I don’t recommend renting a car as the sole means of transportation for most travelers. For one or two people, train is cheaper than renting a car. 3 of you may break even between car and train. 4 or more will probably save money with a car. If you’re planning the classic eurovacation of visiting major cities you will be much happier without a car — the train is faster between most cities and there’s at least one train an hour. If you want to explore a remote rural region, rent a car for a day or two — I’ve done this on several occasions and it’s a great way to explore. Parking in a city is a very expensive nightmare, there are toll roads, gasoline costs about 3 times what it does in the US and insurance and taxes will double the advertised rental rate. Driving is a full time job for one person, navigating and spotting is a full time job for another.

That said, it’s easy to rent a car in Europe — either after you’re there or on-line through orbitz, expedia or any of the major car rental sites. Supposedly it’s cheaper if arranged in advance, but I’ve never noticed much difference. You will need your valid home-country driver’s license. An "international driving permit" is also handy — but you’ll still need to have your regular license with you. Don’t buy the permit from an on-line source as it’s significantly cheaper at your local AAA office — bring 2 passport photos.

Thank You very much for the information. What do you think about Bus passes? or rail passes? or would it be easier to just pay for trains individually? Also, What would be a good discount card to get? as in for hostels and such.. i figured you have this much info on the rentals. that perhaps you’d have some input on this situation.

You may want to buy some sort of railpass, but use a combination of railpass, point to point train tickets, point to point bus tickets, a cheap flight or two and maybe even a few days of car rental. Use the cost of the 18 country eurail pass as the total budget for city to city transportation. If you’re going for two months, use the cost of a two month pass as a budget figure — add some if you’re planning on renting a car part of the time. You probably won’t want to buy that pass, however.

Railpass: often makes sense, depending on your trip. If you have a few long trips in Ireland, Benelux, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Scandinavia, some kind of railpass will probably pay. Railpass is about a toss-up (with buying point to point rail tickets)in Italy and Iberia and probably not worth it for Hungary, Romania and Greece (unless you want to take the free ferry between Italy and Greece). Eurail passes are not good in UK or most of Eastern Europe. If you have an itinerary use www.railsaver.com to help you figure out which, if any, railpass is best. Follow the "I have a good idea of my itinerary" route and check "use a railpass ‘only if it saves money.’"

Buspass: I’ve not used the bus much in Western Europe. Bus is usually cheaper but slower and less convenient. There may be 1 or 2 buses a day compared to dozens of trains, or even buses that run every other day. The train station is usually in the center of town and at the hub of all local transportation. Bus station is sometimes right next to the train station and sometimes more remote. Bus may be a better choice than the train in some parts of Eastern Europe and in Ireland.

Remember to look into cheap flights for any trip that’s longer than 5 hours by train. Sometimes flights save both time and money.

OOPS — and I forgot last time. Car rental is not easy (anywhere) if you’re under 25 and it’s next to impossible if you’re under 21.

sixt is who we went with ..but uhave to keep checking offers..they have specials on and off

having freedom is great..parking is crappy …u do get lost but like anywhere u can get directions from locals lol…

i like having all my gear at my disposal..u can dry stuff too…it was nice to get our car after catching cabs and planes in europe…

but as old lady points out its not the cheapest option

I think it depends on where you want to go. My wife an I like to explore small towns in rural areas, go for hikes, etc. For that, having a car is great and you’d never get to a lot of those places using public transport.

Tolls—especially in Spain are very high on the highways. But again, depends on what you want to do.

Check out www.skycars.com. I’ve always had good luck with them, and their rates include tax and CDW (minus a deductible).

Maybe I missed it, But did anyone mention about the cards? as in the discount cards? maybe i missed it. But If anyone could show me some different discount cards? i know this isn’t really the right forum for this.. so i will ask it again in a different forum if i should
thanks guys I will take Old Ladies advice and look at how much a rail pass costs for a month or so. And i will bring slightly more than that so incase i want to rent a car for a couple days. I also really just want to drive on the autobahn and on the wrongside of the road haha. thanks for all the help again.

I just got back from Germany on Monday. My sister and I drove Frankfurt to Munich, to Dresden, to Berlin, Hamburg, Hannover and back to Frankfurt by rental car. It was great!! We had so much freedom to leave cities on our own time.. and stop wherever we wanted. The car wasn’t expensive in my opinion (575$ Canadian for 10 days with unlimited mileage) plus fuel. when that’s split between travellers it’s pretty good if you ask me! We got ours booked through Sears Travel and the company was… Europcar I think? The car was a brand new VolksWagon and it was good to us. Deffinately recommended.

For most first-timers, the goal is to see major cities and, for that, a car isn’t necessary.
Chris has pointed out that a car is great if your interests are villages and hiking, and Zachsleigh has pointed out that sometimes it’s nice to leave on your own time.
It’s difficult or those of us who live in the US to appreciate just how superb the train system is in Europe. Just a day or two ago, I read a story about an Amtrak train that runs roughly from Portland to San Diego—- and was often 6 hours or more late! In Europe, the trains are almost always punctual, fast, and deliver right to the center of the city you’re going to.
I’ve used trains and rented cars in Europe (and liked both) but, in my opinion, the train wins,unless you have special needs.

Hello,

I just made a website about Carrental in Europe. http://autohuur.jouw…, you can also try on http://www.123carren… (mostly full insurance, free cancellation and lowest price guarantee).
Using these sites is cheaper then renting from the USA.
Have a nice trip.
piet meijers