Good music blasting from the speakers, the wind in your hair, your sunglasses on, and your travel buddy next to you… this has to be a road trip!
In our opinion, booking a rental car is the best way to go to travel through a country. It gives you the freedom to explore a new dream location at your own pace and enjoy every moment of it. We tell you everything about how we book rental cars!
Book a rental car
Booking a rental car takes a lot of time. You choose the pick-up and drop-off location, class of the car, insurance, additional options such as the number of drivers, and then, your search for the best price…If you are already dread booking a rental car due to the many options and different providers, I can immediately reassure you. Me too… That's why I always book the rental car on rentalcars.com.
At Rentalcars, you can easily compare all providers, cars, and prices. All terms and conditions are clearly indicated. And you can often cancel or change your booking for free up to 48 hours in advance. Besides, they have customer service in multiple languages in case there are questions or problems along the way or during your booking process. Perfect!
And a good tip is to book in time. Especially at popular destinations, the cheaper options sell out faster and prices rise as the date gets closer. We recommend booking at least 2 weeks in advance.
What do I need to rent a car?
When you're booking a car, all you need is a credit card or some companies accept a debit card.
At the rental counter, you'll need:
- Your reservation number
- Your passport
- The main driver's credit card
- A valid driver's license for every driver. (Check if your US driver's license is valid in your destination)
The size of the rental car
There are different types and sizes of rental cars to choose from. From small cars to SUVs, luxury cars, sports cars, and premium cars. You don't always need an SUV for your rental car unless you plan on going off the main roads or when it is recommended for your destination. But trust me; you wish you had that one option when you need it.
We want to make our fellow Freebirds aware that if you choose a small to medium car, you get a very simple car. That often means no central door locking, no or minimal car alarm, sometimes no rear shelf, or little space in the trunk for your luggage. It is of course a cheaper choice, but unfortunately also more prone to burglary…
Keep in mind that you always choose a car type. The brand and specific type can be different from what is mentioned on the site, these are examples, you get what is available at the moment. Which can sometimes make you very happy and sometimes a bit disappointed.
What rental car insurance do I need?
When renting a car, your own car insurance is not valid! It may be that if you pay with your credit card you automatically have car insurance, read the terms and conditions of your credit card. And otherwise, you can easily choose Collision Damage Coverage with theft protection and Zero Deductible at rentalcars.com. This insurance is not compulsory, but we strongly recommend it. This way you can enjoy your road trip without any worries.
Add options
A fair fuel policy is a full-to-full policy, the car comes with a full tank of fuel when you pick it up and you must refill it completely before returning it. The same to the same fuel policy is also considered fair and means you return the car at the same fuel level as to how you got it. Otherwise, you have to pay a fee which will be more expensive than filling the tank yourself.
All other options such as extra driver and child seat can also easily be added in the last step on Rentalcars. We find it unnecessary to add a GPS as an option because you can download an offline map of your destination with the Maps.me app. This way you can navigate through your phone offline. Besides, we recommend that you also buy a cheap SIM card with a data package, which you can use in case of an emergency or if you need to use Google Maps.
Pick up your rental car
And then it is time to pick up the rental car at the offices from the brand you´ve eventually chosen, like Hertz, or Americas, or Avis, etc etc. Look carefully at which location you need to be, often there is one location at the airport and one in the city center.
During your online reservation, you may have booked everything (see the previous heading), but yet there will always be an attempt to offer you extra insurance or more options so that you are double insured. Which means you will pay more than needed. This is a sales gimmick and has nothing to do with being smart and cautious. The full insurance from rentalcars.com covers everything!
When you thank the seller (at the physical office) for their extra offer/sales gimmick, they will show you your rental car. Together with an employee, you will inspect the car for damage and the fuel level will be noted. Record a video of the car in which you film and appoint the damage and the user traces. If the car check is not provided by the rental company, do this anyway with the employee. Be aware of scratches and dents before driving away with your rental.
Practical road trip tips
>> Avoid driving at night to your new destination. You don't know the road conditions or how safe it is. When we driving to our next spot on our itinerary we make sure we will be arriving before sunset.
>> Travel with a charged and functional phone capable of making calls through a bought data package.
>> When traveling with luggage always keep them out of sight in a closed and covered trunk.
>> First time visiting a new country? Be sure to know a couple of basic words of the local language. When help is needed, people respond way better to someone who can say hello and thanks!
>> Before you book that car,… do you have the correct travel insurance for this destination?
Enjoy your ride Freebird!
More Travel Inspiration: Free Ebook: This is how we book cheap flights!