Check list for Online Car Rental Booking

1. Print your rental voucher

You will need to present it and the "Terms of Service" pages at the rental desk.

2. Take your full & up to date driving license

Usually drivers must hold a full license for minimum of 1 year with no major endorsements.

3. A credit card with the main driver's name

Although you will be allowed to book a car with a debit card, you'll need a credit card at the rental desk to release the vehicle.

4. Get your passport or any photo ID other than your driver's license

For more interesting tips, please visit Tipoa Car Hire

Car Hire at Sofia Airport Terminal 2

I've visited Bulgaria and it´s capital several times. Each time I used a local car hire company which was ok. This year I've decided to do something different. A friend of mine recommended me a car hire site he has used and was happy with. I said OK, I'll give it a go.

My first impression was very positive. The search engine of the site offered me a great quote EUR176 for 13 days- which is about EUR13 per day. That's EUR7 better than the local company's offer! Sorry, guys it was a great pleasure working with you… :-) Having this lucrative offer, I booked with tipoa.com straight away, 1 month in advance of my arrival. Because this was a part paid rental, only EUR29 was taken from my credit card. The rest of the rental balance was payable on the arrival.

So, at the beginning of May, I landed on Sofia Airport. It's good we landed on Terminal 2- the brand new terminal of Sofia Airport, as Terminal 1 looks a little worse than Warrington Bank Quay station (if you know what I mean)…

Terminal 2 is a nice modern facility. The car hire companies desks are a few yards from the custom's exit. Very convenient- straight ahead. Managed to snapshot the desks although camera isn't allowed.



The girl at the desk spoke perfect English. She was friendly and polite. I showed her my printed voucher (which I received in my email right after the booking from the site) and it took us several minutes to deal with the documents.

I expected some shuttle bus to take me to the car hire facility… No. We used the side exit on the right (not the main exit) and there my rental car was waiting for me - 50 yards from the exit. Easy. A brand new white Chevy Aveo. Car type within my voucher was stated: "206 or similar" so the Aveo was fair enough. I got additional driver for free as a bonus, which was nice (it costed about EUR15 as an extra). I got my keys and drove on.



My stay in Sofia will be described in a separate article (more spicy, I guess ;-) ). Here I'm concentrating on the car hire experience.

All was fine with my car during the stay. It was very economical even in the worst traffic jams. Driving in Sofia was not that easy but I didn't have any accidents. Almost was fined for parking but managed to move the car before it happened. Parking in the centre of Sofia was cheap- EUR0.50 per hour but the parking signs were not very clear. Later I discovered you could pay for your parking with a text message. You type in your plate number as text.

Fuel policy is not an issue in Bulgaria. I had some bad experience in Spain with full - empty fuel policy. In Bulgaria, you take the car with full tank and return it full. Oil price was EUR1.30 per litre- which is quite ok.

Way to and from the airport was easy to be found even without GPS (it was an option for EUR15 which I didn't take…).


I had to return my rental car at 7AM as my flight was an early one. I was instructed to park the car at the same place (very close to the taxi parking) where I had taken it and to deliver the keys to the desk. The sleepy guy at the desk got out to the parking and just had a quick look at car. All was fine and well.

It was a good service and a great bargain. I'll use Tipoa Car Hire again on my next travel.




Report submitted by Tipoa customer: Mr Georg Platt (USA)

5 Romantic Hotels

Are you considering a romantic getaway, at a luxury hotel? Tipoa Car Hire recommend these five hotels:

1. Shangri-La Hotel - Paris, France
Shangri-La Hotel welcomes the world with its exhilarating rooms and restaurant views of the Eiffel Tower and La Seine.

2. Hotel Danieli, a Luxury Collection Hotel - Venice Italy
Venice is a must-see for all romantic travellers. Well, Hotel Danieli offers rooms viewing Venice's iconic lagoon.

3. The Greenwich Hotel - New York City, United States
Located in hip TriBeCa, this romantic escape offers absolute service and complimentary amenities to all.

4. Pierre du Calvet Hotel - Old Montreal, Quebec, Canada
This boutique hotel sits only steps away from the city's Old-Port, and the many captivating, historical attractions that make Montréal so adorable.

5. W Hotel Barcelona - Barcelona, Spain
A modern gem that features astonishing views of the Mediterranean and the city.

Visit http://www.tipoa.com for more ideas

Corvera Airport in Murcia will not open until 2013

The date was given by the Murcia President, Ramón Luis Valcárcel.


The new airport at Corvera in Murcia has suffered another delay in opening of several months. Summer 2013 is now being put as the earliest date the facility can be operational.

The date was given by the President of the Murcia Government, Ramón Luis Valcárcel, who said that a thousand technical requirements and approval of the equipment used still has to be carried out. He said he did not want an airport with no planes, as has been seen in Castellón.

The departure of Luis del Rivero from constructors Sacyr has apparently slowed down the paperwork in Madrid. From Murcia himself he was sacked last October as boss of the multinational, and had been the person putting the necessary rhythm to get the airport operational.

The IU-Verdes spokesman for the Murcia region, José Manuel López, after hearing the airport will not open this summer, described the infrastructure as ‘ a never ending tale’.

Meanwhile AENA has announced 22 extra flights this summer from the San Javier airport.

If you would like to book car hire, please go visit Tipoa Car Hire

Tipoa Car hire Thailand Phuket - Airport

Tipoa Rental Car at Phuket International Airport [HKT] , Thailand's second busiest airport and the gateway to all that Phuket and the surrounding islands have to offer. Millions of passengers each year visit Phuket to enjoy a wide range of tourist activities, natural beauty of the world famous Phuket beaches and fascinating attractions.

Visitors to Thailand and Phuket for the first time may be concerned about the safety of driving on Thai roads.

Well an important factor to consider is, what side of the road do they drive on? It is the left side, the same as in the UK, Australia and India. For a useful map on what countries drive on the left hand side visit that article and click on the MAP to enlarge it.

The biggest adjustment you have to make when driving in Thailand, is the large amount of motorcycles. There are very few pedistrians. Motorcycles tend to drive in opposite directions to what they should on the wrong side of the road, and carry up to 4 persons.

But the main roads are good and in fact flow quite well most of the time.

BEWARE there are very few 24 hour petrol stations in Phuket . Don't get caught out, petrol stations tend to close at around 20:00 hrs. There is a 24 hour petrol station close to the airport, on the main road Thep Krassattri [ National Highway No. 402 ]‎ เทพกระษัตรี อ.ถลาง จ.ภูเก็ต ไทย to Phuket Town and the South of the Island.

Tipoa Car Hire and it's suppliers are located just across the airport car park opposite the main airport entrance. If you have heavy bags we will come and collect / greet you.

We also have locations at or close to the Major hotels, in Rawai, Patong, Laguna and Surin.

Patong, Karon, Kata, Kata Noi, Kamala, Nai Harn Beaches are in the South of the island and Surin, BagTao, Nai Thon, Banana Rock, Nai Yang in the North

Phuket also has many great Golf Courses, Blue Canyon is very close to Phuket International Airport [HKT] and Laguna is nearby. There is also Phuket Country Club, Phunaka, Loch Palm, and Red Mountain Golf courses. 

Tipoa Rental Car at Phuket Airport bring together all the major suppliers so you can compare all the car hire providers and come up with a vehicle/price package to suit your needs.

Start now or enter another location, your car hire dates, review the best car hire deals from top Thai car rental companies, and book cheap car hire direct from Phuket Airport.

Other nearby TIPOA locations can be found at Krabi , Koh Sumui

Who drives on the left hand side of the road?

When considering hiring a car an important factor is " what side of the road do they drive? " The map below will help you, destinations such as Thailand, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand. most of South Africa, much of the Caribbean, India and United Kingdom do so.

All the blue areas on the map below drive on the left hand side of the road.

Please visit Tipoa Car Hire News for more interesting car rental information

Pedestrians in Spain

If you drive a rental car in Spain you must be aware of the way some pedestrians approach the cross walks.

Instead of stopping at the edge of the sidewalk and check if there are cars approaching, they just keep walking.

So please, slow down when getting closer to a cross walk and always keep an eye for any pedestrians trying to cross the road.