Hello, I have been having a difficult time trying to get a reasonable rate to rent a car in Greece and drop off in Tallinn, Estomia. We were in western Europe in April and rented a car in France and dropped in Switzerland and wandering among many countries and it was a breeze. Apparantly there are all sorts of restrictions in the eastern part of the continent that prohibit or servely restrict this. Has anyone done something similar or does anyone have a suggestion? One consolidator quoted "around" $4,000 for 2 weeks but said it would be higher due to drop off fees etc. but they would not know how much until we booked. I am sure taking a train is a nice option but we prefer to have the freedom and flexibility to go where we want when we want. Perhaps this is a pipedream? Any input welcome, thanks.
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
Greece and the Balkans are going to be the kickers going in/out of any of those countries. Probably the best you'll be able to do is Bulgaria to Poland, but I'd bet you're still looking at close to a hundred bucks a day. Try kayak.com and start plugging in cities (the major ones first) and see if you can find something that works as you refine it. Get it real clear which countries you plan to transit, Bulgaria and Belarus might be real kickers if you're thinking about the eastern track.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32353 posts
Craig, My advice would be to rent a car in Greece and then drop it there when you're ready to leave. Fly to Tallin (or wherever the next destination is) and then rent another car. Especially for such a short time frame, that's a considerable distance to cover so public transit would be a better option. Taking a rental car that far from the origin point is going to be a very expensive travel method. Keep in mind that it will cost the rental agency to get it back to Greece. Also, the insurance (whether obtained through the rental agency or from another party such as a credit card) may not even cover some of the eastern European countries. Note that for driving in Greece, an International Driver's Permit is compulsory. This is used in conjunction with your home D.L. In my experience, they will probably ask to verify the IDP. Happy travels!
Posted by
OP
Ferndale, Washington, USA
3 posts
Well there certainly doesn't seem to be a reasonably priced option and it looks like one would have to make a pretty convoluted travel plan to pick up and drop off in each country and the expense is still high. I apparantly will have to do a rethink and possibly mix it up between train and car. Saw one site that suggects purchasing a car and selling it when you leave but I imagine that has all sorts of pitfalls and red tape to oversome too. Afterall the idea is to have a good time not spend what little time we have jumping trough hoops.
Posted by
Lakewood, CO, USA
2 posts
Hello Craig, I have been renting and leasing vehicles from France and Germany and if you rend from one country to and drop it off to another country, the fees would definitely increase and the fees is not like here in the US. It's better you take the train to where you are going and rent for the alloweable time you're in there. If you are renting, do not rent dirently from the rental companies such as Avis or Hertz, look for consolidators and just be careful.
Posted by
Sunnyvale, CA, USA
290 posts
I agree with Ken. You only have 2 weeks & you really only have time to focus on Greece & Estonia. Rent a car in Greece for the time you really think you'll need it, do your sight seeing there, drop it at the airport, fly to Estonia, & rent a car there if you need it. Doing it anyother way you would be doing more driving with less sight seeing with such a short time to work with. You may not even need a rental car for the whole time of the trip to these two countries. Just keep in mind that trunk space in more limited than in USA rentals, so smaller or less luggage is better. Which also works out great if you book a low cost airline for between Greece and Estonia, while booking open jaw for the incoming and outgoing flights between USA and Europe.
Posted by
Tilburg, Netherlands
2829 posts
International drop-offs are very expensive in Eastern Europe, and so is, probably getting a car from outside Serbia into Serbia, and same for Bosnia (Ukraine would be even more expensive in case you were planning driving there, and Moldova is pretty much off-limits for rentals form anywhere but Romania and Moldova itself). You would have to organize your trip in blocks, dropping the car in the same country you rented it and going to the next. I'd try to rent and drive locally in the countries southeast of Croatia, then travel by a short plane hop to Croatia, rent there and drive to Estonia, but then backtrack one day to return the car in Poland. You really need to play with different options.
Posted by
OP
Ferndale, Washington, USA
3 posts
I guess we will have to consider using the train and then renting a car in any country we want to explore off the beaten track. I will also have to consider limiting the scope of travel for the 2 weeks we have to spend. Thanks to all for the input. Craig
Posted by
Austin
976 posts
The previous posters are correct. The drop off fee is one thing- but wait till you see the insurance bill-- that will give you one more incentive to consider the train or flying between countries. I've paid more for the insurance than the rental in western Europe, and almost 2/3rds in Prague for a one week rental of a Passat- their full size luxury vehicle, just a level or two below a Mercedes.
Pack light in carryons and soft day bags, cause the truck is going to be small. Interesting juxtaposition of countries.