Have you ever thought about renting a car for your trip? Probably, this idea always seemed too complicated and frightening for you. However, car rental is an excellent way to diversify your trip and enjoy unforgettable moments. Here are a few car rental tips that will make your trip more comfortable. Check them out and in order to rent a car without any troubles, greatly improving your travel experience.
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Try to Find the Best Deal
Before starting the journey, it’s very important to spend a little time to consider various options and offers regarding car rental. You need to do this to make sure that you have chosen the best deal. First of all, you should compare the cost of car rental from various service providers, including the largest brands and small agencies. The cost can vary very much depending on the supplier, and most often it depends on demand, so you definitely need to think about booking a car rental in advance. In order to choose the best car rental offer, we recommend to use rentalcars24h.com, which finds all available deals from different car rental companies on the required date, and allows them to be compared. This is a great way to book a car quickly and easily, especially if you decide to travel during peak holiday season.
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Get Prepared For a Trip
When preparing for a trip, car rental is usually placed at the very bottom of your to-do list, as it’s considered to be one of the least important elements. However, just like you cannot board a plane without an appropriate document, you also cannot rent a car if you don’t have specific papers. Some companies require the availability of both driver’s license and accompanying papers, and your vacation can be ruined at the very beginning in case you don’t have all the necessary documents.
Also, you should learn the local traffic regulations so that you can drive confidently during your vacation. It’s very important to prepare the route in advance. Often people are worried only about how to get to the airport and fly to the final destination, but don’t think about what they will do next. So, if you were not at the destination before, it’s very difficult to orient on unfamiliar roads, which will make the beginning of your vacation extremely unpleasant. Regardless of whether you rent a car just for getting from the hotel to the beach, or to complete an unforgettable multi-kilometer journey, you need to plan your route before you rent a car. As a result, your vacation will be successful from the very beginning.
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Read the Small Print of Your Car Rental Contract
(photo by Mark Drouser)
For each smart traveler it’s very important to clearly understand all the terms of the car rental agreement and make sure that the contract doesn’t contain any hidden fees. The contract may look different depending on the country, and sometimes depending on the car rental provider, so you should carefully read it and understand each item before you pick up your car. In most cases, the contracts include all prices and all mandatory costs, but you should pay attention to such additional fees as paying for the additional driver option, child car seats, GPS navigation system use, refueling and young driver surcharge.
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Don’t Forget About Insurance
(photo by AccidentNeed)
One of the most unpleasant moments for a person who rent a car is insurance, as well as an understanding of what is mandatory. Unfortunately, mandatory and optional moments may vary depending on the country, so it’s very important to check out this question very carefully. In most cases, if you rent a car, your contract will include third party insurance. This insurance usually consists of TW (theft waiver) and CDW (collision damage waiver) insurance. If the car rental agency doesn’t provide such option or provides it for an additional price, this fact should be clearly specified in the contract. However, most of all people are surprised by what excesses are applied to such insurance. In many cases, you will need to leave a deposit of several hundred euros. Such insurance can be very expensive in case you get it right on the spot. However, insurance companies offer a variety of policies, which are much cheaper than those that are provided directly in the agencies.
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Check the Fuel Level in the Tank
Many drivers believe that they should return the car with a full tank of fuel, but this is not always the right rule. For example, in Spain, the policy of a ‘full-to-empty tank’ is also very popular, especially if you rent a car for 1 day. This means that you will have to pay for fuel when picking up the car, and some companies have significantly higher prices than those you can find at local gas stations. Moreover, you won’t be refunded for unused fuel. At the same time, such a car rental deal can be much cheaper, and also relieves you of the need to search for refueling before returning to the airport.
Car rental is a great way to explore a new place with maximum pleasure. You can choose the car that suits you best and drive where you want it. Almost in every country there’s a possibility to rent a car, so you definitely need to consider this option to avoid losing time and impressions while using public transport.