I now have a ton of road trip posts on this blog. We have driven around Costa Rica, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Croatia, Germany, Italy, Albania, Portugal, and countless cities and states in the USA. I’ve even road tripped solo in Italy. I have learned a lot over the years about renting cars and have a lot to share about what you should know when you plan to rent a car at home or abroad.
Renting a car provides you a level of freedom that no other form of transportation really can. But it is also important to be smart and aware when you rent a car. Many of these tips also apply to renting quads, or 4-wheelers, and even motor bikes in places like Greece and Thailand. Below are the tips we’ve gathered through experience on the road!
Automatic vs Manual Transmission
Make sure you know if you are looking for an automatic or manual transmission, and make sure that you book correctly. Manual transmissions are more popular pretty much everywhere outside the United States. An automatic will cost you more, and can be harder to get last minute. Make sure when booking that you check this carefully and reconfirm with the rental car company.
Insurance is Vital
It is so important to have insurance when renting a vehicle. Absolutely anything can happen and it is not worth being under prepared. Over the years we’ve toyed with full coverage, partial coverage, not getting insurance at all, etc. I can tell you with absolute certainty that for the peace of mind, as well as overall best experience, that getting full insurance is the right play.
Depending on what credit card company you hold or book with, you may also have some car insurance with them. For example, we use the Capital One Venture X Card, and if we book or pay for our car rental with it then we are automatically covered for any damage that might happen to our vehicle. Therefore, when we pick up our rental car, we only have to purchase insurance to cover if we’d hit someone else or were at fault in an accident.
It is very important to speak with your credit card company and understand your coverage before relying on it.
It is also important to remember that no matter how good of a driver you may be, and no matter how careful and calm you are on the road, you can not control other drivers. Your car could be dinged sitting in a parking spot, bumped going down a narrow street, or hit by a falling rock driving through some beautiful mountains. It is always best to just be prepared and covered for anything that could happen on the road, whether it is your fault or not. This being said, insurance isn’t always listed as an inclusion when you book the car, which brings me to my next point…
Check for Hidden Costs
Make sure that when you book a car, you know everything that is included and, just as important, what is not. Rental car companies are notorious for adding costs as you go. There are so many little things that they can offer you and/or charge you for, and that adds up.
Insurance: Check up front to see what the cost of insurance will be for your whole journey based on the level of coverage you want.
Navigation: These days, with iPhones and google maps, it’s a lot easier to navigate, but if you want to purchase GPS with the car rental, it will generally cost you extra.
Pick up/Drop off Location & Crossing Borders: There are almost always costs associated with picking your car up in one location and dropping it off in another, so make sure you’re aware of those costs. There can also be costs associated with crossing into another country, so make sure you know up front.
Gas: Rental companies will charge you if you don’t bring the car back with the gas tank filled to a certain agreed upon level. Make sure you know what that point is before heading out, they will often charge you more than the average cost of gas.
Upgrades: This one likely goes without saying, but it seems like every time we end up at a rental car office, they try to get us to upgrade. But they don’t always word it that way. They may say something like “oh we have this amazing car available as well, do you want this one instead”. They don’t openly indicate that the recommended car will cost you more. So make sure you always ask when offered a different vehicle.
Tolls: Depending on the country and the car rental company, they may offer you an electronic device to pay tolls. Make sure you are clear up front whether you want to use this device and pay them afterwards, or just pay your tolls in cash while you are driving. This will help you avoid any possible double charges.
Special Rules: Some companies in certain countries may also have special rules you must follow. We have been told we’d be charged for driving across the border to a country we didn’t list on our itinerary. We’ve been told we’d be charged for driving on any dirt roads with our rental car. Breaking some of these rules can come with fees, so make sure you are aware and read the fine print.
Check your car before driving away!
I can’t stress this one enough. I am often told that this isn’t necessary anymore, but I’ll believe that when I see it. We’ve been hit numerous times with issues pertaining to damage that had been done to the car prior to us renting it. We were once almost charged for a damaged tire when we were given the car that way & had to exchange it in a random town a few days after picking it up. We were also once charged for small scuffs on the bottom of the bumper on a car that we know did not come from us.
Now, we film a video around the whole car, including the roof & underside, prior to driving off the lot. We also take pictures all around the car and make sure to note anything we see before driving away. These little steps take only a few minutes of your time, but can save you major issues later.
Parking
Rental cars provide you so much freedom on a trip! However, one thing that can become stressful when having a rental car is parking, especially in a country with a different language. I always make sure to book accommodation that has parking, which could also be considered another potential hidden cost. Make sure you check with your accommodation about the price of parking with them. On booking.com, you can search easily for accommodation with free parking. Even still, I like to reach out personally to the places I am staying to confirm what the parking situation is. It might say “free parking”, but they might just mean on the street near the hotel. So make sure to confirm what the parking situation is and what you are comfortable with.
Depending on where you are traveling, different towns may have different parking costs and regulations. It is always helpful to check for a lot before heading somewhere and have a parking plan.
Roads & Road Conditions
Another thing that you should be on the look out for when renting a car is what the roads and road conditions are like.
For example, we knew we’d want a vehicle with 4-wheel drive in Costa Rica, as some roads in the country are still dirt and we wouldn’t want to misuse a car that didn’t have this capability.
If you’re driving through twisty mountain roads, you may not want a manual transmission.
If you’re driving on narrow European roads and parking in small, tightener spaces, you may want to rent a smaller vehicle.
If you’re driving on the highway in Germany, you probably want to rent a car that can keep up!
Navigation
There are always plenty of options for navigating the roads in other countries. As previously mentioned, you could rent a car with a navigation system (this can come with a cost).
Google Maps has always worked well for us in other countries and generally given us no issues.
Another app that we love is maps.me. The great thing about maps.me is that you can use it offline. Even if you’re in a remote place or off the grid, if you already have the area downloaded, then the maps will work with surprisingly decent accuracy.
International Driving Requirements
Make sure you check the requirements for driving in whatever country you’re visiting. Many countries require an international drivers license.
If you live in the USA, it is really easy to get one at your local AAA. It costs about $30 and lasts for a year.
Any questions?
As always, if you have any questions or want or need any support, feel free to reach out to me at planformedani@gmail.com or @planformedani on instagram.
We have used rentalcars.com to book cars quite a few times during our travels. I like that you can choose to pay up front, so you don’t have to add the cost to other costs when you’re on the trip.
The link below is an affiliate link. If you book through the link, I may earn a small commission at no cost to you. If you want to support all the work that I put into the blog, this is a great (and free!) way to do it!