Car Hire
Our team of roving staff and reviewers has hired thousands of cars from dozens of suppliers during our 25 years of travel - and we know it can be a messy business. So here are our top tips:
Our favourite car rental broker: Zest
Reasons we like them:
- Their prices include free cancellation (until about 3 days before arrival)
- Better still, they include free excess protection for most damage (except windows, underside & roof)
- You can top up the two items above with a small, fairly-priced fee
- All of which means far less pressure to buy insurance or upgrades on collection
- They almost always pick suppliers using a "full-to-full" fuel policy
- They're the only international car rental company (at the time of writing) with a Trustpilot score of 4.8/5 (most are around 2/5 - 3/5)
- We've used them frequently on our own trips, with great success
- Their support staff seem knowledgeable, friendly and quick to respond (though we've never had a real complaint)
Also recommended: Rhino
Reasons we like them:
- They offer great value, comparing prices from big rental companies and local suppliers alike
- Most suppliers allow you to ‘book now and pay later’ with just a small deposit payable to confirm
- They have a helpful Live Chat facility during the booking process
- Many of our staff have used them for their own holidays since 2016
And 5 quick tips on booking your car rental:
- Check the fuel policy: we think 'full-to-full' is best i.e. you collect it full and return it full.
- Check if the office is 'on site' (within the airport): it's a bore waiting for the minibus to shuttle you to rental offices
- Check the excess amount, and the cost of reducing it: it's usually cheaper to buy a separate annual policy to cover the excess with a company like insurance4carhire
- Check the cost of a child seat (if relevant): it might be cheaper buying a portable booster seat such as the inflatable BubbleBum
- Make sure you have enough data to use Google maps if you're going off the beaten track: car hire companies (surprise surprise) charge over the odds for satnav hire
NOTE: While we've made every effort to select the best fit, we cannot guarantee that every provider will meet your price and service expectations. Delivery of all services is the provider's responsibility and not i-escape's. In some cases, i-escape receives commissions for bookings using the links above, but we regularly evaluate our providers and are happy to hear about your experience. While we take no responsibility for the providers' services, your feedback will assist us in our ongoing assessment.