Europe car hire.

[Chinnacarey]

I'm looking at renting a car for 4 adults in Europe (we are from Australia) - 2 of us have international licences.
We will be flying into Munich airport on 26/4/2025 and returning the car in Trieste Italy on 1/5/2025.
I think we will need a large SUV as we will have 4 suitcases.
Should I book through a site like Kayak or direct with the rental car company? We have not rented a car in Europe so unsure where to start. We are aware there is a hefty fee to drop off in a different country but doesnt seem a way to avoid that.
Any recommendations, or companies to avoid?

 

[SYD]

You could probably save yourself a shed load by taking trains some of the way and only getting cars when you need them. They’re a PITA when you’re in cities. Silly to pay daily rental plus car park fees!

 

[kookaburra75]

Another vote for the train option. You're going to be travelling through the Alps, and there are many very scenic trains you can take. The Man in Seat 61 website is a good place to look for options. As you only have five days to make the trip, why not do it in style and take it easy. A lot safer too as you don't have to factor in getting over jet lag.

If you are going to drive, depending on where you are going, driving something like an Opel Grandland is a pain. As you can pick up and drop off at the airports in Munich and Trieste that takes out some of the worry. Don't pick a company where you have to find some out of the way location, driving on the wrong side of the road, with three passengers probably offering less than helpful suggestions.

I've rented through Sixt ((NRMA discount), Avis and Hertz over the years without any issues. Again, check where the pick up and drop off points are. Also check out the reviews for those particular locations, as they are franchises and the level of service can vary a lot.

 

[Scarlett]

If it were me:

- where am I spending the most time? Just get a hire car for that place. Or if evenly shared time, maybe get two cars separately and choose a different means to get between the two ‘hubs’, such as a train. I’ve hired a car for a single day when convenient.
- am I going places outside urban areas where I need a hire car? Trains, buses and the like are very useful in most of Europe.
- if I really need a hire car I’ll check a couple of consolidators as I find them to always be cheaper than hiring direct from the major brands.
Auto Europe
Rentalcars
Holiday Autos
Drive Away

I also used these two last Xmas/NY, but not in Europe:
Qeeq
Car Flexi

 

[jase05]

We nearly always get a hire car in Europe for longer trips but although it can be a bit of pain we will often split bookings up and try to minimise or avoid the one way fees. For instance on one trip we were doing a big loop for over a month which we picked up the car at FRA and drove through Germany, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria. We were finishing in Switzerland but the one way fee was huge so we dropped the car back at an agent right on the Swiss/German border and the fees were almost nothing. We then just caught the train back over the border to continue our trip (the Europcar agent even dropped us at the station) I rarely get a car in Switzerland as I find the train system so much better.
We have in the past also gone down the lease route with Peugeot on a long trip and that was fantastic but many years ago so not sure if that is even an option these days.

 

[Happy Dude]

@Chinnacarey I agree with others that the train would be a terrific alternative, but if you go the car option be aware that aggregator bookings can have a strict cut-off time regarding pick up, which may be a PITA for airport pick ups re delayed flights. I learned that the expensive way. Not sure if the same applies to direct bookings in Europe, but it doesn't here in AUS. Based on my experience of a 3 week booking in Italy in summer 2023 using rentalcars.com, aggregator bookings will probably be cheaper.

 

[clifford]

Never had a problem with Hertz in Europe, apart from when they forced an EV onto me at LHR. If you're a corporate/Govt client they will look after you, one way or another (but maybe not initially).

 

[PERLHR]

Just looked at booking a europcar with a so called discount of 15 percent at Glasgow Airport UK via Aussie site. Havingna laugh. Basic price is fine. Even through europcar their zero excess cost is ok. Then they offer additional protection at nearly 200 dollars if the car breaks down ...sorry is the car not their responsibility if it breaks down mechanically?;what nonsense now for car hire .

 

[Cessna 180]

I have looked several times at hiring in one country and delivering in another. The one way fee is usually over 600 Euro. So what I have done is rented for a bit and the delivered in the same country, sometimes at a different destination. Then hopped on a bus or train to cross the border. A couple of times I used RyanAir as well to cross a border.

Booked direct with Avis, Budget and SixT direct, no issues. This is all in The Balkans where the trains are not as advanced as in western Europe

That works for me as a single traveler. If there are four of you and you enjoy driving, perhaps it is worth paying the fee if you wish for that flexibility.

 

[jase05]

sorry is the car not their responsibility if it breaks down mechanically?

Yes, they are responsible for most mechanical issues. The extra cost covers you for roadside assistance such as flat tyres locking keys in car, flat battery due to your own fault etc.
Cat hire fees are a massive scam though.

 

[jase05]

I have looked several times at hiring in one country and delivering in another. The one way fee is usually over 600 Euro. So what I have done is rented for a bit and the delivered in the same country, sometimes at a different destination. Then hopped on a bus or train to cross the border. A couple of times I used RyanAir as well to cross a border.

Yep, our last big road trip we picked up the car at FRA and drove through Germany, Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria and we’re finishing in Zurich. The one way rental fee was exorbitant so we dropped it off on the Swiss/German border at Singen for no extra. The rental agent dropped us off at the train station and we took the short ride to Zurich

 

[Cessna 180]

Out of interest, does anyone know if the hire companies know if you book through an aggregator? For whatever reason I always have booked direct.

Is there any advantage or otherwise apart from price?

Next trip I plan on collecting in DBV, driving through Montenegro and BiH thence delivering to ZAG.

 

[PERLHR]

Out of interest, does anyone know if the hire companies know if you book through an aggregator? For whatever reason I always have booked direct.

Is there any advantage or otherwise apart from price?

Next trip I plan on collecting in DBV, driving through Montenegro and BiH thence delivering to ZAG.

Yes I believe they know who you have actually booked through (finally). Also have you looked at Holiday Autos? Sometimes they do good one ways etc.

Yes, they are responsible for most mechanical issues. The extra cost covers you for roadside assistance such as flat tyres locking keys in car, flat battery due to your own fault etc.
Cat hire fees are a massive scam though.

Yeah they are charging for everything. I've now booked through Sixt. Much more transparent, can take car on ferries in the western islands of Scotland, and good up front costing information with full payment on arrival at Glasgow Airport. Happy with that outcome.

 

[Cessna 180]

Yes I believe they know who you have actually booked through (finally). Also have you looked at Holiday Autos? Sometimes they do good one ways etc.

Yeah they are charging for everything. I've now booked through Sixt. Much more transparent, can take car on ferries in the western islands of Scotland, and good up front costing information with full payment on arrival at Glasgow Airport. Happy with that outcome.

No but I will shortly. I think with SixT if it is the same country they do not seem to bad on one way fees.

I should add that when I used SixtT in Macedonia and Tirana they were particularly helpful both times. The rep met me in Skopje at the start and then dropped me at the bus station in Ohrid at the end.

On return to TIA for the life of me I could not find the bloody entrance to the park! I whats apped the number and a girl answered and guided me in over the phone. In hind sight it was quite a funny experience.

 

[Cossie]

No but I will shortly. I think with SixT if it is the same country they do not seem to bad on one way fees.

I should add that when I used SixtT in Macedonia and Tirana they were particularly helpful both times. The rep met me in Skopje at the start and then dropped me at the bus station in Ohrid at the end.

On return to TIA for the life of me I could not find the bloody entrance to the park! I whats apped the number and a girl answered and guided me in over the phone. In hind sight it was quite a funny experience.

I had a good experiences with Sixt in both Zagreb and Tirana. Although I couldn't take the Zagreb car into Albania, Kosovo or North Macedonia, and I think I had to pay a border fee (?) to go into Serbia and BiH as they aren't in the EU.

Tirana, the airport is undergoing massive changes and as described above the Sixt pickup/drop off point is hard to find. I had to buy a green card for insurance to go into Kosovo and North Macedonia.

I've booked direct throughSixt here as being a member of the NRMA, it's meant to give you a discount.

 

[ayebee]

have rented a number of times in Europe, more recently via rentalcars.com (now owned by booking.com).
You can easily compare many offerings for your dates / needs.

Most recent one was Feb / March 2025, the rental was by Locauto in Milan (central station) w return same place. 26 days ~$2k.
The vehicle was a Ford Focus wagon. Had 44000 on odometer, with a few marks well documented in the check-out doc. We had no problems and return process was very pleasant - I always prefer older "pre-marked" cars.
I take out the full insurance offered as a separate deal by rentalcars.com

I also recommend avoiding cross border returns.

A rental from Sixt (Zurich) did have a problem when they gave Swiss police my driver details incorrectly for a different hire. Rentalcars.com were useful on that occasion being more helpful in finding a suitable Sixt manager to escalate to when I was getting nowhere direct.

 

[Happy Dude]

...sorry is the car not their responsibility if it breaks down mechanically?

According to my recent experience, it might be yours.

Was given a VW T-Roc. Driving down a hill towards Merimbula, the engine just cut out/stopped and a bunch of system warnings came on together with a large red emergency type symbol that covered the main part of the drivers display. I lost quite a lot of speed but thankfully had no-one behind me and managed to roll to the bottom and off the road under hazard lights. Turned off the engine, sat for 5mins. Started it up again and went through the warning messages one by one (eg reset the tyre warning, some driver assist thing etc). The cruise control wouldn't immediately work though but ended up doing so for no apparent reason, a bit later that day.

I reported all this upon drop-off and I received a delightful email with this:



This amounts to "we'll assess it and you're liable for any damage". Nice. I've since received a subsequent email saying that "no extra charges will be applied".

Seeing as though I didn't get a pre-rental condition report (seems to be standard at Hertz Mitchell) and there wouldn't be any info relating to the car's mechanical condition anyway, there's no way that anything would have stuck, but just to be sure, next time I'll keep my mouth shut.

I've said I'd never buy one due to the emissions scandal, but after this, which is also a known issue apparently, and Active Cruise Control issues with a T-Roc in Italy, there's no way I'll touch a VW again. My family needs me alive.

 

[SYD]

I have looked several times at hiring in one country and delivering in another. The one way fee is usually over 600 Euro. So what I have done is rented for a bit and the delivered in the same country, sometimes at a different destination. Then hopped on a bus or train to cross the border. A couple of times I used RyanAir as well to cross a border.

Booked direct with Avis, Budget and SixT direct, no issues. This is all in The Balkans where the trains are not as advanced as in western Europe

That works for me as a single traveler. If there are four of you and you enjoy driving, perhaps it is worth paying the fee if you wish for that flexibility.

I just booked an AVIS oneway TLL to VNO to do a Baltic road trip. Oneway fee was about €200. Hiring for 2 wks was cheaper than breaking the trip in segments!

Out of interest, does anyone know if the hire companies know if you book through an aggregator? For whatever reason I always have booked direct.

Is there any advantage or otherwise apart from price?

Next trip I plan on collecting in DBV, driving through Montenegro and BiH thence delivering to ZAG.

The obvious advantage of booking direct is the potential for an upgrade if you’re a regular renter.

I have AVIS President Circle, so usually at least a two category upgrade. Mind you, that’s not always a good thing in Europe!

 

[Cossie]

I just booked an AVIS oneway TLL to VNO to do a Baltic road trip. Oneway fee was about €200. Hiring for 2 wks was cheaper than breaking the trip in segments!


The obvious advantage of booking direct is the potential for an upgrade if you’re a regular renter.

I have AVIS President Circle, so usually at least a two category upgrade. Mind you, that’s not always a good thing in Europe!

Actually I was given an upgrade in Tirana, thing was I didn't really want it as it was a full size sedan and I wanted a smaller hatch.

They were so busy I think that's all they had left. Next time I'm seriously going to ask for a proper 4x4. Lot's off interesting roads in that country. Sorry, sidetracked!