Car Rental Overseas: To Rent or Not to Rent? pt 1- Advantages

Renting a Car Overseas: To Rent or Not to Rent?

pt 1- Advantages

Renting a car overseas can be a fantastic way to explore a country. Known as ‘car hire’ or ‘hiring a car’ by the Brits, renting a car in foreign countries often has many advantages over using other forms of transportation, much like owning a car at home does.

In this post I discuss the advantages of renting a car, qualifications needed to rent, and things you should check out before plunging in.

In part 2 of this series, I will go over the many serious conditions you really should consider carefully before deciding to rent a car overseas  Please be sure to read this post before you drive overseas!

Without further ado, advantages of renting a car overseas:

waiting for a bus in Penang – Malaysia

1.  Avoid the hassles of public transportation:

Waiting for trains, buses and airplanes; sharing spaces with loads of other people, whom you don’t know; noise; crowded conditions  and in some countries, sharing space with chickens, goats, boxes and crates.

 2. Privacy:

With a rental car you’ve got your very own space. This allows you to set the environment and travel style to suit your tastes- music or none, windows up or down, a/c off or on, smoking or smoke-free, food in the car or not. When using public transportation you generally don’t have a say in any of those matters.

cool rental cars in Bali – Indonesia

3. Freedom:

Along with privacy comes freedom. Freedom to go exactly where you want, along the routes you want, when you want, at the pace you want. Stop as frequently as you want. Travel as long as you want to each day. Choose which way you want to reach your destination. And, as mentioned above, you have the freedom to set the car environment exactly as you please.

charming coastal road in west Lombok, where there’s very little public transportation

 4. Reach places you can’t get by public transportation:

Even in countries with extensive bus and/or train service, public transportation still doesn’t reach every corner of the nation. Many of the best natural places, along with some great historic or cultural spots, you can only reach with your own transportation.

5.  Fun:

Road trips can be fun, exciting and adventurous. If you enjoy driving, renting a car overseas could be your most enjoyable way of exploring a new country.

 Qualifications for renting cars overseas:

driving in Singapore

Of course not every traveler has the choice to rent a car overseas. For one thing, renting a car is usually expensive. In fact, it’s usually the most expensive travel option available. In many countries public transportation is extremely cheap and quite extensive. So budget travelers might not have the financial means to rent a car.

( One possibility for budget travelers, however, is to pool up with other travelers to rent a car and share the expenses. That could work out to cost the same as public transport, per person, and might well be within the budget of backpackers. This is a standard practie in Australia, for instance, where drivers post signs at backpackers and youth hostels, looking for passengers to share costs and the journey experience. With one difference: usually the driver has bought the car, not rented it, and will sell it after the trip. )

Naturally, you must also hold a valid driver’s license. In most countries, travelers must also possess an international driver’s license in order to rent a car and drive legally. Fortunately, an international license is inexpensive and easy to obtain in your home country.

Finally, you need to own a credit card. Without that, rental car agencies are not going to hand over any of their vehicles!

So, in order to rent a car overseas, you need to have a fairly high budget, hold an international driver’s license and have a credit card.

Ready to rent?

highways in Singapore

So you qualify and like the advantages of renting a car to explore new countries?

Before you leap in don’t forget to compare different car hire agencies available in your chosen country. Check prices, terms of use and qualifications. Also check how they handle driving insurance for foreign drivers. Obviously, your own driver’s insurance back home won’t cover you for driving a rental car in a foreign country.

Also, please first carefully consider the potential hazards, unusual driving conditions, traffic and laws that you might face when driving overseas. They might be very different from what you’re used to back home!

I’ll be going over all the potential hurdles you might face overseas in pt 2- Disadvantages and Driving Conditions to Consider

Then… go out an explore!

QUESTIONS: 

Have you ever rented a car overseas? 

If so, how were your experiences? 

Can you think of any more advantages of renting a car overseas? Please share your ideas!

———————————————————————————————–

You might also find the following travel tips useful: 

Budget Traveers’ Guide to Adding Luxury to your Travels

How to Avoid Jet Lag

———————————————————————————————-

You might also enjoy:

TRAVEL TIP- MONEY SAVING TIPS FOR TRAVELING IN MALAYSIA TRAVEL TIPS: GUIDE TO DAY TRIP AROUND CHARMING PENANG ISLAND TRAVEL TIPS: 10 MORE FREE THINGS TO DO IN SINGAPORE (pt 2) My Visitors Guide to the Golden Temple of Amritsar, India