Rental cars

[diople1]

Hi guys

i know there has been a few post about rental cars already, i have read through most of them, but didn't find all the information i needed.
i plan to start off a trip in London in august and spend the next 20 days traveling the rest of the European country's, then returning to London to fly back home.(Canada) now what i am wondering is, would renting a car be any cheaper than a rail pass. is the excessive charges for mileage, or for taking the cars out of the country. how hard is it to obtain an international drivers permit. does it need to be renewed at each country. what happens to be the price of fuel in Europe now. I'm also curious about how much it would cost to rent for 20 days, as well if anyone has any links to sites that may be useful.

i know I'm asking a lot. but any input is greatly appreciated.

thanks.

[LHR02]

What is your age? For the most part you need to be 25 or 26 in order to rent a car in Europe. If you are younger than that, even if you happen to find a company that will rent to you I fear the costs will be highly prohibitive.

[diople1]

I'm 26, so i don't believe age will be a problem.

[LHR02]

Oh...okay...your profile says you were born in '86....that's why I asked.

You really don't have to have an international permit.....your valid country one will do. The advantage of the international one is that it is readily accepted and recognizeable most places. You can get them at AAA if in the US...no test, nothing needed but a valid state license and a passport photo. However, it has been my experience that that alone is not enough...they still want to see a valid state one when renting.

Cars and gas are expensive in Europe. In my experience it is really no bargain at all, especially if there are only one or two of you. With a 'fuller' car to share the costs it can be a reasonable option.

I rented a car this last trip in Portugal.....the problem I found was that trying to keep a close watch on the road, watch for signs, check the map.....I had no time to see what I was driving by.

It depends on how many of you there are, what your budget is, and what you want to see. Often times budget flights are way cheaper than the trains....rarely, imho, is a rental the best financial option though if 'budget' is what you need.

ging

[me]

getting to car from UK across the channel & back would be a big expense. you'd also have a car with the wheel on the wrong side, UK drives on the left, much of the other parts drive on the right.

Ginger is absolutely correct about the price for one being way out of proportion to public transport. if money is the issue, you'd probably need at least 3 people to break even on a car rental. and fuel prices are notoriously high in Europe.

the only economic justification, in my mind, for a low budget traveler renting a car is if he/she wants to visit small towns with poor public transport options.

but, these are general parameters. if you really want to know about your case, you'd need to do the research on prices. www.railsaver.com is a good place to get info about rail pass prices. BUT don't buy the pass there, there's a link on guideforeurope.com to a place where you can buy passes. if you buy it here, the site gets credit. and the prices are the same everywhere, contractual obligation.

[Eagle]

diople1, to add to what the others have posted, IMO you're probably better off with public transportation. You'll need to analyze things carefully though, to determine whether having a Car is a better option.

As Ging mentioned, the International Driver's "Permit" is available at any AAA / CAA office for about $15.00 or so, plus the cost of two Passport photos. One thing to stress is that this is NOT a license per se, but MUST be accompanied by your normal valid Driver's license. What the IDP provides is a translation of your license status in several languages, which might help if you get "pulled over". Information on road signs is also provided. These are usuallly valid for a period of one year.

Renting a car in England and taking it to the continent is probably NOT going to be cost effective (also, having the wheel on the "other" side could be awkward). A few other potential problems are the Collision Damage Waiver or other insurance, which can be expensive; having a car in cities is NOT a good idea as parking can be very expensive, and also the rental stickers on the car are a beacon for vandals and thieves; finally, if you intend on using the Freeways especially in France or Italy, be prepared to PAY as these are toll roads and are not cheap. You'll be dealing with signs and traffic regulations that you're not familiar with, and if you do attract the attention of law enforcement, you might not even be able to communicate?

I've also thought about renting a car rather than using trains or whatever on the continent, but decided against it except for "special circumstances". I will definitely rent again in England though (except for London!) as I found it allowed me to get to some "out of the way" places that I wouldn't otherwise have been able to see.

Good luck with your decision!!!

[commie]

you shouldnt rent a car in uk and then explore europe by car. keep in mind that you pay 2-3x as much for petrol, they drive on the other side of the road in england and you probably spend 1/2 day in big citys finding a place to park your car, then you give up, park somewhere outside and walk 4km back into the city. better travel by train or plane and then rent a bike or car in each city. maybe you can get a discount card if you always use the same car rental company (sixt, budget, europcar), i think some of them may give you some frequent flyer miles afaik....

[herrbert]

If it is of any help the petrol prices at the moment:

1,10 euro for Diesel, and 1,40 per liter for Euro95. (in Eastern Europe, you can fill up cheaper 0,90/1,00), but compared to the States, it still a lot higher).

I think renting a car is only of any use, if you want to go places nobody goes, but if you want to do the normal route (big cities), it is not worthwhile. Also finding a parking spot will not always be easy if you come to a city as a stranger.