Ultimate Car Rental Travel Hacks!

Renting a car & hitting the open road is the ultimate way to experience true travel freedom! Whether your on an Epic Road Trip or just cruising around a tropical island….renting a car takes the stress out of traveling, as you get to avoid public transport, which can be a nightmare in some countries and go anywhere you like! 

How to save money on Car Rental?

Quick Answer use: Economy Bookings

For RV Rental use: RV Share (This is the Airbnb of RV rentals, you can get some incredible deals!)

5 Steps to getting a Great Car Rental Deal?

1. Reserve your Car Rental in Advance.

Reserving your car rental in advance has been proven to reduce your car rental costs. In addition, it gives you a greater a selection of cars to choose from and takes the stress out of turning up at the airport with no car! 

2. Try to return in the same location!

Rental car companies can add huge fees when you try to drop your car of in a different country/state. In Europe, I rented a car in Paris & drove to Budapest (Very far…I admit!)…if i didn’t return it to France I would have been charged $1000! In cities it’s not so bad maybe $20 extra to drop of at downtown instead of the airport. 

Road Trip Savannah Georgia from New York )

3. Take a pictures/video of any damages

When collecting your keys walk around your car with your car rental provider take pictures of any existing damages, I even record a video on my phone just to be safe. I can’t count the number of times various car rental providers have blamed me for existing damages and thus takes hundreds of dollars from my deposit! So protect yourself and you will be fine. 

4. Always return with a Full Tank of Gas

The Majority of car rental companies which charge you an extra “Refuel” + the cost of the gas if it’s not full when you return it. This can be around $100 in total! 

5. Use a Comparison Search Engine

The worst thing you can do is not look at a variety of car rentals companies, to see who can do the best deal for your trip. I personally use one of the three providers below to compare car rentals: 

  1. Economy Bookings – The most cost effective
  2. Auto Europe – For European Car Rental 
  3. Discover Car Hire  –The most extensive car selection

Why we like Economy Bookings?

  • 175,000 Cars in 20,000 locations. 
  • Multi Language Support 
  • They compare prices from a variety of well known car rental brands: Hertz, Alamo, Sixt, enterprise and many more. 

Dive into the Economy Bookings Tool:

Use the Economy Booking comparison tool to compare a vast amount of well known car rental providers! Remember to book in advance to get the best deals. 

Note: I have rented over 80 cars from Various car rental providers in Europe, USA and Asia. Thus with my experience i hope to save you money on your next car rental. All the opinions in this article are my own and there are some affiliate links of which the website receives a very small commission if you make a booking through the link. This helps with the server costs of running the website & providing you so many FREE captivating travel guides. 

Road Trip Inspiration?

If you want some inspiration for your next road trip check out these great articles: 

New York to Miami Road Trip (Map & Itinerary)

Road Trip New York to Miami

New York to Chicago Road Trip (Map & Itinerary)

New York TO Chicago Road Trip

Route 40 Argentinas Infamous Road Trip!

Other Road Trip Favourites: 

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