I love self-driving vacations. I truly think that having a rental car while on holidays is the best way to really explore a new area and have as much flexibility with your itinerary as possible, which is particularly nice when you have young kids in tow. I’ve put together a handy little guide to renting cars using the knowledge we’ve gained from renting cars in 9 different counties on three continents. It’s not a difficult process, but there are a few tips and tricks that can make the whole thing go as smoothly as possible.
Tip number 1: Prepare
The night before your vacation, pull up a map of the airport you will be renting the car from to determine exactly where on the airport grounds the car rental desk is located. This will prevent you from roaming aimlessly around unfamiliar airports at 10pm when you’re tired and hungry and asking passersby, “Do you know where the Avis desk is?” I speak from experience here!
This was us in Faro, Portugal last year and it was a stressful way to start a family holiday. We arrived, we had no data on our phones, and we couldn’t even remember which car rental agency we had booked with! Talk about a facepalm moment. We were so caught up in planning for the trip and packing that this little detail slipped through the cracks. After 30 minutes of wandering around outside in the dark with small kids in tow, we finally found an agent that was still open, and luckily he was waiting for us. Phew.
A quick Google search tells will tell you where on the airport grounds the desk is located and whether you need to take a shuttle bus to get to it (at larger airports this is often the case). If you do have to take a shuttle to pick up the car, sit near the front! Everyone on that shuttle is probably going to the same rental agency desk and there is probably only going to be one agent to help everyone so do what you can to be at the front of the line.
Tip number 2: Practice Patience
Always expect the collection process to take much longer than you expect. There are a lot of forms to fill out and the process really only starts when you arrive at the desk. Send one representative from your family to the desk and and the rest of you can hunker down with a snack or with some screen time until the process is over. Some companies offer corporate perks such as skipping the queue and going directly to the car, so check to see if your company offers this. My husband had access to this perk when he worked for Maurices parent company, Ascena, and we miss it greatly. Just a note: Skipping the queue is never an option outside the US regardless of corporate perks.
Regarding insuring cars: many credit cards offer CDW (Collision Damage Waiver) so if you use that card when you book you don’t necessarily need to purchase the car insurance the rental agency offers. Read the fine print for your credit card to see exactly what they cover. There are some countries that won’t accept any policy that may be included with your credit card. Ireland is one of those which makes car hire here quite expensive.
Outside of the US and Canada, the default is always a manual car, so be sure to request an automatic in advance if that is something you require, unfortunately, it will cost more. Be aware of whether the car takes diesel or gas. The vast majority will take gasoline, I read several quotes of about 1 in 20 rental cars worldwide will have diesel engines, but it’s good to know either way.
Tip number 3: Know Your Route
Do a little research before your vacation to know what to expect for driving conditions in the area you’re traveling to. Will you have to merge onto a six lane freeway to get from the airport to your hotel or accommodation? Will there be toll booths that you’ll need correct change for? (Sometimes it’s better to just pay out of pocket for the tolls than with a fast pass from the rental agency, there is often a ‘daily use fee’ in addition to the tolls). It can be handy to know these things in advance so you’re prepared. Usually quick Google searches such as “what is it like to drive in Orlando?” Or “is it easy to drive from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon?” Or “what should I know about driving in Germany?” OR “are the roads in Ireland really as narrow and windy as everyone says they are?” (The answer to that last one is yes, by the way!)
Check whether there is a daily mileage allowance on the car. Sometimes there is a maximum number of miles you can drive each day. Now, as far as I know, there is no way to tell how many miles were driven each day so as long as you keep it below the total allowance it won’t be a problem.
Let the rental agent know if you’ll be passing into other countries on your drive. Some countries require that you purchase a toll sticker for the car in order to drive from one country to another. They are usually about $17 and can be purchased at gas stations before you cross the border. If you don’t have the sticker and get to the toll booth in that country, they’ll likely fine you heavily. Also, some countries don’t allow rental cars to cross the border at all and it would be good to know that in advance. For example, if you rent a car in Israel, you can’t drive the car into Jordan and vice versa.
Tip number 4: Before You Head Out
Once you’re finally at the car and loading your things into the trunk, take a slow walk around the car and take photos of any dents or scratches that you see. This just protects you if the agency tries to say you made the dent, you can prove that it was there before you even got behind the wheel.
When you’re driving in a new area give yourself plenty of time to get from point A to point B. Oftentimes the estimated arrival time on google maps is actually not a good predictor or how long a journey will take. In our experience, driving always takes longer in Florida (holy traffic), in the mountains in Colorado, and in Ireland, Italy, and Morocco. Just take your time and enjoy the ride. We’ve found that the best way for us to get around is to download sections of Google Maps to our phones so we can navigate while our data is off.
Outside of the US and Canada, select the smallest car that you can get away with for the number of people and suitcases that you will have. Not only will this be the least expensive option, but in most countries you’ll be happy to have a tiny car as roads and parking spaces are FAR more narrow than in the US.
Tip number 5: A Thorough Return
When it’s time to return the rental: 1) Make sure to give yourself plenty of time. It might not be easy to find a gas station to refuel, and it’s almost always the best option to return the car with the same amount of fuel that was in it when you picked it up. Gas stations near the airport are often in obscure places and there may be traffic to contend with. 2) If rental return is off-site and not right at the airport, drop all passengers and bags off at the airport first and just have the driver return the car and take the shuttle back. Yes, there is a bit of waiting involved for the passengers, but particularly with kids, this is far easier than schlepping kids and cases and car seats on a shuttle bus back to the airport.
Hopefully this will make your next car rental experience simple and painless! Do you have any other tips not mentioned above?
