Shop around for car rental
Putting your dates, destination and the type of car you want into aggregator sites such as Skyscanner, Carrentals.co.uk and Kayak will give you a broad picture of what local and international companies offer and at what price.
Booking a car at the same time as your flights does not mean you are locked into the same price, provided your agreement has free cancellation. Many providers allow you to cancel up to 48 or 72 hours before you are due to pick up the car, meaning you can continue to shop around for the best prices.
Prices often change and operators will offer discounts if they feel they have too much stock. In one example, an SUV booked in Los Angeles for 20 days in August cost £725 in April. About three weeks later, that was down to £544.
Rental companies will usually require a credit card to take a deposit for any potential damage, so make sure that it is in the driver’s name. SH
Beware the extras
You will typically be provided with some level of insurance when you hire a car but will have to pay an “excess”, or initial amount, which can mount up to thousands of pounds if there is an accident or damage to the car. Car hire companies will often try to sell you insurance to cover these excesses, but it can be extremely expensive so go for a standalone policy instead. These can be bought for one or more trips and the cost depends on where you are travelling to and for how many days.
Annual European excess policies start at about £30. There can be limits on how much can be claimed in a single incident, such as £10,000 on a £32 policy from Leisure Guard.
If the hire deal you’ve chosen specifies that the car must be full of fuel when you return it, be sure to fill it up a few miles from the airport as petrol stations at or near rental drop-off sites often mark up their prices significantly.
Remember your phone is a free alternative to a satnav through apps such as Google Maps and Waze. Child car seats can be taken on a flight for free, so there is usually no need to rent one at your destination if you are prepared to lug yours through the airport. SH
Consider taking your bike
Flying via a low-cost airline to Europe with a bike is relatively easy. You need to pay the typical £45-£65 the airlines charge (£65 for Ryanair, for example) each way, get yourself a large seethrough plastic bag, take off the pedals and turn the handlebars sideways. You’ll need to take the bike to the oversized luggage desk, and allow for plenty of time at the airport.
Most bikes arrive undamaged– but when it goes wrong it can go badly wrong. Getting the airline to pay for any damage it causes will probably be a battle. If you are going long haul, then you will need to box the bike, and face hefty fees that can run to £80-£200.
Is it worth it? Only you can decide whether you want your trusted steed for the trip, but I have done it several times without a problem. By way of price comparison Rent a Bike in the German city of Nuremberg charges €18 (£15) a day or €130 a week for a touring bike rental – about the same charge as it would cost to carry your bike by air. It charges extra for helmets and panniers but you could easily take your own.
Bike hire is particularly popular in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Mallorca, although taking your own bike does have one advantage in that you are free to go anywhere you want and don’t have to return to the hire shop. But bike hire shops tend to be run by nice people, so you don’t get the same sharky behaviour you may find at car hire suppliers. MB
Save on train fares with a pass
The big decision for anyone planning to travel by train in Europe is whether to buy separate tickets for each part of the journey or opt for a rail pass, says Nicky Gardner, a co-author of Europe by Rail: the Definitive Guide. “For all but the shortest trips, a pass will usually reap rewards in terms of savings,” she says. “There are special regional passes offered by national rail operators. In Bavaria, for example, a family of five (two adults plus three children aged under 15) can enjoy unlimited travel for a day for €39 with the Bayern Ticket.”
Interrail offers one-country passes for most of the 33 countries participating in the scheme, and Gardner says these are often the best choice for travellers flying abroad and wanting to explore their holiday destination by train. Passes covering either Switzerland or Austria, for example, start at £124.
“For wider European travels by rail, consider the Interrail global pass,” she says. Global passes covering all 33 countries cost from £182. Passes for a family of four (two adults plus two children under 12), covering seven days travel in a month, cost £656 in total.
However, bear in mind that for some journeys you may have to book a seat and pay a fee: this is typically true of fast train services in France, Italy and Spain.
Gardner recommends Rail Europe for buying tickets. “To avoid booking fees, set the preferred currency to sterling when purchasing on Rail Europe. Above all, book well in advance,” she says. HO
