Villa holiday - one car or two?

[itlamoree]

Going on a villa holiday to Greece over the summer, to a small island in the cyclades. Renting a villa with my sister, dbro in law, brother and dsis in law, and me.

We have found a big car rental that seats 5. One person will have to be sat in the middle.

We’re staying around a 10 minute car drive to the town and 15 minute car drive to the beaches. Parking is bad at the beach.

Do we rent two cars or one? A car for the week is expensive at around £400.

I’d definitely do two - between all of you it won’t be that much more. I doubt you can squeeze all the people plus your luggage in one car, and it means you can be flexible if some people want to make slightly different plans.

For luggage alone I would rent two.

I’d rent one and pack light since you’re staying at a villa so presumably have access to a washing machine. It won’t work though if everyone wants to take a big suitcase.

If you want to save money you could always hire one car and have some of the group take a cab on arrival/departure when you'll have luggage. Personally I'd be fine with one car, unless you think you might want to do separate poutings.

One car. Occasional taxi if required.

Do you need a car? I would taxi.. probably much cheaper

I would hire two we’ve done a villa holiday every year once old enough to hire we didn’t we still decided to share caused a bit of tension when some wanted to leave the beach early others didn’t and times we wanted to do separate activities but couldn’t. Also had an incident where we had agreed to each have the car for half a day but they got waylaid and people where left at the villa all day

We haven't hired a car since before COVID but I do remember that two small cars used to be cheaper to hire than one big one, although this may have changed, I know prices have increased massively which is part of the reason why we don't bother any more.

But if its going to be difficult to park at the beach, and possibly park/drive in town, I'd also look at the availability and cost of public transport and taxis. But you probably also need to consider getting to and from the airport or ferry terminal, grocery shopping and any other trips you might want to make.

Tricky but it depends on how much you anticipate using the car(s), practicalities of the alternatives and overall budget for the holiday.

Honestly, I’d probably just stick with one car if you’re on a smaller island—it’s only a 10‑15 minute drive to town and the beaches, so it’s not like you’ll be spending hours in traffic. Yes, one person will have to sit in the middle, but it saves you £400! Plus, you can always rent a second car just for a day or two if you fancy splitting up for the beaches or town, which can be much cheaper than paying for two cars the whole week.

I can’t see a single problem with needing to sit in the middle for 10/15 min journeys. It’s just not an issue. Everyone should be taking turns too.

Could be an issue for luggage from the airport - an extra taxi would sort that though.