Southampton Airport Car Hire

If you are planning on hiring a car in Southampton then the main motorways to remember are the M3 which links Southampton with the M25 and London . The M27 leads west towards Bournemouth and the West Country and east along the coast towards Brighton and the South of England.

Car parking is relatively easy with many pay and display places in the city centre. There are a number of free 2 hour car parks too, and if you move away slightly from the real city centre you can find free parking on the streets.

Remember that if you decide to hire a car you can often secure a better deal by pre-booking your vehicle. This also ensure that the make and model you require will be available and ready and waiting for you on arrival at Southampton Airport.

You can get a free online car hire quote for your Southampton Car Hire here

If you want to drive a car in in the UK you must have either:

• A valid full driving licence issued in a European Community/European Economic area (EC/EEA)
• A valid, full national license
• An International Driving Permit (1926, 1949) issued abroad

A provisional (learner's) driving licence issued abroad is not valid for use in the UK.

Countries included in the EC/EEA are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Republic of Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden.

If your licence was not issued in an EC/EAA country then you may drive vehicles with up to eight passenger seats which weigh up to 3.5 tonnes, provided your full licence or driving permit remains valid for up to 12 months from the date of coming to the UK

Six of the UK's major car hire companies are based in the terminal building at Southampton Airport. They are: Alamo at Southampton Airport - Avis at Southampton Airport - Enterprise at Southampton Airport - Europcar at Southampton Airport - Hertz at Southampton Airport - National at Southampton Airport