Car Rental

I have found that the best deals are usually on the internet. Also, the farther out you make a reservation, generally, the lower the price. Reserve the size of car that you will need. Notice I didn't say want. If you have 4 people and 5 suitcases, don't reserve the cheap compact car, hoping that the car company will have overbooked and upgrade you to a midsize for the same price. This can happen, but often does not. Book the size of car you must have and then be pleasantly surprised if you are upgraded to something even bigger. If you want luxury, go ahead and rent luxury.

Also, be aware that some travel sites (such as travelocity.com, etc.) offer cheaper prices if you book the hotel and car rental with them. However, this is not always the case, so check the car rental site and hotel site and see the separate prices and then compare the package price and choose the best deal.

If you are traveling through Europe, and plan to visit England as well as mainland Europe, you might want to rent the car from a mainland nation, unless you don't mind driving a car with the driver's seat on the right-hand side of the car during your entire trip. Also in Europe, you might prefer a mid-size or smaller car because the roads and parking spaces are smaller than here in the US. I don't recommend taking a car into London or Paris unless absolutely necessary. The traffic is heavy, the parking impossible and expensive, and it can take an hour or more just to get out or in the city to main highways.

Rental insurance: See my notes below for more information, but I want to touch on a few points. First let me say I'm all for opting out of the companies insurance coverage, but there are a few things that you might want to consider before doing it. In 2008, many car rental companies have included a "Loss of use" clause in their policy. This means that not only will they bill you for any damage that occurs in an accident, but they will also charge you for the time the car was out of commission and unable to bring in revenue from future rentals. Many companies will not tell you about this clause, so do some asking yourself and read the fine print. Some credit card companies and regular car insurance will not cover this "loss of use expense". This is probably a way for the car rental companies to 'encourage' us to buy their coverage, but whatever the reason, it is something to seriously consider. As always, check what your credit card and car insurance covers before your trip.

Personal Experience: When my husband and I were in Europe for two weeks, we opted out of the insurance. We backed into a french detective while in Paris, and later took a huge rock chip that became a spider while driving up to the English Channel. In hind sight, $300 would have lifted a lot of our subsequent worry and stress. (Our credit card company ended up paying for everything, but it took over 3 months to get reimbursed and was a hassle. This was on top of the added worry for the remainder of the trip while we wondered if we would be reimbursed.)