How to Travel the World by Car

TRAVEL THE WORLD BY AUTOMOBILE

Some of my best memories of travel have come from road trips. One of those special trips was back in 2011 when my wife and I took a 40-day road trip from Alberta, Canada all the way down the coast to San Diego, California, and back up through the deserts of Nevada, the red landscapes of Utah and the gushing geysers of Yellowstone National Park. It was absolutely incredible. We had the freedom to go wherever we wanted to and we could change our plans on a whim. Below are some tips for renting cars.

Best Apps and Websites for Traveling by Car

Hotwire

(www.hotwire.com)

I’ve used Hotwire many times when renting a car and have always found it to be a great option. The site compares rental prices from a variety of sites and most of the times I’ve used it, it sent me to another site such as CarRentals.com, which you can use as well. It always pays to compare. Typically, you can just reserve the rental without upfront payment. There is also an option for blind-booking a car rental.

CarRentals.com

(www.carrentals.com)

As mentioned above, even though I use Hotwire for its search engine, I usually end up making the reservation through CarRentals.com due to its low prices.

DiscoverCars.com

Another great website for renting a car is Discovercars.com. These types of websites are the best way to ensure you’re getting the best price.

Priceline

(www.priceline.com)

Priceline is very similar to Hotwire, although you can also use the site to bid on a car. By using the Name-Your-Own-Price function, you can bid any amount you like with the chance of it being accepted. By using this function however, you won’t be able to choose the agency. Instead, you give the location and the type of car and then you name your price. If accepted, you will be automatically charged in full and given the rental agency that accepted your bid. No refunds.

Kayak

(www.kayak.com)

Kayak is a great search engine for car rentals as it compares the prices from a variety of sites to find you the best deal.

BlaBlaCar 

(www.blablacar.com)

This site is amazing and incredibly popular in Europe. Actually, it’s only available in Europe and Mexico as far as I know. Basically, people who are already driving to a destination will let you join them for a fee! You can search the driver just like Airbnb and see how people rate them. It’s really cool! My wife and I almost joined a car going from Amsterdam to Paris but changed our plans and went to Berlin last minute. Can’t wait to try it though! What a great idea…

Pro Tip: Before renting a car, check if your credit card offers comprehensive car insurance. Many credit cards include car rental insurance, which will save you a lot of money compared to what rental companies offer. It’s always a good idea to call your credit card company first and ask them what you need to do. For example, you must decline the car rental insurance offered by the rental car company in order for the credit card insurance to take effect. You must also pay for the rental car in full with the credit card. This is important because credit card car insurance is much better than what the agency can offer you.

 

We hope this article has helped inspire you to do a road trip!

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Do you have any other tips for traveling the world by car? Let us know in the comments!