Air Caledonia Air Passes/Car Rental Noumea

Folks,
Thanks for answering my previous queries. I have another question:

Can I buy an air pass myself on the internet or do I have to go via a travel agent? I live outside New Caledonia. Has anyone bought one recently and knows how to go about it?
And: any recommendations for car hire in Noumea? We are looking for a small Cat. A for 5 days.
Thanks for all your advice!

You can buy the pass in New Caledonia itself - conditions, rules & prices

Isabel, I have just sent you a PM.

Hi,

The Air Pass you are looking for is called a Tchap Tchap pass. You can buy it in Noumea at the Air Caledonie booking office.

In my experience, the two best value places to hire a car from are:- Point Rouge in Noumea and Europcar/Mencar near Trianon. I know that Europcar will deliver the car to your hotel.

We rented from Avis in Noumea and were very pleased with the car and the service. One thing we very quite pleased with was being able to drop the car off at the airport in Tontouta for no extra charge.

I agree with Newfie. We rented an Avis car from Tontouta and dropped off in Noumea. We also rented a Budget vehicle from Baie de Citrone and dropped off at Tontouta - in both cases there was no extra fee for this. Note that the road from Noumea to Tontota (and reverse) is a toll road, so have some change - I forget how much (60cfp?)

Friend of mine rented from Avis. Caught a large nail through the side-wall of the tyre which required tyre to be replaced. Avis policy was that the hirer is responsible for the costs of a new one. Price was $120.00 AU. Claim lodged through insurance company and still waiting for payment. Unlike newfie and mandja above, I was told horror stories about the Avis service. Granted though that this was in part due to language difficulties. I've since learn't that many rental companies have an identical policy so read the fine print on the contract.

#6 Avis can hardly be blamed for this. I think $120 is reasonable.