Renting a Car for Your Next Road Trip? Read This First

Photo Devon Janse Van-Rensburg / Unsplash

If you’re thinking of hiring a car for a road trip abroad then check out our guide.

There's no better way to really see, feel and experience a destination than with your own transport, especially a rented car or modern, fully-equipped campervan. You can set out on an exhilarating road trip and truly savour the scenery at your own pace as you head towards your final destination.

If you need inspiration for a route then just click our Browse by Country page and you’ll find hundreds of examples of road trips from Australia to America and beyond.

Car rental is certainly a cost-effective way of exploring destinations that you might never have visited before, and one lesser-known but very convenient advantage of hiring a vehicle is being able to pick it up in one place (ie Los Angeles) and drop it off somewhere else (such as San Francisco, for instance) by means of a One-way Car Hire, which is subject to an additional fee but offers the independent traveller even more freedom.
 
If you're planning such an adventure and need an affordable vehicle for the full duration of your trip, there are some excellent car hire websites available, chief amongst them Auto Europe, one of the industry's leading vehicle rental companies. Celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, Auto Europe's state-of-the-art booking engine can always find you the right car at the lowest rate wherever you're going and at any time of the year.

From small, manoeuvrable cars ideal for city sightseeing to larger, more powerful vehicles designed for extended road-trips anywhere in the world, Auto Europe offers over 24,000 convenient pick-up and drop-off locations in more than 180 global destinations.

Companies like Auto Europe also give you the chance to add a variety of extras like GPS navigational devices and child seats and there are regular promotions throughout the year to save you even more cash with free additional drivers, complementary upgrades and other great car hire bargains available.

You can quickly and easily add a car protection to your booking with very affordable policies that fully safeguard drivers against any kind of eventuality that might occur during their journey, including accidents and breakdowns.

Another key aspect to remember when hiring a car is the requirement of a credit card (always in the driver’s name), which is stipulated by most vehicle suppliers around the world because they need to place a hold or deposit for the duration of the rental period, the amount of which is promptly released once the car has been returned undamaged.

And if you are a younger or older driver (let’s say in your early twenties or late seventies, for example) then please bear in mind that you may be subject to a Young Driver or Senior Driver Surcharge, which is usually paid to the local supplier when you arrive to collect your vehicle.

When picking up and dropping off your vehicle make sure to check it over thoroughly before signing it off with the local car hire company. Take as many photos and videos as you can as a precaution against any wrongful accusations after the rental period has finished.

Have a great trip!

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