Car rental at Greenrock

[dpm321]

I'm interested in a one day car rental near the cruise pier at Greenlock, Scotland...planning to head up to Fort William for the day.  Are there any nearby options?  Thanks.

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, dpm321 said:

I'm interested in a one day car rental near the cruise pier at Greenlock, Scotland...planning to head up to Fort William for the day.  Are there any nearby options?  Thanks.

Just a note that the port is neither Greenrock as in the thread title nor Greenlock as in the post. It is Greenock. 

[dpm321]

6 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

Just a note that the port is neither Greenrock as in the thread title nor Greenlock as in the post. It is Greenock. 

Thanks!

[exlondoner]

I am not a local and have only ever done this approximate journey by train, but isn’t this rather a long trip for a day, especially if you have an unbreakable deadline of catching a ship?

[Harters]

26 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

isn’t this rather a long trip for a day

It's a nearly three hour drive each way - I've driven that route and it's a slow road. To complicate matters further, Google doesnt find a rental company in Greenock itself, so you'd need to build in time to get to wherever the nearest place might be (presumably somewhere nearer to Glasgow).

 

I just don't think this is going to be a practical proposition for a day trip. 

Edited Friday at 09:42 AM by Harters

[Planning to cruise]

Im sorry to be so blunt but I do not think that there is any way you could do a return car trip between Greenock and Fort William during the time of a cruise ship call, plus car pick up and return.   

 

Scottish roads, even the main A roads, are windy, have parts where overtaking is impossible and are busy with tourist traffic, often including slow moving caravans.  Scotland does have fantastic scenery, but that route is not a day trip.

 

We drove from close to Greenock to Oban to catch a booked timed car ferry to one of the Scottish islands.  We thought half a day was more than ample.   The journey took longer than we anticipated thanks to winding roads.  We just pulled up at the pier in time.  Fort William is further north again.  I would not want the stress of returning in time for cruise ship departure.  

 

[edinburgher]

19 hours ago, dpm321 said:

.planning to head up to Fort William for the day.

Must agree with the others that this is definitely very high risk for a port day.

 

If you absolutely insist on having a rental car you could consider different routes which are closer, eg, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, or Loch Lomond alone, or Stirling, or.........

 

There have been a number of past threads for Greenock activities and maybe some of them will throw up some alternative suggestions for you to consider. Choose from these

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?q=greenock&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=148

 

And if you joined your Roll Call, you could ask on there what others are planning as there may be a private tour arranged which you could join.

 

 

Edited Friday at 01:51 PM by edinburgher

[dpm321]

4 hours ago, Harters said:

It's a nearly three hour drive each way - I've driven that route and it's a slow road. To complicate matters further, Google doesnt find a rental company in Greenock itself, so you'd need to build in time to get to wherever the nearest place might be (presumably somewhere nearer to Glasgow).

 

I just don't think this is going to be a practical proposition for a day trip. 

Thanks, but we are in port for two days so timing isn't an issue.

[Planning to cruise]

58 minutes ago, dpm321 said:

Thanks, but we are in port for two days so timing isn't an issue.

Understood.  I think what we are all trying to say is that the proposed journey is still a big ask.  Your time may be limited if you are tied to a car return time, unless it is hired overnight. 

I agree with post #7 that there are other worthwhile closer possibilites such as Loch Lomond or the Trossachs.

 

I do hope that you enjoy your visit to Greenock (pronounced Grenuck) but keep looking and researching before you finally decide what to do.    

[dpm321]

31 minutes ago, Planning to cruise said:

Understood.  I think what we are all trying to say is that the proposed journey is still a big ask.  Your time may be limited if you are tied to a car return time, unless it is hired overnight. 

I agree with post #7 that there are other worthwhile closer possibilites such as Loch Lomond or the Trossachs.

 

I do hope that you enjoy your visit to Greenock (pronounced Grenuck) but keep looking and researching before you finally decide what to do.    

Thanks.  The trip to Fort William is a family thing so substituting somewhere closer to port really won't work.  Fort William is where I lived with my parents when we emigrated to the US.

[Thejuggler]

Many companies including Enterprise and Europcar do delivery and collection car hire and there is parking at Greenock cruise port.

 

Alternatively it is easy enough to get from Greenock to Glasgow Airport where the car hire companies will have a presence.

[Scottishclover]

Just make sure you give yourself plenty of time to return to the ship and continually check traffic updates. The A82 is a very slow road and is notorious ( along with the A9) for accidents. Closures are often mentioned in the travel news on the radio.  Probably caused by frustration from sitting behind the many caravans and motor homes heading to the Highlands. Any diversion would add a lot of time onto your journey. Just something to be aware of. 

[edinburgher]

5 hours ago, Scottishclover said:

The A82 is a very slow road and is notorious ( along with the A9) for accidents. Closures are often mentioned in the travel news on the radio.

Sadly all of this is true.  dpm321 you have been warned.

[Harters]

9 hours ago, Scottishclover said:

Probably caused by frustration from sitting behind the many caravans

I'm sure that might well be the case. We drove from Loch Lomond to Fort William in June 2011. The scenery was a saving grace but the journey was very slow and, yes, frustrating.