Preparation seems to take forever!

In our prior travels to other parts of the world we have never rented a car. This summer's trip to Europe will include driving in Northern Europe for about 10 days or so. Research on car rentals seemed to take more time than it should. We will spend a week in London with our daughter, Melanie. We will then take the Eurostar to Lille, France. The car was rented here. The cost is almost 100 € less to rent in Lille than in Brussels, Belgium. It is also cheaper to rent in areas away from airports and train stations. However, this rental was not worth the savings to rent away from the train depot. The savings was minimal. Don't over look trying to use discounts like an AARP membership. This affiliation saved 10% on the rental, about 30€, $50. That's quite a bit of savings.

Insurance on cars in Europe is very interesting. Liability insurance is covered. If you damage someone else's property the liability insurance is purchased as part of the rental charges. However, collision damage and theft are not covered. The cost of this insurance may cost as much as the rental of the vehicle itself. Maybe an example would help. Renting from Auto Europe gets you a small car from about $285, include theft and collision insurance and the cost rises to $482. There are alternatives.

In the USA the collision and theft from your own vehicle at home will usually extend to your rental car. Be sure to check with your insurance company. The coverage does not usually extend outside of the country, again you should check on this. I went with an insurance offered by American Express. If you have an AMEX card you can enroll in a service that gives you up to $100,000 collision insurance as well as theft of the vehicle and contents. The contents theft limits are less than the collision but still included. Also included are medical payment and AD&D insurance. The cost of this package is $25 per rental. Charge the car on your AMEX and the insurance is automatically charged to your card and you are covered. I'm sure there are other options available but from my research this seemed the most comprehensive for the cost.

Another tip when you are shopping for a car rental, be sure when you compare costs that the currencies are the same. I was searching and used a site from the UK once and the costs were in £ and obviously looked less than one quoted in € and much less than one quoted in $. Be sure you pay attention to currency units.

While talking about currency, generally you are better off to pay cash. Get you cash at ATMs. Be sure to contact your bank and let them know you will be using your ATM card in Europe. Be careful at the ATMs. There are unscrupulous people all over the world who will try to steal you ATM card and make extraordinary efforts to get you pin as well. Be careful, pay attention to your surroundings and you will be just fine. My credit union charges 1% exchange fee on the transaction. Generally the credit card companies charge 3%. If you are spending a lot of money that 2% difference can really add up. You can get US credit cards with the smart chips in them to use in Europe. Be sure to get a pin number from your credit card company.