Gatwick Airport recommends eight car hire companies that have bases around the airport. The list comprises of Hertz, Avis, Europcar, National, Alamo, Enterprise, Dollar and Thrifty – each of which have their own individual upsides. Hertz can offer a global service, with car hire in almost any country you need especially in and around Europe, even young drivers can rent cars from Hertz. Avis price themselves on fantastic service, without a hefty price tag and have many convenient locations worldwide. Europcar offer a special discount when booking through the Gatwick Airport website, and National will allow you to book through the same website to get up to 10% discount on their already-discounted web pricing. Alamo, in a similar fashion to National, will allow you to get 15% discount on their prices when you book through the Gatwick Airport website. For those on a budget, Enterprise car rentals offer car hires from £99 per week, and both Dollar and Thrifty aim to get you the best value possible on the market.

Whilst you may be considering public transport to reach your destination from arriving at Gatwick Airport, you really do lose a lot of freedom by not have your own private car – if you go somewhere without good public transport links, you may find yourself waiting hours for a bus and then finding that it doesn’t go to the precise destination you were hoping for! There is also a question of reliability for public transport in the UK; buses and trains can regularly be late, or don’t even turn up at all leaving you stranded in the miserable weather. The best option is clearly to rent a car!