11 Unique Tips on How to find Budget Car Rental in Europe – Updated 2024
Renting a car in Europe also gives you the opportunity to discover more places and also some hidden gems with difficult access and without public transportation.
We don’t own a car, so we normally rent a car when travelling to certain destinations in Europe. There are some tips and tricks on how to get a budget rental car in Europe, which we learned during our trips.
Rent might seem quite a straightforward and transparent process, especially when you travel frequently. However, there are certain things you should know before renting a car to save money and avoid a big headache at the end of your trip.
This post may contain affiliate links. We earn a small commission if you purchase something through the affiliate link.
Choosing a car rental company– Budget Car Rental in Europe
To rent a car for your holidays provides a lot of freedom and flexibility. You can stop whenever you like, travel at your pace, and change your driving plan anytime.
There are many car rental companies in Europe to choose from. The biggest companies and the most known are Avis, Hertz, Sixt and Europcar.
Apart from these major car rental companies, there are also low-cost or budget car rentals which usually offer cheaper deals, however that does not always mean that they are the best choice.
To make it easy for us, we recommend using AutoEurope. This search engine is a great tool where you can compare the best car rental deals in Europe or wherever you go. Something like Skyscanner when you are looking for the best price for a flight, AutoEurope compares the best rates of all major and budget car rental companies.
Other alternatives could be Rentalscars.com (from the booking.com family) and Kemwel.com, which is very similar to AutoEurope when it comes to finding the best budgets rental cars in Europe
Best Tips for Budget Car Rental – Budget Car Rental in Europe
1. Travel destination
Before you decide to rent a car, the first question will be your travel destination. If you are planning a short trip or weekend escape to big cities like London, Rome, Prague, Amsterdam, etc., we would not recommend renting a car at all. Think wisely about each destination and check if there is good public transport, like in these cities.
Read more about Great Tours in London to discover new activities during your trip.
If you are going to spend one week in Mallorca or Sardinia, which are both islands, we definitely recommend renting a car since public transport is not very reliable.
Renting a car in Sardinia, for example, also gives you extra freedom to discover and explore beautiful beaches which you need to access by car and usually walk to the beach.
We travel to Sardinia every year (Simone was born there) so here you can read more about the BEST BEACHES in Sardinia!
Get your rental car for your next trip, but don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter. So you will have our fantastic travel tag as a gift, enjoy your trip
2. Rent a car in advance– Budget Car Rental in Europe
Make sure you book a car in advance, especially if you travel during the European peak summer season in July and August. We usually search for budget car rental in Europe at least a month in advance (better two or three) to make sure we can find the best deal for our trip.
Most of the major rental car companies offer discounts during the year, so if you plan your trip in advance, you can book your car with a great discount and save some money. Moreover, most likely, there will be higher volumes of cars available for you to rent.
Extra Tip: Sign up to the newsletter of the major car rental companies to make sure you don’t miss any offer.
3. Pick up and Drop off Location– Budget Car Rental in Europe
Most of the major car rental companies offer the possibility to pick up the car at one location and drop it off in another country.
We agree that sometimes it makes sense if, for example, you are traveling through Europe and you would rather not come back to where you rented.
As we are giving you our best tips on budget car rental in Europe, we won’t recommend this option and there is always an extra charge for this service. It can go from 70 EUR to 1000 EUR or more depending on the conditions and fees of the car rental companies.
The best is always to check the car rental website for more specific information in case you want to decide to drop off the car in a different country.
Wherever you go with your rental car, whether on a day trip or for several months, it is best to always take this amazing product with you.
The portable water filter is an essential product for your next road trip, as it is sustainable, useful, and super small, a real joy. Click here for more information!
4. Airport / Train station vs. City – Budget Car Rental in Europe
There are countless discussions about where it is better to pick up a car: at the airport, train station, or in the city center.
Renting a car from the airport or train station offers a lot of flexibility with opening hours, usually open until 11 pm. Additionally, you can find higher volumes of cars available and a convenient location when arriving directly at these transportation hubs.
We tend to choose the most convenient option, not only in terms of money but also for the flexibility it provides, especially when arriving late for dropping off the car.
Now, the discussion revolves around which option is actually cheaper. We conducted a comparison of prices through AutoEurope when searching for a random budget car rental in Sardinia, and to be honest, there was no noticeable price difference between renting from the airport or city center locations.
We suggest comparing both options when searching for a budget car rental in Europe to see if there are any price differences when you change the pick-up location.
Make sure you book the best travel insurance before your trip to enjoy your holidays without problems.
Our tip: When we travel we always make sure to have travel insurance. Our personal recommendation is Truetraveller as they have great support and health coverage around the world. And don’t worry if you forget about it, you can purchase the insurance during your trip!
5. Daily Quotes vs. Weekly Quotes – Budget Car Rental in Europe
The rule is the longer you rent, the less it will cost you per day. When you search for weekly quotes for 7 days of car rental, you might find out that it is cheaper than renting a car for a weekend.
With Weekly Quotes, you most likely get a better car and sometimes even a free upgrade, as the car rental companies want to establish a long-lasting relationship with You, the customer.
6. Crossing Border Fees – Budget Car Rental in Europe
Most of the car rental agreements include extra charge if you drive their cars into certain countries. Driving in the countries of EU is usually covered in the rental fee; however, you can be charged extra if you drive into or between some non-EU countries.
When looking for cheap car hire in Europe, it’s always best to check your policy. It is crucial to know which countries you can drive to with the price/car you have chosen, to make sure you don’t get a big charge at the end of your trip.
This extra cost for driving in another country is tied to your car insurance. When we were going from Spain to France for our ski trip, we had to pay around 70 EUR extra for insurance to be covered outside Spain even though we were within the European community. Remember to check because if you have an accident without insurance, for the rental company it will always be your fault
Our Tip: Wise is a great card when you are travelling to a country with a different currency than yours. We use this online bank during our trips and we never had problems, even in remote places around the world.
7. Credit and Debit card– Budget Car Rental in Europe
For many years, we had no credit cards, so we were always searching for car rental companies that accepted debit cards. To be honest, nowadays, it is almost impossible to rent a car without a credit card; however, there are a few companies that still accept debit cards.
We searched a lot, and we discovered that nowadays there are only a few car rental companies that accept debit cards: AVIS, ENTERPRISE and also HERTZ and GOLDCAR in some countries.
Debit card car rentals are available at Hertz locations in Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Slovakia, mainland Spain, and the UK.
Here is the link to where Goldcar accepts debit cards.
You also have the option to use your debit cards when you decide to rent directly from AutoEurope. More information is available at this link.
Another option is to pay the deposit in cash, but nowadays, this option is no longer available in many countries and cities.
However, be careful, as most of the time, to use a debit card, you will have to pay for the fully covered insurance. Otherwise, you will not be able to rent a car with a debit card at practically all the budget (and non-budget) car rentals in Europe.
8. Car Rental Insurance – Budget Car Rental in Europe
As mentioned above, if you don’t have a credit card, you can still rent a car, but with full-coverage insurance (Super Cover).
As we mostly rented a car with a debit card in the past, we always paid for full-coverage insurance. For example, on one of our road trips, the super cover insurance with the Gold Car Company was around 100 E; this amount of money covered the entire 7-day road trip. It was a practical and convenient option for us, as we didn’t have to check the car when we rented it for any damage or scratches, and just enjoyed the ride the whole time.
Nowadays, most people have a credit card, which gives you more flexibility to rent a car with any company in Europe. If you have a Visa credit card, most of the time it provides collision damage insurance, so you don’t have to pay extra.
It is really your choice if you want to pay extra for car insurance or just leave it to your credit card agreement, which might be more convenient and cheaper for you.
9. Pick up Full & Return Full – Budget Car Rental in Europe
When renting a car, you will probably see three different options:
1) Pick it up full and return it empty.
2) Pick it up with a few lines of petrol and return it the same.
3) Pick it up fully and return it fully.
With the first and second options, you have to constantly monitor the amount of gasoline you have to use for your trip (headache).
This is because when you return the car with more gas than it had, the company will not pay you the difference. So the two options don’t make much sense if you’re looking for budget car rentals in Europe to save money.
We definitely recommend the third option: pick up fully and return fully. This option is always cheaper, as the rental car company doesn’t charge an extra fee for filling your fuel tank when returning the car.
Because if you return the car with an empty tank, the company will charge you to refuel the tank with their gasoline price plus an extra fee, which might be around 20–50 euros extra.
Extra Tip: Before you start driving away, make sure you check the local gas station so you know where you can refuel on the way back.
10. Unlimited Kilometers – Budget Car Rental in Europe
The next thing to watch out for is the condition of “unlimited” or “limited” kilometers.
Every so often, you don’t realize that there is a limit on kilometers per day, so make sure you read the conditions carefully. Renting a car with limited kilometers per day is always cheaper than with unlimited kilometers, so it is easy to make a mistake.
For a longer trip, we always recommend unlimited kilometers, so you don’t have to think about it and can just enjoy the trip.
11. Pay up front – Budget Car Rental in Europe<
When you are renting a car, it is always cheaper to pay for a rental car when you book rather than at the agency counter at the location.
Pay up front only after your travel itinerary is prepared, and make sure you also check the cancellation and modification policy carefully in case something changes before the trip.
Conclusions – Budget Car Rental in Europe<
We hope these 11 tips have helped you plan your European trip in a way that makes you feel safe and affordable. Remember to plan and do research to get the best deal.
Whether you’re on the lookout for budget-friendly rates, discounts, or affordable insurance options, follow these suggestions to save money and make the most of your on-the-road adventure. Safe travels and happy car rental!
Do you have any other tips and tricks for renting a car in Europe? Did we miss anything important?
Don’t hesitate to comment below and give us your tips and tricks on how to get a budget car rental in Europe. We appreciate all your suggestions!
Do you like our blog?
If you want to help this blog stay afloat and move forward, you can use our links to buy something, either at our e-shop www.funfoodtravelgear.com, or with our affiliate partners.
We guarantee that with affiliates you will have the same price as buying normally, and directly on their website, only using our links the companies give us a small commission (it will never be your money).
Thanks for reaching the end of this article, if you are interested in more travel and food tips around the world, every month (more or less) we come out with a new post in Spanish and one in English.
A hug for you, friends, travelers and foodies of Fun Food Travelling.
Last tip: For your excursions by car, we recommend that you bring a foldable backpack with you. A small but great accessory in its use, easy to carry with you, and comfortable to use on your excursions.
Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE and Travel with us!
Continue to read our most POPULAR posts:
[…] If you are coming to Sardinia to visit these amazing murals, we totally recommend renting a car, as public transport is not very reliable. Here are our unique tips on how to rent a car on a budget. […]
[…] Find the best Budget Car Rental in Europe […]
[…] Back to top […]
[…] you don’t have access to a car, there is always a possibility to rent a car and discover more things to do in the Czech […]
[…] Read our Guide with Unique tips on How to get budget car rental. […]
[…] OTP (but be mindful parking in the city centre might be tight). It’s quite easy to pick up a budget car rental in Europe. Alternatively, you can pick up at a city depot such as Avis at the Intercon. Check available car […]
[…] and freedom when going for one or more day trips from Barcelona. Read our 11 unique tips on How to get BUDGET CAR RENTAL in […]