Located 30km east of the city of Abu Dhabi (AUH), Abu Dhabi International Airport is the second largest in the UAE, catering for 20 million passengers every year.
Abu Dhabi (Photo: Kevin JD via Unsplash)
For those arriving at the airport, it’s split into three passenger terminals: Terminal 1 (divided into Terminals 1A and 1B), Terminal 2, and Terminal 3 which is reserved exclusively for Etihad Airway flights. Luckily, renting a car here couldn’t be easier; all the rental car offices are are located just a short walk from Terminal 3. Moreover, they are open 24 hours a day.
To determine which rental car companies offer the best vehicles across our three categories (Most Affordable, Best for Luxury, Best for Minivans), TravelMag.com carefully researched prices, availability, policies and customer reviews of the car rental companies operating out of AUH. Here are our findings:
Most Affordable: Hertz
For the ‘Most Affordable’ category, we found Hertz to have the best choice of cheap car rentals amongst the internationally known agencies. Throughout the European summer, Hertz leases out the popular runaround, the Toyota Yaris for around €55 per day and the Honda HR-V for €85 per day. At this particular branch, Hertz receives positive customer feedback for the speed in drop-offs and the cleanliness of its cars, however, there were a few negative comments concerning the length of pick up times. For slightly cheaper rates, Green Motion, with several environmentally-friendly cars in its fleet, rent out vehicles at under €50 per day. Moreover, if you pre-book with Green Motion, you’ll be met at the airport terminal and driven to their nearby offices.
Best for Luxury: Avis
With a consistent stream of positive reviews and a really good selection of vehicles, we selected Avis as the best company for luxury vehicles at AUH. On any Avis parking lot, you’ll find some of the finest models from American, European and Asian car manufacturers. For renters looking for a memorable road trip, we’d recommend Audi’s Infiniti Q50 while for SUV fans, we’d suggest their Toyota Prado or Nissan Patrol. Given the choice of cars and their renowned customer service, it’s no surprise to see Avis scoring so well on the popular car rental websites.
Best for Minivans: Europcar
If there happens to be a large group of you travelling to AUH, then we suggest you make a reservation with Europcar. For mid-sized families, Europcar offers 7-seaters like the Toyota Avanza and the Toyota Innova for under €225 per day and for larger families, the Kia Carnival. Europcar consistently offers the best rates amongst the most recognised brands. Nevertheless, if you don’t mind hiring from a lesser known car rental company, then once again, Green Motion had the cheapest rates on minivans at AUH.