Glasgow to St Andrews Car travel

Regarding the IDL - you don't need one: "Provided your full licence or international driving permit remains valid, you may drive vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes and with up to eight passenger seats. You will be able to drive for up to 12 months from the date of coming to GB. However, you may only drive large vehicles which have been registered outside GB and which you have driven into the country." (http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/DrivingInGbOnAForeignLicence/DG_4022561) Car hire rates in the UK tend to include some level of 'insurance' such as CDW in the rate but that might not be the case with rates offered to people outside of the UK. This is because coverage for hire cars within personal car insurance or credit cards is unusual.

Thanks very much, very helpful. Re insurance - economyrentals offer includes very good insurance and we need to pay in AUD but I will have to confirm if the insurance excludes foreigners like us.

Hi Raj, I am an American renting a car in the UK next week. I can only tell you our plans---not the outcome. I reserved an Avis automatic transmission car thru AutoEurope.com (a US based company) in May as soon as I bought the flights. We paid for the car at the booking and in US dollars. I used a World MC because according to Capital One it included better damage/theft insurance coverage than my CapOne VISA, and asked MC to send me a "letter of coverage" to take to the pickup counter. The MC insurance will apply only if the name on the rental contract (my spouse) is an authorized card user (he is) on the account (mine), and will also cover any other driver I included on the rental agreement (my adult son). I am going to navigate! I called my US car insurer to inquire if my current coverage includes liability in the UK; it does not. After a little digging online, I found several references that liability is included in UK car rentals by law. I cannot vouch for these sites (I think that I checked Avis.com). I was about to call AutoEurope (AGAIN!) to ask when I realized that my rental voucher states that liability insurance is included in my rental fare. Not even in fine print! Additionally, I must pay for all car rental fees/taxes/last minute costs with the SAME MC or the MC insurance will be invalidated. It seemed as if the automatic cars were in short supply when I reserved 2 months before our trip. If you must have an automatic as we must (my marriage would not survive my spouse driving on left side, shifting with right hand), reserve early!