Car rental in one country ... drop off in another?

It will probably cost you a bundle.

To find out how much, just fiddle with a car rental site. Run it first with a drop-off in the same place (usually the default setting), then go back and run the same scenario with dropping it elsewhere.

Dennis - It is probably more expensive than dropping in the same country, but we find it is usually worth it. Last September we picked up a car in Amsterdam, drove it to Brugges, then thru France and dropped it in Lyon, France. It was something like $500 for 11 days, but well worth it. The key is to work at getting the best price, and not just go with AutoEurope, as most people recommend. Oftentimes it is Hertz or Avis which provide the best rates with the lowest drop fees.

Start with a human at Autoeurope's 1-800 line. They'll explain the drop off charges that may apply. Belgium to Paris may not be too bad. Autoeurope will try to beat other offers you get - including from Hertz or Avis. They're great to work with.

Do you need to drive all the way to Paris? You could drop your car in Belgium and take a train into Paris. Less hassle.

I have paid the drop fee. It will depend on the situation, but here was mine and my thought process.

We picked up a car in Slovenia. We used it specifically to drive the Julian Alps. We wanted to keep it thru the rest of our trip down the coast of Croatia. We could have:

A) got our car. Used it Slovenia. Dropped it in Slovenia and then take a train to Croatia to pick up a different car. and then gone on our way thru Croatia.

B) keep our car and pay $500 in drop off fees.

We chose "B" because with "A" came a lot of down-time plus the train ticket costs. We would have to get to the train station in Slovenia early to catch our train. Pay for two tickets into Croatia. Get off in Zagreb. Get us and our luggage to the nearest car rental office. Spend probably an hour trying to get that all squared away. And by the time we get back into a car and back on the road to our intended destination - we wasted half a day plus paid for two train tickets we would not have otherwise.

So for me personally - the fee was the way I went.

Are you sure the train wouldn't work for you? If it would work then it will sure save on Drop Fees, Petrol, parking, Insurance, and navigation headaches. Paris is not a pleasant place to have a rental car.

There is a drop-off charge, but we have done this a lot. I allows you more time to see things when you don't have to circle back to drop off a car! The other nice thing about driving vs train is that you can stop in little villages/towns along the way that you would not see otherwise! I always feel that you gain a better understanding of the country when you visit off the beaten track/non-touristy places along with the big cities, and a car allows you the freedom to do just that.

We have looked into it several times and the consensus seems to be that the extra drop charge is around 40% of the original base fee (though I'm sure that varies a lot).

For our trip this summer our 2-week rental was $550 in country or $750 cross border.

Since I'm cheap, I'll never do that. Instead, we'll rent an "Austrian" car for our short jaunt to Vienna and drop our "German" car off in Freilassing, the German suburb of Salzburg.

In short, one hour of moderate hassle saves $200. That works for me.

We could have taken the train from Salzburg to Vienna, of course, for about the same cost as the 1-day car rental+gas. But we have some stops to make along the way that would have been impractical by train.

Dennis,

What are you actually trying to do with this car? Tour Begium? Tour France? Do both?

There are probably a bunch of possibilities that might help you, but all anybody is doing is making suppositions and relating past experiences and philosophy.

I appreciate the offers and suggestions. I do believe that Ed's (Pensacola)suggestion makes good sense. I really did not explain the particulars very well. We ( 4 of us ) fly into Brussels and train immediately to Bruges. Two nights there.

Had debated renting a car on day # 3, but realize that paying the drop-off fee would be way too much $$.

Have decided to train directly from Bruges to Lille...one hour. Pick up our rental at the train station ( Flanders ) and head south on the coast. Overnights (2) in Bayeux. Then on up to Paris dropping the car (on arrival) in the late aft...4 nights in Paris. Then fly home.

Thanks again to all. Dennis

Perfect! That's the way to do it.

Yes it's possible and should not necessarily be expensive!

There are some restrictions depending on countries.

Have a look at Auto Europe Car Hire or contact the reservation department on 0800 358 1229