Atlanta in Georgia is a pretty big city built for the cars so you will most likely need to rent a car if you come here on holiday. In the spring and autumn it also tends to rain a lot so walking around Atlanta may not be an option.
This is exactly what happened to me when I was in Atlanta: it was pouring rain outside and I only had one day to look around the place so I decided to rent a car at Atlanta Airport so I could check out the spread out sights in Downtown Atlanta. My flight to Atlanta was with Delta, but I did not immediately pick the car up after landing.
I rented a Nissan Altima in Atlanta from Thrifty through Holiday Autos. The car came in at £26 for one day excluding insurance. I have written this Thrifty car hire review to help you out in case you are thinking about renting from Thrifty, so read on to avoid any potential pitfalls!
By the way, you can get 5% off if you use this Holiday Autos link for your next booking.
I made the booking at 5AM in the morning on the day of pick up at the Holiday Autos website and I went to pick the car up at 7AM at Atlanta Airport in Georgia, US.
The Thrifty Rental Desk In Atlanta
As usual I had to hand over a credit card, my passport and driving license but this time they did not ask for the rental documents even though I printed them in advance.
The car hire desk was outside the airport terminal, so I had to take an airport train to the car rental center. Most US Airports have huge rental car centers where you will find all the major rental companies. You can get to these by train or bus shuttles, usually at no extra cost.
Tip: Read my article about avoiding upsells at the airport pick-up desk
Once I had the keys, I walked over to the parking lot and picked up my car.
What Was Good About The Car
The car was pretty big, automatic with a huge boot and plenty of seating at the back. It had cruise control, electric windows, two USB plugs, a couple of vanity mirrors and even a sunglass holder.
The boot was big enough for at least two large suitcases, and there was enough space at the back for three medium size people.
Tip: Read my article about avoiding car hire insurance rip-offs
Sitting at the front was comfortable with plenty of legroom. The front of the car was quite long but I got used to it quickly and had no problems parking it.
As I only hired the car for one day I did not familiarize myself with each button but there were plenty of them!
Back To Atlanta Airport
I dropped the car off a little after 7PM after filling the tank up at the nearest petrol station. The fuel came in under $10 for the day which I thought was a good deal given I would have needed to cover miles of walking without it.
I gave the keys back and got a receipt on the spot letting me know that everything was fine. The deposit was released back into my account in full the following few days.
