, Alamo, Thrifty, Hertz, Keddy, Europcar, Sixt and others. The rental price starts from 25-30 euros per day, depending on the season.
At the airport you can book cars of various classes, for instance, small, medium, large ones, minivans, SUVs and even premium cars. Rental offices in the area of Munich Airport can be found in a special sector called “Car Rental Center”. You can do your own search for finding the best car option to rent at the airport:
By booking a car in advance, you save your time on the spot. Besides, various additional options are often included in the rental price, when booking online, for example, free cancellation and changes up to 48 hours before the start of the rental, coverage in case of theft, winter tires (if you book a car in the late autumn-winter period) and others (read the conditions and terms). You can choose a car with automatic or manual transmission, with or without air conditioning. Take a note, that cars are provided with a full tank of gasoline, unless otherwise agreed.
Car rental price, insurance, deposit, franchise The cost of car rental in Munich starts from 25-30 euros per day. In the low season (March-April and November), the price may slightly decrease to 20 euros per day. Based on my research, tourists can choose a car of any class – mini, economy, compact, medium capacity, family car, minivan, SUV, etc. Remember that the rental company may block the so-called deposit on the bank card. It is the amount of money that will be considered a deposit in case of unforeseen circumstances (this can be accidents, fines, an empty fuel tank, etc.). As a rule, the deposit is unblocked on the card within 2 weeks or a month after the renting period, if no problems have been identified. This is a fairly common practice among car rental companies, so you need to have an additional amount of money on your bank card; it is usually about 300 euros (depending on the car class) for a deposit. Standard insurance covers your expenses in case of an accident, but only over franchise amount. You will have to pay the franchise amount. The franchise amount in case of an accident is prescribed in the agreement, so pay attention to it; Full insurance usually covers both the franchise and the deposit, and also covers damage to windows, mirrors, tires, wheels, etc. (more specifically, the terms and conditions can be found in the agreement). Traffic violations (issued fines) are NOT covered by full insurance! The cost of full insurance is daily and depends on the number of rental days.
In fact, full insurance eliminates the headache of a deposit, franchise and other potential costs. The price of full insurance starts from 4-5 euros per day (depending on the class of car).
My step-by-step tips how to book a car in advance via online services:
1.To find a suitable car, you will need to fill in the input data on the start page of any booking service you choose. You need to fill in the place and dates of picking up and returning the car. If your travel itinerary is not circular, you can choose different places of picking up and returning (in different cities, for example).
2.Next, on the search page, you will see different rental offers from various car rental companies that are relevant for your dates. By default, they are sorted by price (lowest to highest). You can set up additional filters, for example, select the car rental companies you are interested in, car class, type of transmission, additional options, conditions for mileage and fuel, etc.
3.Under each valid offer there will be a “Terms of Renting” tab. Having opened it, you will see what documents you will need, the deposit amount, insurance conditions, which card you can pay with, etc.
4.Having chosen the option that suits you best and clicking the “Book” button, you will see the page of your order, where you will need to specify some personal details, including last name, first name, phone number, email, flight number and time (if you book a car at the airport). Here you can also add additional options, for example, a navigator, a child seat or booster, a trunk, a co-driver, full insurance, etc.
5.Next, proceed to pay for the order – it can be full or partial, depending on the terms of the agreement. Payment is made by bank card. After payment, you will receive an electronic voucher by mail. By printing it out and showing it at the car rental office upon arrival, you can get your car.
Driving rules in Munich
According to my thorough research, all roads in Germany are divided into high-speed highways called autobahns and standard city and countryside roads. Autobahns are characterized by the allowed speed. It has a higher limit than on ordinary roads. On the autobahns, you can quickly get to the desired destination. The main thing about the autobahn is not to miss your turn, otherwise you will have to make an additional circle to return.
In my opinion, the advantage of standard roads is that they pass through a picturesque area with stops in various settlements. The speed of movement on such roads is lower (the maximum allowed outside the city is 90 km/h), but such a trip will bring you many impressions and leave a lot of vivid memories of the countryside and the towns of Southern Germany.
Car rental in Munich is a convenient option if you plan to travel a lot around Bavaria. Bavaria has a lot of interesting places to see, whether it’s romantic castles, amazing alpine nature or wonderful old towns. Taking a car just to get around Munich itself is not a very good idea, as there may be problems with parking, especially in the historical part of the city, where the streets are quite narrow.
About fuel:
You can refuel in Munich at numerous self-service petrol stations. 95th gasoline corresponds to the “super”, and 98th is to the “super plus” (names are used instead of numbers). Remember that car rental often provides a car with a full tank of fuel that is why you should return a car with a full tank of fuel too, unless otherwise agreed. Do not forget about this rule when renting, otherwise you will be charged automatically from the deposit on your bank card.
Where to go from Munich
You can travel from Munich in completely different directions. For example, it could be the north of Bavaria with its Franconian towns and thermal spas. Here are located such remarkable places as Nuremberg (170 km on the map), Regensburg (130 km on the map), Bavarian Forest National Park (140 km), Danube Gorge in Kelheim (155 km on the map), Bamberg (250 km on the map), Rothenburg ob der Tauber (255 km on the map), Augsburg (80 km on the map), Legoland (160 km on the map), mineral spa resort of Bad Kissingen (320 km on the map). I would recommend any of these travel destinations to visit.
No less interesting is the south of Bavaria, where the Alps can be found. Here you can explore by car such places as the resorts of Berchtesgaden, Bad Reichenhall, Garmisch-Partenkirchen (from 90 to 150 km on the map), Lake Chiemsee (90 km on the map), Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau, Linderhof castles (from 100 to 120 km on the map) and others. As far as I know, Bavarian Castles are the top attractions in the region so do not miss to see their beauty. In addition, it is quite convenient to get to the Austrian resorts from Munich by car. The closest one is Salzburg. You can also visit the neighboring Czech Republic.
Car rental in Munich is an extremely useful option if you plan to explore not only the city, but also its surroundings. Munich is connected with high-speed autobahns and picturesque country roads to all the towns of Bavaria, unlike trains, the routes of which are not laid everywhere.
So, for example, by train you can’t get directly to the castles of Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau and Linderhof, as well as to the alpine lake of Konigssee and the Danube Gorge in Kelheim.
Based on my knowledge, the process of renting a car at Munich rental offices or at the airport of arrival is fast, safe and does not require a large number of documents; it is enough to have a driver’s license and a bank card for payment. You can travel around Bavaria by car at any time of the year, since the local climate is quite mild here, even in winter.
Take a note! When going on a trip to Germany, do not forget to take out travel insurance, which is useful for receiving a tourist visa and for solving emerging medical problems when travelling in another country. You can purchase insurance via online services, for example, via EKTA and others. You can choose from different modes, including quiet, active or extreme rest.
Photo above the article: Polybert49
Julia is an experienced traveller, BA in International Relations and Languages and true lover of planning trips in advance. Learn more about the author…
Are there any restrictions on having winter or snow tires during the winter if we rent a car in Munich and take it to the Austrian or Swiss mountains? And, do the cars come with snow tires in winter?
Hello!
Yes, you need to have snow tires when travelling to the Alps by car.
Cheers,
Julia
Is driving is the city of Munich stressful, are traffic jams common. I would definitely rent a car in the arport but having my doubts as to driving across the city
Hello!
I would recommend renting a car for travelling around Bavaria, not for driving within Munich. It`s not about traffic jams. The problem is driving restrictions within the historical center of the city.
Cheers,
Julia
When renting a car in Munich, do you have any recommendations on car type, ie. in places like Italy and Portugal, it seems that the smaller cars like a Fiat is better since parking space is limited. Is that true in Munich as well?
Hello!
I would say yes, but if you are planning to travel around Bavaria more, especially to some mountainous areas, it will be better to choose a car with a manual transmission.
Cheers,
Julia