Car hire in Oslo - Good advice on car hire in Oslo Airport

Oslo’s International airport is called Gardermoen – OSL, and is located approximatel 30 miles North East of Oslo City centre. Oslo Gardermoen is the largest and most well known airport in the Oslo metropolitan area.

Click to compare current car hire rates in Oslo Airport

There are two more Airports in the Oslo metropolitan area:

• Sandefjord Airport, Torp – TRF (Primarily domestic and low fares airlines)
• Moss Airport, Rygge in borough of Ostfold – RYG
  (Predominantly low fares airlines and air force)

Operators Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), Norwegian, British Airways are operating daily services to Oslo Gardermoen from London airports Gatwick and Heathrow as well as Manchester.

Car hire rates in Oslo Airport Gardermoen, Norway
Compared to UK levels it would be bold to call car hire car hire rates in Oslo airport cheap.

One of the most unfortunate examples is if an MPV with room for 7 adults is required from Oslo Gardermoen. A full size MPV hire car in Oslo airport will in some cases set you back more than £900 for a week’s car rental in Oslo airport. Occasionally it will however be possible to find MPV car hire in Oslo Gardermoen for less than £550 per week.

The cheapest small hire cars in Oslo Gardermoen airport is typically available from £250-£300 depending on availability. In the small class hire car you typically get a Fard Ka, Peugeot 107, Toyota Aygo or similar including insurance and uncapped miles. A VW Golf or similar in the compact class is often priced just over £300 for a week’s car rental from Oslo Gardermoen Airport.

Car hire in Oslo Airport or take the train to Oslo
Car hire in Oslo airport is dominated by the five major companies Avis, Budget, Sixt, Hertz and Europecar so price competition from low rate car hire providers is pretty much none existent in Oslo Gardermoen Airport.

The Oslo Express train, also known as Flytoget, from Gardermoen airport to Oslo city centre takes less than 30 minutes and fares cost less than £20 for a single ticket. The train is a convenient alternative to car hire if you are visiting Oslo city centre only. Read more about the airport express train on flytoget.no.

Our recommendation: Limit your car hire in Oslo.
If car hire is a necessity from Oslo airport, but at the same time you are on a budget, it is perhaps worth considering whether car hire is a necessity during your entire stay as Oslo does offer excellent public transportation.

To rent a car in Oslo city centre is usually similarly priced to the airport, and if you are in a position to limit your car hire to 3 days rather than a whole week the savings are substantial. Even though 3 days car hire is around £135 there are still added costs such as city centre parking, fuel and toll expenses which needs adding to the equation. Please also remember there is an additional fee from £25-£40 if you require dropping off the car in the city centre as opposed to dropping the car off in the airport where it was collected.

Driving a rental car in Oslo
When entering Oslo city by car there is a Toll fee of 26 NOK (£2.80). As this is a toll fee and not a congestion charge there is no time limit and neither is there any charge for leaving Oslo city centre in your hire car. It’s possible to pay for Oslo city centre hire car Toll at Esso petrol stations but also using the internet within three days of entering the Oslo toll zone. All vehicle number plates are photographed upon entering Oslo “congestion zone” which means if the toll isn’t paid within 3 days a penalty will be added on your car hire invoice and subsequently debit your payment card used for booking you car hire.

Expect parking your hire car in Oslo city centre to set you back £0.50 to over £2.00 an hour. Some multi storey car parks do however only charge around £5 for parking overnight. Please also check hotels for cheaper parking facilities. Often car parks available in connection with recreational locations such as, museums, beeches etc. are mostly cheaper with an hourly rate of around £0.5

Prices on car hire, Toll and parking are based on prices January 2012. Read more about Oslo and other Norwegian toll at Autopass.no.

Reserve a cheap hire car in Oslo through Cartrawler