Named after a distinguished local diplomat and the first governor of Greece, Corfu’s “Loannis Kapodistrias” International Airport (CFU) is a state-owned airport located just one mile from the island’s capital, Corfu Town. Approaching the airport from the north-east offers passengers spectacular views of Pontikonisi, the Vlaherna Monastery as well as the Kanoni hills.
Corfu (Photo: Andrea Tosatto via Flickr/ CC BY 2.0)
CFU airport’s busiest period of year is normally between the months of April and October. Renting a car can be problematic during the summer months, so we advise people to book well in advance. Luckily, there are many car rental companies to choose from, including the Avis and Hertz group, Enterprise, Sixt and other local rental car companies, such as Wizz Car rentals and Cars-to-go, located not far from the airport.
To determine which car rental 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 CFU airport. Here are our findings.
For cheap car hire, we found both Budget and Europcar to have the best deals. On our sample dates, Europcar had the Volkswagen Up at a little under €25 per day while Budget was renting out a Citroen C1 at €30 per day. For a few euros less, Global Rent-a-car had a Hyundai I10 and a Fiat Panda at 29€ per day but -as is the case with all rental cars- you need to carefully check for scratches and dents beforehand as Global Rent-a-car whack on a surcharge of €150 (to cover administration costs) on top of the cost of the repair. As one customer pointed out “everyone seeks out the cheapest deal, and many are just that … until you have a problem, when they become the most expensive”.
There is a large selection of luxury cars available at Corfu International Airport with all the main operators offering competitive deals. On our sample dates, Europcar had the wonderful Audi Q3 at €84 per day while for those looking to explore the island ‘off-piste’, they had a Jeep Renegade at €86 per day. For a more traditional luxury vehicle, Avis was renting out the uber-comfortable Mercedes-Benz CL at just under €100 per day. Avis has generally favourable reviews and receives a remarkable 10/10 from customers on rentalcars.com when it comes to speed of drop off.
From travelling as a group through the rugged mountains with it’s winding lanes to discovering the island’s impossibly beautiful beaches, there are scores of interesting things to do and see in Corfu. If you are touring the region in a group of nine or fewer, we’d suggest Europcar’s Fiat Scudo which, at €54 per day, can work out as cheap as €6 per person. If you’re part of a smaller crowd, then Global Rent-a-car had the seven-seater Fiat Doblo at €80 per day. For a bigger van, we suggest hopping onto the free shuttles provided by Green Motion to rent out one of their Volkswagen Transporters.
