Transportation

No, but financially it would make a lot sense. Where do you plan to drop the car? It can be expensive to drop in another country. If you don't, you have the extra expense of getting the car to and from the British Isles. That is not cheap.

You say you are renting car in Amsterdam,are you planning to drive into the city itself? No need to do that, I assume you are renting when you get there to drive in the country, right? Would check on price to rent in one country and drop off in another. Would definitely not plan on using the same car for European countries and the UK, in my opinion.

Thank you, Roberto. Your post is very helpful.

Thank you, Frank and Gail, for responding to my question. My concern is not with the cost of drop-off fees, as we will be returning to the mainland to drop the rental car off. However, can a left hand steering car be driven on the roads in England? Seems like it would be very dangerous (and weird). However, if it is commonly done, I would prefer to not have to go through the hassle of renting a car more often than necessary. Anyone else have a take on this??

You can drive the same car in the UK, even if it has the steering wheel on the left side instead on the right as they are in the UK. It will feel awkward, though, especially when trying to overtake a vehicle on a two lane highway, because it will be hard to see if any cars are coming from the opposite direction. You'll have to rely on your passenger to tell you sometimes. Personally I feel awkward also driving with the steering wheel on the right side, because I'm not used to that either (you'll find yourself activating often the windshield wipers instead of the blinkers). You really have to be focused on what you are doing, especially when you turn at intersections, because the tendency will be to turn into the wrong direction of traffic, if you aren't careful. Also get acquainted with roundabouts (I'm sure there are some in Denver) if you aren't already. The European Union has encouraged (and financed) the replacement of most traffic lights with roundabouts all over Europe, including the mainland.

Have you considered dropping the car off back in Amsterdam and taking a budget air carrier over to the U.K.? I have driven a right hand car all over Europe, and just find it easier to drive an English car when in there. There are also many other cities you can fly into other than London.

I drive my right hand drive car in Europe frequently, and have driven as far a southern Italy. It takes quite a bit of getting used to, and the car shops sell all sorts of extra mirrors so you can see the edges of the car and blind spots but after 15 years of doing it I don't use them any more. The problems of driving with the wheel on the wrong side in the UK are the very narrow lanes, the roundabouts that you will have to look all the way across the car to see clearly, the merging into dual carriageways and mororways with blind spots because your visibility is obstructed, and the tendency not to position your car correctly in the lane. All these can be overcome, but do you want to do all that while getting used to driving on the other side of the road, too? There is also the question of what I call "dynamic allocation of road width" where you have to pass a vehicle, often large, on a very narrow road and being hand to hand with the other driver helps with the paper thin spaces; often this is while passing parked cars which are half up on the sidewalk or verge. Again, it can be overcome, and practice makes perfect. Do you want the hassle?