off to brittany soon and would welcome any advise about driving there. Will be hiring a car and wondering anything to be aware of? Ok I know to drive the other side of the road - anything else I should know!! Do all hire cars use diesel or could it be unleaded? Any idea of the cost of fuel compared to here? thanks
Any time we have hired a car (Megane/Peugot 307 type) we have been given a diesel (gazole) which is great. Fuel is a bit dearer than here as they dont have road tax in France. prices vary a lot - try not to buy at the moterway service stations but at the large super market s/stations as they are much cheaper. If you are staying in the Brittany region there are no tolls on the motorways.
I always use www.holidayautos.ie for car hire. They are basically a broker and you will end up getting a car from Hertz or Europcar etc - whatever the best rate happens to be. The biggest benefit as far as I am concerned, is that they offer damage excess protection - for about Eur2 a day you can cover yourself against the Eur400 or 500 excess in the event of a bash. So Europcar charge you the excess as usual and you then claim it back from holidayautos. I don't normally fall for extra protection schemes but glad I got it last year when I had a small bash. Little things can happen easily when you're not used to the terrain!