Are you looking to travel to a European country? Wanting more freedom than the public transport system offers? Have a desire to experience the road less travelled? Then you should definitely read our complete guide to hiring a car in Europe.
After nearly seven years of travelling without a driving license, having one now has completely changed how we travel. It’s fairly simple and despite the reputation can often be a cheaper option!
You can always take a public bus into the great unknown but we think you’re more likely to discover those hidden gems when you are exploring at your own pace.
Why should I rent a car in Europe?
Most European countries have an extensive public transport system. Together with widely available coach trips you should be able to get around and see most of the main sights without much hassle.
However, if you’re like us and the sense of the wide open road and the freedom that comes with draws you in, then hiring a car is the option for you!
The other reason we always love hiring a car in Europe is that we don’t have to drag our bags around through bus and train stations, we always have a secure place to store our luggage while we are out and about, and our personal favourite, we can travel at our own pace and in any direction we want.
Where do I rent a car from?
So, you’ve decided to hire a car but now you’ve got the annoying dilemma of where to hire from! Europe has a vast number of options for car hire as they differ per country – it can get rather overwhelming.
To make it easier to choose we always use Kayak to see what’s available and that helps influence our decision. Simply put in the dates you need, then the pickup/ drop-off locations and they will show you all the best deals. We have used the search engine to hire cars lots of countries now and will continue to in the future!
For a bit of reference, we have had very positive experiences with Sixt in Norway and Ireland and Enterprise in Spain.
Car Hire Insurance Tips
One of the scariest things I didn’t really understand when we started hiring cars was insurance. I didn’t know if I should take the full cover (which always hiked the price up) or if there was an alternative. After hours of Googling, I found the answer – Car Hire Excess Insurance.
In Europe, CDW (Collision Damage Waiver) or LDW (Loss Damage Waiver) is usually included in the price. This basically means you are liable for any damage to the car up to the value of the excess amount. Usually, the basic level of cover would have an excess of about £1000-£3000.
Now you can reduce this heavily by taking on the higher CDW/LDW cover and in some cases reduce the excess to zero. However, this can increase your car hire premiums by about £10-30 a day! If you are hiring for an extended period, this can soon add up.
What I discovered when we hired our first ever car was Car Hire Excess Insurance. This meant I could keep the basic level of CDW and if anything went wrong and I needed to pay the excess in an accident then I would be reimbursed by the insurance company.
It was £40 for two weeks and saved me a huge amount compared to an extra £20 a day! The other advantage of Car Hire Excess Insurance was that if you get the right cover you are covered for stuff like windscreens, tyres, etc. which aren’t included with CDW.
Cost for renting cars in Europe
Cost of car hire depends on various factors: country, area, pick up and drop off point, season to name just a few. However, you’ll find that in most European countries it’s quite reasonable and, what we found was that it was usually comparable with getting public transport around the country.
Depending on the time of year the price will fluctuate but on average we would be expecting £50-70 a day for car hire in Europe. However we have had car hire for as low as £30 a day so it just depends on if you can get a deal or not.
Things to keep in mind when it comes to price:
- 25 and under? You will be charged a lot more or even declined service! Most companies will add on a ‘Young Driver Surcharge’ to your rental agreement. This is very common and practically unavoidable.
- Returning your car at a different location to where you picked it up? You will be charged a one-way fee (it will be included in your initial price).
- A thought to keep in mind is that usually automatic cars are more expensive to hire in Europe as manual cars are much more common. If you’re able to drive a manual then we suggest booking that over an automatic.
- Another cost that could impact your choice is whether your car is a diesel or petrol. Typically, petrol is the cheaper option however with current conditions it’s a very close call!
- In UK we have barely any toll roads, whereas continental Europe has lots! You will be responsible for any tolls that you encounter whether that be paying by cash/card at the actual toll or, like we did in Norway, the toll prices were automatically taken off our deposit that we left when we picked up the car.
Final Tips
- When you go to pick up your car, make sure you’ve read the fine print on exactly what you’ll need to make it as seamless as possible. This could include your driver’s license, credit card, international driver’s license, and if you’re British you might need your DVLA check code.
- A lot (if not the majority) of car rentals require the booking to be made and paid using a credit card in the driver’s name. If you don’t have a credit card already then we suggest getting one purely for renting cars – it will make the process so much simpler.
- Check when you are choosing a hire car what the rules are on crossing the borders of countries. In Europe it’s fairly simple to cross borders due to the Schengen Area but you should definitely check that it’s okay with your hire company otherwise they might fine you.
- Check what side of the road you are going to be driving on! I always have to spend the first day when we drive in Europe reminding myself to be on the other side of the road as we drive on the left in the UK and Ireland. Most companies have reminders/stickers in the cars to support but it’s good for you to know ahead of time.
- And finally, our number one tip when hiring a car is to take pictures and videos of it from all angles when you pick it up and also before you hand the keys over. This was told to us by so many people before we hired our first car and it just keeps you safe if anything shows up/ happens to it between you dropping it off and the company inspecting it.
So the only thing left is for you to go out and hire a car! Feel free to leave any of your positive (or not so positive) experiences and any of your own personal tips in the comments, we can all learn from each other!
Happy Hiring!
