Car Hire at Birmingham Airport

Airport travel guide

Best known as a centre of industry and commerce, Birmingham can also be a surprisingly interesting travel destination. The second city of England is home to varied architecture and interesting museums; meanwhile, some of its former industrial centres have been turned into heritage sites. The city can also serve as a base for exploring the rest of the West Midlands region and its best attractions. Here are three of the most interesting places to visit in and around Birmingham:

• Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. A large and impressive museum, it is one of the most visited places in the city. The museum has a collection of more than 800,000 items relating to such varied topics as natural history, fine arts, ethnography, industrial history and more. Better yet, almost all of the museum’s exhibitions can be accessed for free.
• Architecture. Although Birmingham isn’t as famous for sightseeing as London or Edinburgh, the city is actually home to an array of impressive buildings from different eras and of various styles. They include Aston Hall which is a 16th-century Jacobean mansion, the baroque Cathedral of St. Philip, and Birmingham Town Hall, one of the most impressive town halls of the Victorian era. On a more recent note, the high-tech Library of Birmingham that was built to resemble a ziggurat is one of the most interesting contemporary buildings in Britain.
• Birmingham Botanical Gardens & Glasshouses. A large green area in the Edgbaston neighbourhood of Birmingham, the botanical gardens is one of the best places in the city to spend a leisurely day outdoors. In addition to many local plants, the gardens’ glasshouses also have a collection of interesting flora from around the world and provide a home to exotic bird species like the Himalayan monal (distant cousins of pheasants), monk parakeet, and white-cheeked turaco.

Top international routes

• Dublin
• Dubai
• Amsterdam
• Paris
• Tenerife
• Malaga

Main airlines

Flybe, Ryanair, Jet2.com, TUI Airways, Thomas Cook Airlines, and Primera Air

Terminals

The two Birmingham Airport terminals, T1 and T2, are connected by the Millenium Link walkway, which houses a number of shops and eateries.

Location

Birmingham Airport is about 13 km (8.1 mi) southeast of Birmingham city center. Motorways M42, M6, and A38(M) are the main roads connecting the airport to the city.

Most popular types of hire car

• People Carriers - starting at £51 per day
• Small cars - starting at £12 per day
• Medium cars - starting at £11 per day
• Large cars - starting at £13 per day
• Station wagons - starting at £12 per day
• SUVs - starting at £11 per day
• Premium cars - starting at £45 per day

Services and facilities

You’ll find many restaurants, cafeterias, fast food outlets, a wine bar, shops, and duty-free stores for passengers leaving the EU. There are also several ATMs, currency exchange services, lounges, an on-site hotel, various family services, a grocery store, a lost luggage point, pharmacy, spa, beauty salon, observation deck, multi-faith chapel, and a dry cleaners. Luggage storage, in the T1 check-in area, is open daily from 4:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Birmingham Airport facilities are mostly accessible to travelers with reduced mobility, and special assistance is offered, but you should contact your airline in advance if you’d like this service. You can find more information on the airport's official website.

Nearest petrol station

Marston Green, located at 53 Station Road, can be reached in about six minutes. There are many other gas stations in and around Birmingham.

Popular one-way hires

• London (177 km / 110 mi)
• Luton (119 km / 74 mi)
• Northampton (69 km / 43 mi)
• Wolverhampton (42 km / 26 mi)
• Ipswich (228 km / 142 mi)
• Coventry (16 km / 10 mi)
• Mansfield (105 km / 64 mi)
• Peterborough (137 km / 85 mi)
• Reading (148 km / 92 mi)