Aspect Car Rental BlogNews and views about car hire and rental world wide.

So Harry Potter has come to Orlando! Finally it’s happened and the park looks as if it’s going to be a winner! But will you need car rental to get the most out of your trip to Orlando?

It depends on whether you want to explore more than The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. After all, Florida has hundreds of miles of beaches, thousands of different attractions and many places of natural interest where you can spot local flora and fauna.

Car rental Florida then is a must if you want to make the most of your Orlando trip, not just for the convenience of getting around but the comfort too! Florida can be humid and if you’re not used to the heat and humidity it can be a bit of a shock, but with an air-conditioned car you can be sure of arriving at your chosen attraction feeling cool and comfortable.

After enjoying the delights of Harry Potter or the many other theme parks in the Orlando area, you can depart in comfort too, arriving back at your home base or going to one of the many fantastic places to eat, where the food is plentiful and the prices very reasonable.

Next you need to decide what sort of car you should hire in Florida and that is dependent on how many you are in the party and your budget. For me, a convertible is what I love to hire whenever I go to Florida, usually a Chrysler Sebring, it’s a proper sized car with a comfortable amount of space for adults in the back, the boot (trunk in the US) has plenty of room for cases and it’s a great way to see the sights!

A word of caution though, if you do decide to rent a convertible, then my advice is to book early, they’re very popular and will sell out more rapidly than others.

To get the best out of your visit to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando Florida book your rental car early and book it with a site you can pre-pay to guarantee both the price and the rental car!

Many US and Canadian drivers coming to UK and Europe for the first time can get quite confused about the insurance offered on their rental car.

In the States and Canada it usual for the rental to be for ‘time and mileage’ only, they would then expect to pay for additional aspects of the insurance, for example CDW (Collision Damage Waiver).

Many of them will be able to use their own insurance policy to cover the CDW and others will have it as part of a credit card deal. so when they get to Europe they expect the same thing to apply here.

This is where the confusion comes in, even if they rent with a US company like Avis or Alamo they will find that US or Canadian insurance policies and credit card policies are not valid in Europe and so they have to pay the extras.

Car rental that is time and mileage only looks very cheap when you go to book, it can however turn out to be far more expensive by the time you’ve bought all the ‘extras’ you need. Nothing is guaranteed to spoil a trip more than finding the budget you set for your car rental is woefully inadequate.

Always check the insurance when you rent a car for your trip to Europe and specifically the difference in price between paying it all up front when you book (usually the best deal) or buying the ‘extras’ at the car rental desk.

If possible you want to get confirmation by email of the rates involved, or at least a name of the person you speak to if you do it by phone.

Are you thinking of coming to the UK and renting a car? Then you need to be aware that compared to most other major European countries, UK roads are not as good! Does this mean you should not rent a car? No, it just means you need to be a little more careful when dring it.

The Road Safety Foundation has said that only about 50% of UK roads reach the top marks of four stars, the overall best roads are the motorways of which 50% receive four stars, the A roads however fall short of this number, with dual carriageways and minor roads getting less stars than that!

So what should you do? After all, renting a car is still the best way of getting around the UK and seeing the country, it’s also probably  the most economic if there are two or more in your party. It is also possibly the most convenient, especially if you want to see more out of the way places in the UK.

The problem for you the driver on UK roads are potholes and the aftermath of the huge number of repairs and/or remains of utility companies digging up roads to repair or install underground pipes etc. So the trick is to be alert, before you set off, make sure you are fully familiar with all controls in your rental car. It’s surprising how distracting it can be to find the windscreen wiper is in a different place than you are used to on your own car.

Keep to the speed limits, you’re more likely to spot a pothole or repair bump or dip if you’re not imitating Jenson Button or Jeremy Clarkson! Besides, if you drive a little slower, you’ll be ale to appreciate the countryside more and have more time to spot a quaint little place to stop and take tea!

Often when people book a car rental they ask about endorsements on their licence, these are penalty points they have on their licence for motoring offenses.

Honesty is always the best policy here, some car rental companies do not worry about endorsements and some do, if you don’t inform the car rental company at the time of booking about any penalty points you may have on your licence you may invalidate your insurance in the case of an accident, regardless of fault.

If you inform the rental desk of your points when you pick up your rental car you may find yourself without a vehicle as the rental clerk can in some cases refuse to let you take the car!

Even though you may read the terms and conditions carefully of the rental company you book your car with, it still is safer for you to notify them and if possible get confirmation in writing that they do not disqualify drivers with penalty points on their licence from renting a car.