With all the happy aspects of traveling on vacation, there are some activities that are notorious for putting a damper on the fun. Renting a car can definitely be one of them. If you don’t go into the situation prepared, you could come out of a rental office with a car you don’t want, that costs more than you anticipated, and then you also haven’t quite familiarized yourself with the rules of the road in your new, tropical location …

So, if you want to make sure that you don’t have to worry about car rental, prep yourself mentally and physically by finding price comparisons on vehicles, reading up on driving laws, paying attention to insurance details, picking out vehicles that you’re already comfortable driving, and looking for car rental company reviews ahead of time.

Find Price Comparisons Per Day

If cost and budget are up on your vacation priority list, then finding a rental car comparison chart is going to be one of your first steps to keeping on target. Most rental companies will have a website where you can check out what’s available, what they cost, how long you can rent them for, gas mileage statistics, and things like that. The earlier you start looking this information up, the better!

Know Driving Laws Where You’re At

If you’re used to driving on one side of the road, and then you rent a car in a place where you drive on the other side, that can be a bit of an uncomfortable mind muddle. If you are traveling in a country that has different laws of the road, or even cultural differences between typical driving situations, that’s going to be uncomfortable as well. Combine that discomfort with a rental car, and you’ve got a problem. That’s why you should read up on traffic laws far in advance of renting a car somewhere with different driving situations.

Pay Close Attention To Insurance Details

When renting a car on vacation, don’t fudge on the details when it comes to insurance. There is the matter of cost, but there’s also the matter of safety, so pay special attention to the types of rental car insurance you can get when picking up your vehicle.

Don’t Pick Vehicles Out of Your Comfort Zone

It might be tempting to tryi out a type of vehicle that you’ve never driven before when you’re out on vacation. Maybe you want to try a sports car, or a Hummer, or a truck, or anything out of the ordinary. Whereas that might sound like fun, it might be a bit impractical and potentially unsafe as well, so exercise caution with that type of decision, especially in high-traffic cities.

Look for Reviews Ahead of Time

And last but not least, if you want to have the best experience possible when renting a car on vacation, be sure to look at the reviews for the car rental companies before choosing where to rent from. There may be a significant difference in the quality of your trip if you choose a 5 star place over a 1 star one!