Devall Travels

Still smarting from the last look at Miami car-hire I have delved back into the murky world of the web to have another look, Confused? You will be. Different comparison sites seem to have different rates for the same companies.  I usually book direct with National via there own website and have had some pretty decent offers for full-size cars.   When in the US, be it Florida, NY or Arizona, why have a Toyota that is smaller and more cramped than the car I own at home? I want to drive American.   Okay, like the Ford Mustang we had. The "hood" didn't look as though it was the right size for the hole.  It covered the engine okay and didn't fly up as we drove along and the gap at the front of the doors looked a little wider than really necessary...... But!!! It's all about insurance and the level of cover.  For the past few years we have gone National. All the cars have been reasonably new and in decent condition.   The ...

It's been a while since I updated this trip. Everything has been in place for quite a while and there was nothing much to do, apart from make sure the Advanced Passenger Information (API) was completed for both of us. Then as I was looking through the folder in my Yahoo email I to check dates and make sure that my Tripit itinerary was up to date (it feeds into Google Calendar!) I noticed that although I had a few car hire emails, I hadn't booked any. Car hire is always one of the biggest bugbears for me.  Flights are easy to book. They give you a price and you accept that and then check for the add-ons (rip offs?) such as baggage check and reserving a seat and you get a price.   But with car hire.  There are so many "insurances".  Very annoying.  I ran through a few of the online booking agencies and there are quotes as low as €40/£35/$50 for a week's hire for a small car like a FIAT 500 "Cinquecento". This includes legal insurance cover....

Flights. There are many flights from UK to Malaga every day, almost from dawn to midnight.  After a look at the usual suspects "budget airlines" Easyjet and some others the fares seemed unusually expensive for the time of year. We go early October and there are no children's school holidays to bump up fares so I shopped about. We fly Norwegian out from Gatwick at 0940 and it should arrive about 1330 including the hour time difference..  No, I hadn't in my wildest dreams expected to fly Norwegian from London to Malaga. But the fare was friendly and they claim to have a few extra inches in leg room. Coming back it is British Airways. The problem I always have is that you leave your apartment usually about 1000 and have to think of things to do with a car full of luggage and then rush to the airport for the long queue to check-in and hang about.  So I picked an early afternoon flight back at 1425 which arrives at Gatwick just after 1610. Plenty of time to re...