We rented a car from Sixt for 8 days in Puerto Vallarta. Overall the experience more than met my expectations and I would happily rent from them again. I would note that having fair expectations is important. This is a holiday town in Mexico, and Sixt tend to be one of the cheaper providers, so don’t expect someone waiting with your name at the airport exit. Clear instructions are provided on where to meet, and if you have some patience, it will work out. I chose to walk across the bridge to the car depot myself. It is less than a 10 minute walk from the terminal, and as the pickup car was not there when I arrived, it seemed easier. To be fair to Sixt my flight was delayed, so had the flight been on time they likely would have been there.
The rental process was very standard. I chose to purchase the rental through Rentalcars.com as the insurance was cheaper, although the car itself was more expensive than directly with Sixt. Check your insurance policy. Mine did not cover Mexico, so for me it was worth getting the insurance. If your policy covers Mexico, you might as well go directly through Sixt. Bear in mind roads are not always great, parking spaces are small, roads are narrow and curbs are high. Insurance is something worth thinking about. There was no pressure at rental to get add-ons or insurance, which made the check out fairly quick. We rented a Chevo Aveo, which is a very modest sized car, but was fine for our needs.The car was clean inside and out when we got it and had no issues whatsoever. Again, roads are narrow, parking spaces can be tight. Driving some hulking great SUV is not likely going to make your vacation any more enjoyable here. The car was able to carry 4 of us and our baggage. The only potential gotcha is the aircon was only just keeping up with 4 of us in the car. It was fine, but the temperature outside was only 28-29. Add in another couple degrees and a car with a stronger aircon might be worth thinking about. Driving is fairly relaxed and as long as you are assertive when you need to be and go with the flow, did not present any challenges other than turning left on the main thoroughfare. This was the first time I’ve had to do the move right to turn left trick, but as long as you are aware and go with the flow, it is easy. For parking I would generally used the paid parking. There is limited street parking in and around Puerto Vallarta, so it is worth the 50 peso or so to use the downtown parkade. Some hotels have free parking, others charge. Ours did not , but check ahead. We also stayed in Bucerias, which was easy for street parking.
Returning the car was also easy. We returned it a little more dusty than we got it with a sprinkling of sand inside, but there were no issues and the final charge was exactly what I originally booked. The expectation was a full tank, fill up is mostly full service in Puerto Vallarta, so this is easy to get done. From the rental location we were given a ride to the airport departures, which took less than 10 minutes. Overall recommended and I will rent from them again.
