How to rent a car while travelling

General information for travellers, not legal or insurance advice. Rental terms, licence requirements and insurance rules vary by country and by company - always read the specific agreement you are signing.

Car rental is the part of a trip where the advertised price and the price you pay diverge most. A headline rate of a few units of currency a day is real, and so is the four-hundred-unit charge that can follow it. Almost all of the difference comes down to three things: the excess, the fuel policy, and what happens at drop-off.

Get those right and renting a car is straightforward and often the best way to see a country.

The excess is the whole game

Your rental includes basic damage cover with an excess (called a deductible in the United States) - the amount you pay before the cover starts. It is commonly the equivalent of several hundred to two thousand units of currency, and the company will block that amount on your credit card as a deposit.

At the counter you will be offered "super cover" or "zero excess" to reduce it, typically at a daily rate that can double or triple the cost of the rental. This is where rental companies make their margin, and the pitch is designed to be difficult to refuse when you are tired and holding a queue.

You have three real options:

1. Buy the counter product. Most expensive, simplest. Damage is settled on the spot with no money changing hands.
2. Buy standalone excess insurance from a third party before you travel. Usually a fraction of the counter price, often as an annual policy if you rent more than once a year. The catch: the rental company still blocks the excess on your card and still charges you for damage. You pay first, then claim it back with the paperwork.
3. Rely on a credit card that includes rental cover. Free if you already hold the card. Check the specific terms carefully - many exclude certain countries, vehicle types, rentals over a set number of days, and require you to decline the counter cover and pay the whole rental with that card.

Whichever you choose, decide before you arrive at the desk. The counter is the worst place to make a financial decision.

Fuel policy: only one is acceptable

Full to full is the only policy that does not cost you money. You collect the car full and return it full, paying only for what you used.

Avoid full to empty (sometimes marketed as "pre-purchase fuel"): you buy a tank at the company's price, which is above the pump price, and you get nothing back for what you do not use. Returning a car with a third of a tank left is a straightforward donation.

Keep the receipt from the fuel station nearest the return point. Some companies ask for it as proof, and a refuelling charge is one of the most common disputed items.

Do you need an International Driving Permit?

An IDP is not a licence. It is an official translation of the licence you already hold, issued in your own country before you travel, usually valid for one year. It has no power on its own - you must carry your normal licence with it.

Whether you need one depends entirely on the country you are driving in and the country that issued your licence. Some require it by law, some require it only if your licence is not in the local alphabet, many do not require it at all. Rental companies and police may take different views, and the police view is the one that matters at the roadside.

Check the official guidance of the country you are visiting a few weeks before you go, because an IDP usually cannot be issued from abroad.

What to check before you book

• Total price including all mandatory fees - airport surcharge, road tax, location fee, one-way fee.
• Mileage limits. "Unlimited" is common in Europe and less so elsewhere. A per-kilometre charge on a long road trip adds up fast.
• Additional driver cost. Sometimes free, sometimes a daily charge that exceeds the rental.
• Young or senior driver surcharges. Under 25 and over 70 are frequently penalised.
• Cross-border rules. Many contracts forbid taking the car into a neighbouring country, or require a declared permission and a fee. Ferries are usually forbidden outright.
• Transmission. Manual is the default in much of Europe, automatic in North America. If you can only drive one, book it explicitly.
• Winter equipment. Snow tyres or chains are legally required in some countries in winter, and are almost always an extra.
• Deposit method. Most companies require a credit card in the main driver's name. Debit cards are frequently refused, and this strands people at the counter more than any other single issue.

At pickup: ten minutes that prevent a dispute

Damage disputes are the most common bad experience in car rental, and they are almost entirely preventable.

1. Photograph or film the entire car before you leave the bay - all four sides, the roof, the wheels and alloys, the windscreen, the mirrors, and the interior. Get the timestamp in the shot, or film one continuous walk-around.
2. Photograph the fuel gauge and the odometer.
3. Insist that every existing mark is on the check-out sheet, including scuffed alloys and windscreen chips. If the agent says "that's too small to matter", put it on the sheet anyway.
4. Check that there is a spare wheel or a repair kit, and that the warning triangle and high-visibility vest are present where they are legally required.
5. Check the tyres, including the spare.

At drop-off

Return the car during staffed hours if you possibly can, and get a signed check-in sheet confirming no new damage. Out-of-hours key-drop returns are convenient and shift the entire burden of proof onto you.

Whatever the hour, repeat the walk-around video. Photograph the fuel gauge and odometer again. Then keep everything until the deposit is released and the final charge appears on your statement - that can take two to four weeks.

If a charge appears that you dispute, request photographs and a repair invoice, and raise it with your card issuer if the company will not engage.

Local driving rules worth checking in advance

• Which side of the road. About 35% of the world's population drives on the left, mostly former British territories. In Europe: the UK, Ireland, Malta and Cyprus.
• Urban restricted zones. Italy's ZTL cameras issue fines by post months later; low-emission zones in several European cities need pre-registration.
• Tolls. Some countries use a windscreen vignette that must be bought before you join the motorway; others use electronic tags. Ask the rental company how tolls are billed.
• Alcohol limits, which are lower than many people assume and zero in some countries.
• Headlights on during the day, mandatory in several northern countries.
• What to do after an accident - many countries require you to call the police for any collision, and insurers will refuse claims without a report.

When not to rent at all

A car is a liability in dense historic cities: parking is expensive or impossible, restricted zones are enforced by camera, and public transport is usually better. The efficient pattern is to see the cities on foot and by train, then rent for the days you need the countryside, and return it before the next city.

Renting for two weeks and leaving it parked for eight days is the most common and most expensive mistake in the whole exercise.