American renting a car in Europe - what's different compared to domestic rentals?

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Especially with larger companies, you should have no issues at all.
I had several dozen rentals all across Europe (with US Drivers License, and nobody ever wanted to see a passport); never any questions or issues. The worst to expect is a funny accent, but they are all used to handling many US visitors every day.

You need to make sure that you know which insurances you need, as other countries have other rules (in the US, a Driver is insured, in Europe, often the car is insured, not the driver). Check upfront if your credit card covers comprehensible insurance, or if your US insurance covers you in the rental car. They do try to upsell, but if you give the impression that you know what you want, they are not annoying at all.

Note also that small rental car damages are seen quite different in Europe - any little scratch that National or Enterprise or Hertz would ignore in the US may result in three or four digits repair bills.

Upvote:2

Several years back I rented through Hertz to drive from Faro to and around the Algarve in Portugal.
I booked the rental car (manual transmission) locally in Boston and purchased a International Drivers License from AAA (15-20.00 USD) just to cover any potential veracity or legal challenges using my US issued Drivers License. In addition to upgrading the rental coverage on my travel insurance.

If your first time driving in the EU. Perhaps you might find the link below helpful.

As an aside don't make the mistake I did. Before you drive out of the destination airport. Ask about hours and locations for refueling your rental along the route(s) you have planned.
Safe travels! http://traveltips.usatoday.com/driving-instructions-europe-27544.html

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