Driving Overseas

Many people we have talked to have expressed trepidation about renting a car and driving in a foreign country and while there are certainly places where you should NOT drive (India and Vietnam come to mind) in much of the world it is the best way to get around. Honestly, it’s not too scary with a few simple tips. Driving is a great way for groups to get around and is the best way to visit smaller towns and villages in most countries – even in countries with great public transportation.

Driver’s License

There is such a thing as an international driver’s license you can get which is basically just a translation of your home country license. You usually don’t need it. In 40+ years of overseas rental cars we’ve never needed this. A US license works just fine. While it is possible if you are not from the US you could run into problems, I’d just check with your rental car agency. In theory several countries do require one (Greece. Japan) but in reality perhaps not. It’s pretty easy to get at AAA in any case (I have one in my backpack but have never had to use it).

Rental Car Agencies

In the US the big ones are Hertz, Avis, Budget, National, Alamo, Dollar, Thrifty, and Enterprise but in Europe the big ones are not necessarily the same (Sixt, and Europcar are also big). How to choose? We like Kayak.com as they can provide a list with prices, but we have also found that some local suppliers may not be listed and may be better deals. In Iceland for example there are a lot of companies listed that you may never have heard of (Orange? Geysir? – we used Lava). Even if you have had good experience with Hertz in the US for example, Hertz in Europe may not be the same beast (we have had issues with some rentals not others – each franchise is individually operated and the level of consistency is not the same as in the US).  We used to suggest holiday autos but had a problem with a reservation and once again, would have been much better off renting directly through the agency (same as booking flights). We suggest always booking directly with the agency for this reason.

In our itineraries we have listed agencies we researched and found good. But you can also spend a few minutes searching for top rated car rental companies in your country to check. The big multinationals are not always the best – we suggest not being afraid to try a smaller company if they get good reviews. However, be aware smaller companies:

1. Are usually outside of the airport (part of why they are a better deal – expect shuttles).
2. The cars are probably not going to be as new. We think this can be a good thing as minor dings are less likely to be a problem – but if you want new be aware.
3. You may not be able to get the same level of support if you have a problem – in Iceland when we got stuck in volcanic ash on the side of a road once and called to see if the company could help arrange roadside assistance they literally told us to flag down a car with a winch if we saw one. Not sure if a big company would have been any better but still…

If you are picking up in one country and dropping in another expect steep fees. Be sure and CAREFULLY research the price – drop fees of hundreds of euros are possible, many smaller companies won’t even offer that option, and your options in companies will be more limited. If you can find a way to drop the car in the same country, you rented in, it is almost always a lot cheaper. 

When you get your car inspect it carefully and take photos of any dings or scratches and alert the rental agency if you find ANYTHING. Somehow some foreign rental car places seem much more intent on finding minor dings and charging a fortune for repairs. This can include even scrapes on tires. 

Insurance

Collision damage waiver (CDW) insurance is one of the biggest legal scams in the rental car world. It is undoubtedly a convenience – you just walk away if there is any damage (some exceptions depending on the country), but they often charge more than the cost of the car rental (there is something like a 90% mark up on this type of coverage). We never buy CDW from the rental agency if we can avoid it. 

We suggest you use one of the highly rated travel cards and they will often cover the CDW. True,  you will need to pay the damage and then file a claim with your card, but we have found that it works, and they really do take care of the costs eventually. Generally, the card will cover you if you waive other coverage. Be sure and check that the card can serve as primary coverage. Do NOT expect your local country’s car insurance to cover any of the costs – they do in the US for example with US insurance but generally do not cover outside of the US. There are also options if you don’t have a credit card that will provide coverage to buy from third party company, such as Allianz.

You may also find that some of the smaller rental agencies offer insurance coverage for a much more reasonable cost – look into this.  

Finally check with your card about the specific country. In Ireland for example, no cards (that we know of) offer coverage – you will need to pay for coverage through the rental car company while there most likely. 

Driving 

Ok so you decided to give it a go – how is it to drive overseas? The short answer is that is it depends on the country. One of the reasons we love travel is to experience other cultures – and driving is a culture too.

GPS

You can use Google Maps or Waze overseas, but it will cost you for data. Depending on your phone plan you may not want to do that. You can download google or apple maps to work offline but it’s a bit of a hassle (be sure and do it over wifi BEFORE you need it. You may want to consider Maps.me which is a pretty cool free app that easily downloads maps and works offline. There are paid apps such as Sygic, Navmii and IGo that are also offline but Maps.me seems to work fine and is free.  

Manual vs Automatic

For Americans it is interesting that most of Europe still drives manual transmission cars. This is changing somewhat, but still in general if you choose an automatic you will pay higher prices. This has been changing in recent years and while in the past the charge was almost double now it may not be much more – check. If you can drive a manual it will give you more selection and lower prices. If you are coming from Europe to the US, you probably will not even be able to rent a manual and the cost is no different.

Roundabouts

Roundabouts can be intimidating if you are not used to them, but they can be your friend. The rules: yield to traffic within the roundabout. Choose your exit carefully. If you are not sure, make another rotation (or another and another) until you find the right spot. You will almost certainly figure it out eventually – in the meantime enjoy the ride. 

A Sampling of countries:

Germany

We have one word: Autobahn. In most of Europe the speed limit is around 130km (85MPH) on the expressways. In Germany – well there is no limit. Really. 120 MPH is not unusual and it gets faster with big Mercedes and Porsches. Here’s the key: drive fast enough to keep up (usually 130km), and ONLY get in the left lane to pass and DO NOT STAY THERE. Trust us – drive right, pass left and ONLY use the left lane to pass. On the other hand, autobahns are well designed and make getting around the country easy. Highway stops are well marked and convenient. 

Local roads are like local driving anywhere and one nice thing about Germany is that you can usually find parking in the center of towns (follow the Zentrum signs). Also, roads are usually well maintained, well-marked, and wide enough. Parking garages usually require you to pay at a Kiosk before you get your car. Street parking may be free for a while (example 2 hours = 2 stunde) but you may need to display a dashboard clock of when you parked (you can get these at most convenience stores). In general, this is an easy country to drive in, and despite the awesome public transport options driving is still the best way to link a bunch of small towns / rural sights. For city to city transit the trains are still your best bet.

France, Belgium and the Netherlands.  

France has good expressways and smaller roads. In general, it’s similar to Germany – great trains for intercity, better with car for smaller places, but there is an actual speed limit on the expressways – usually 130 KM. We would not hesitate to drive anywhere in France except Paris, where traffic is not pleasant. There is however a giant parking garage under much of downtown. Belgium and the Netherlands are similar and equally easy.

Having just got back from the Netherlands I realize I neglected to mention one key unique feature to driving here to be aware of – bikes. They are everywhere and used far more than cars. There are separate bike lanes everywhere and they have their own traffic signals in many for the cities. For drivers the things to be aware of are 1) generally bicyclists follow the rules of the road, 2) they ALWAYS have the right of way vs cars here and 3) Watch for an ADDITIONAL lane of bike traffic – especially when making a right turn (for example into a garage). It’s not difficult – it just takes some getting used to watching for an additional lane of traffic.

Sweden, Finland, Norway

Similar to France and the Netherlands, although with fewer cities and more rural destinations so cars often make more sense. However Bergen to Oslo has a train trip that is more awesome than the drive and in cities like Stockholm or Helsinki a car is more of a liability than an asset. You can also consider ferries to get around much of Scandinavia.

Switzerland and Austria

Both of these countries are often easiest by car since many of your sights are rural and along winding mountain roads. But the train is good and efficient as well and if you don’t like mountain driving take the train. If you do drive here be aware of two things: 1) the Swiss and Austrians drive really fast on those mountain roads – don’t let it freak you out 2) those not from the alps drive REALLY slow on them generally, you do NOT want to get behind them (check the license plate). You will need a highway pass or any expressway (generally about $15) – check with your rental car agency.

Just having paid a 40CHF fine for accidentally exceeding a local speed limit by 6km (3.6MPH for you Americans out there), be VERY cautious not to speed.

Spain

Driving here is easy. Some routes are better by train (there’s high speed rails between Barcelona, Madrid, Cordoba, and Sevilla) and some are easier by car (the hill towns of the Frontera and getting from Madrid / Toledo to Granada). You could consider a combined train/car trip. We do not hesitate to drive in Spain.

Italy

Driving in Italy is another thing entirely. The northern part of Italy drives a lot like northern Europe but but the time you get down to Rome things really change. We have found a few things hold true in Italian driving (as you head further south) : 1) Road signs (for example stop signs) are treated as more of a suggestion than a rule – be aware 2) Lanes in roads seem to be more of a northern than a southern European thing – it’s more of a free form affair 3) There is basically little to no parking in much of the country. Read a guide book before you hit town and have a plan of where you’re going to park. 4) There are a million people on Vespas who never look. 5) Driving in the countryside is totally different and generally easy. So try and not drive in cities but by all means drive in the countryside. As you can tell this country can be challenging to drive in. It is possible, and we’ve done it (parking included), but for city to city use the train if you can.

Slovenia, Bosnia, and Croatia

Good roads in Slovenia. Croatia has some expressways but not everywhere. Bosnia tends to not be difficult driving but also has no expressways. These countries are really best by car and the driving is not difficult. 

Great Britain (England, Wales, Scotland)

Yes, you CAN drive on the left side of the road. Yes, it is a bit nerve wracking at the start and yes you will walk to the left side of the car for at least a week, but you can do it. Just be aware that if you are used to driving on the right your sense of where the left side of the car is will not be ideal – just pay attention. And when every time you go to turn on the turn signal instead the wipers go on try not to get too frustrated.  Motorways in Britain are good, and roads are usually well maintained. However, do NOT drive in London. Chaos, traffic, cost, confusion – just train to an airport and get a car there. Trust us. 

Iceland

There are 300,000 people in the whole country and 2/3 live in Reykjavik. You need a car outside of the city. But driving is easy. There are no expressways, but we found roads well marked and maintained. Driving here is a joy because it is so full of scenery everywhere. One thing to know however is beyond the (mostly) paved ring road, the roads to the interior are all unpaved and, in some case, “road” is a rather generous description. If it is an F road it means four-wheel drive. Not all four-wheel drive cars are the same. Getting to some places (such as Landmannlaugar) requires fording a river. There are many entertaining you tube videos of people in their small rental “4 x 4’s” washing away down river. Hire a professional / take a tour if you go here. 

Ireland 

In the past this was a challenging place to drive. Not only are you on an unfamiliar side of the road, but many roads were ridiculously narrow – giant tour busses coming from one side and a rock wall on your other. In recent years roads are much better and there are even some expressways and now I would rate this as a great place to explore by car. “A” roads are quite easy and in most cases,  this is a country where you can drive with minimal hassles now.  Ireland is a challenging country without a car as most sights are rural. As we mentioned be sure and get insurance when you rent here as your card will probably not work. 

New Zealand

You cannot really easily see New Zealand without a car, but fortunately it’s an easy place to drive. Yes, they drive on the left, but roads are good and there are far more sheep than cars. Interestingly, like the US, cars are almost all automatics. Be aware that if you drive from the North Island to the South Island most car rental agencies require you to drop in Wellington and re-rent in Picton (an exception was Apex).

United States and Canada

These are giant countries with generally lousy public transit. You’ll need to do at least some driving if getting out of the cities. Despite the long distances speed limits (for Europeans) are mostly pretty slow. But roads are generally good, parking is generally easy, and driving is usually easy. Cars in the US tend to be enormous compared to Europe and may take some getting used to. Be sure and google drive times when planning your trip – it takes 6 hours just to get from San Francisco to Los Angeles and you never even leave the State – 5 days to drive from the west coast to the east coast and 14 hours just to drive across Texas. 

India, Thailand, Vietnam

Do not even try and drive here. It may not be possible and even if it is, don’t. In India lanes are suggestions, animals regularly walk down the middle of roads, and it’s a harrowing experience to sit in a car. In Thailand and Vietnam motorcycles and vespas rule the land and again, lanes are more suggestions. We were sitting at restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City and watched 3 vespas cruise by us: one had the addition of a pig being held around the waist by the back passenger, one had a passenger holding a sheet of glass the size of a door, and one had a refrigerator perched on the back…we would avoid.

South Africa

We just got back from a great trip here and drove ourselves all over. The roads are generally really well maintained and we found driving pretty easy (though yes, they do drive on the left side of the road). Rental cars are easy and relatively affordable. But there are a few interesting nuances – you will see a lot of people walking along the side of the highways (even expressways and sometimes crossing them – be careful). There have also been some problems with GPS programs – if you are headed to a game reserve follow directions from the reserve as the GPS may be wrong. One of my pet peeves with GPS programs (bothe Google maps and Apple maps) is that they may send you on small secondary suburban or rural streets to save a few minutes rather than staying on major roads. This can be a real problem in South Africa as you should NOT be driving in townships. It sounds like the worst of these problems may have been fixed on request of the South African government but be aware. Crime is high in certain areas so exercise appropriate caution, and try and avoid driving at night.

Mexico

We also recently got back from a trip to Mexico where we drove from Mexico City to Oaxaca. It is (like may big cities) probably best to avoid driving in Mexico City if you can. And certain roads and states are not safe – check the US State Department website for where you can and cannot drive – and try and avoid driving after dark. With these cautions we found driving to be pretty easy in Mexico. Drivers were generally pretty courteous and rule abiding. There are a few nuances – most of the main road from Puebla to Oaxaca was one lane in each direction but with really wide shoulders and the multiple trucks almost always pulled into the shoulder to let faster drivers by – this just takes some getting used to. And this is a country absolutely in love with speed bumps (“topes”). They are placed at random, can be huge, and are not always well marked. Be on the lookout.