Europcar - Crete - Heraklion Airport Information, Car hire Instructions & Policies

They recommended I buy full insurance, but since I had already purchased full insurance on Zuzuche, I didn't buy it. However, I needed to provide a deposit of over 900 euros. I tried three different foreign currency cards (magstripe), but none of them worked. They required a foreign currency card with a chip in my name; other people's cards wouldn't work, even though one of my companions had a chipped card. The staff said if I paid 50 euros (for 2 days) for their full insurance, they would waive the deposit requirement. Reluctantly, I paid the 50 euros. The same issue with magstripe cards happened again at the car rental company at Athens airport (a different company). This time, we used my companion's card to pay the deposit and successfully picked up the car.

When I arrived at the store, they said I couldn’t rent a car with my driver's license. I have used my Chinese driver’s license, notarized Chinese document, and translation to rent cars abroad at least 10 times, including at least 4-5 times in Europe, and this is the first time I've heard that it can't be used. The staff at the car rental company spent half a day on the phone trying to sort it out, but it still didn't work. It wasted at least 2 hours. From daylight until it got dark, my wife and kids were waiting at the pier, it was a real hassle. Later, I asked at Enterprise and Hertz, and they both said it was fine to rent, but Europcar said it wasn't, which is absolutely terrible.

Initially, they refused to rent the car.