We’ve been getting comments on the blog recently about renting across country borders: do we allow it, how much does it cost, can I rent one way? Well in the UK we do allow our rental cars to be taken over to continental Europe. However, if you are planning to take the car there you will be required to take out our Continental Cover. This costs from £88.12 on top of the rental price although it does increase with the length of rental. Unfortunately, you cannot book this type of cover online so, if you are planning to take the car abroad you will need to notify the rental office at least 48 hours in advance so they can prepare the paperwork for you. The telephone number for the rental office will be on your email confirmation.
One thing I would discourage is picking up the car in the UK and leaving it abroad. Each individual country ‘owns’ their own fleet and for accounting reasons our cars need to be back in the country they are picked up in. One way rentals from the UK to Europe mean that not only do we have to pay for them to be transported back but there is also extra admin involved and it can result in a lot of lost revenue. This makes them very expensive for us and for this reason we have very expensive charges in place for these kind of rentals!
January 14th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
I am planning to take the family to bergerac in august (20th) for 7 days. there will be five adults and a small dog. would appreciate advice on type of vehicle to hire + costs. Also any advice on route, time etc
January 16th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Hi Ray, if you planning to rent a car from one of our locations in France then I would suggest that one of our people carrier range would most suit your requirements, perhaps the large people carrier such as the Renault Espace. However, it is difficult to make a proper recommendation without full details of your rental requirements. If you could email me at comments@avis.co.uk with your telephone number then I can ask someone from our reservation centre to call and discuss this with you.
Rob
February 21st, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Hi Rob, I have in fact gone for the espace from birmingham, however I have just been reading some not very favourable reviews about its reliability and difficulties in getting serviced. As I am planning a long drive this worries me. Can you advise and will the dealership remove the two rear seats (we only need five seats and will not now be taking the dog) for extra luggage space.
February 22nd, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Hi Ray,
Just thought I would throw in my two-pence worth…
Hired an Espace for 2 weeks in France last year.
Drove hundreds of miles with it, and it was one of the most comfortable cars to do this in.
Even if there are some reliability problems, I hardly think its worth worrying about if you are hiring the car for one week.
It’s not like you are buying it…
We asked Avis at NCE airport if they could remove the rear seats but they said it was a problem, so we ended up doing it ourselves but leaving the folded in the car…
There were 4 of us, but if you are 5 people I would highly recommend using at least one of the rear seats, that way you will all be very comfortable
Bottom line is, go for it, it’s a great car for 5 people on a long journey.
Enjoy!
February 22nd, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Hi Ray, further to Robert’s comments I agree on the Espace. As a rental car we’ve never had any real problems and it is worth noting that all our cars are less than 6 months old.
I would also be careful about the seats. It is not something we would encourage in case anything got damaged or, worst still, the seats removed got stolen.
I hope this helps!
Rob
March 24th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
hi my friend and i are planning to drive from amsterdam to norway via berlin,hamburg,copenhagen and then finish in oslo(norway) i was just wondering if we can do this or if we’d have to bring the car back to amsterdam?
March 31st, 2008 at 11:35 am
Hi Phil, I have spoken to our reservation team and this is possible but the service is quite costly at €750/£586. This is because the vehicle will need to be transported back to the Netherlands.
The alternative is, as you suggest, is to return the car back to Amsterdam.
I hope this helps but let me know if you have any other questions.
Rob
April 4th, 2008 at 5:37 am
I would like to visit England and France. I will pick up the car @ LHR Airport for 3 weeks rental.
I will visit to France only 1 week.
Do I have to pay the special insurance (CONTINENTAL COVER) for 3 weekes? or just 1 week?
Thank you.
JURI
April 7th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Hi Juri, you’ll only need to pay for the one week of Continental Cover.
Have a great trip.
Rob
April 27th, 2008 at 5:06 am
Hello.
I’m planning on picking up a car from LHR and driving through parts of Europe and Ireland.
I’d like to make a suggestion for your website to make life easier for customers.
You should display the option of selecting special insurance for driving abroad. If the insurance varies on the country/ies the car will be taken to, again these should be selectable by the customer from the website in order for Avis to calculate the costs.
The advantages to this approach are:
1. A customer will know the exact cost of the rental upfront for the duration selected.
2. There is no waiting for paperwork collection from the Avis desk on a Preferred rental.
I hope Avis give this suggestion some thought!
Kind regards
Aman
April 28th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Hi Aman, great suggestion and one I am completely in agreement with. I will pass your feedback on to my colleague who will scope this out as a possibility for future development.
Rob
May 15th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Hello, I am looking at hiring a car to go to France at the end of June for 2 weeks + 3 days. On average how much is the continental cover and do I still need breakdown cover or is it included.
May 19th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Hi Sally, the total price of Continental Cover for 8-14 days is £111.63 and for 15-21 days is £135.13. When you book your quote should also include the Vehicle Damage and Theft Cover you need (but an excess will apply).
Does this give you everything you need to know?
Rob
July 8th, 2008 at 9:31 pm
Hi Rob
My wife and I turned up at Manchester Airport to rent a car for 3 weeks, 5 days to be spent in France. We paid 75 pounds for the Continental Coverage. We were given the back copy of the contract and a VE103 certificate. In France we got a flat tyre and the car had to be towed. The bloke in the tow truck took our only copy of the contract, but we still have the VE103. AVIS denies that we took out the insurance and is charging us 3,500 pounds because we had to drive back to England in a French car.
What should we do ?
July 9th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Hi Paul,
Can you send me the details of your rental agreement to comments@avis.co.uk and I will investigate for you.
Stephen
July 11th, 2008 at 7:49 am
We are planning to hire a car in Manchester and travel to northern ireland and ireland as well as scotland. Are there any additional charges or restrictions travelling across the irish border?
July 11th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Hi Robyn, you will need to take out our Continental Cover if driving into the Republic of Ireland. This starts from £88.12 if you are driving between 1-7 days in Ireland (let me know if you need me to provide a quote for a longer stay).
You will need to let the team in Manchester know that you require this so that they can prepare the paperwork. The number of Manchester Airport is 0870 156 6440 and the number for our location at Manchester Piccadilly (in the city centre) is 0870 608 6314.
Let me know if you need anything else.
Rob
July 14th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
We are flying into Trieste (Italy) and wish to drive to Istria (Croatia), returning the car to Trieste after 7 days. Is this possible? How much extra will this cost for a 4 door car (for something similar to an Astra)
July 15th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Hi Peter, driving from Italy to Croatia and then back for this car type is fine and there is no extra charge for this.
Let me know if you need anything else.
Rob
July 15th, 2008 at 11:57 am
Thanks for the clarification Rob. Would the answer be different if we choose to hire a different car? We are looking at the possibility of hiring an automatic (medium compact category) instead.
July 15th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
No problem. There are some restrictions on the more premium cars (i.e. with cars like the Mercedes) but you’ll be fine with the Medium Compact Auto category.
Rob
August 14th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Hi
I need to hire a medium sized van in the UK to ferry over to Amsterdam then drive to Berlin and back.
Do you hire out any vans which will take three in the front cab but are small enough to take on a ferry?
Thanks for your help,
Paul
August 14th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Hi Paul, unfortunately we do not have any vans on our fleet in the UK so we are unable to help in this instance.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
Rob
April 23rd, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Hi.
i want to rent a small car in August to drive arround London and then going to Paris. i will return it to London again.
it is from 23Aug till 30 Aug.
Can anybody tell me how much will be for me the extra cost for 4 days in France crossing the border by ferry?
thanks very much.
April 24th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Hi Pablo,
To take the car to the continent you will need to take the Continental Cover package which costs £75 + VAT = £86.25. Before picking up the car you will need to give the office 2 working days notice and provide them with the names of all drivers, countries you are planning to visit (just France in this case)and the number of people that will be in the car.
I hope that helps
Chris
May 19th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Hi,
5 of us will be going on a short vacation from Watford through Europe and we will need a hire car from the 14th June through to the 17th June. Please could you give me a quote and nearest location to pick the car up from. Ideally we would like a Renault Espace and a Vauxhall Zafira will be too small for us.
I am 24 btw if this has an impact?
Thanks
May 22nd, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Hi Nishi,
The nearest office to Watford would be Park Royal or Luton. As the 14th is a Sunday however both offices are closed, the only offices open on a Sunday would be the airports (Luton Airport would be open) or the London Mayfair office.
The problem is that for these dates, as a 3 day rental, the Renault Espace is sold out for all the locations near Watford including central London. It is available for 5, 6 or 7 day rentals which have all the same price.
For example 5, 6 or 7 days, picking up from Heathrow on the Sunday comes in at £449.01, this includes unlimited mileage, vehicle damage and theft cover with an excess of £950 (which can be reduced at the office), all local taxes and surcharges.
To take the car abroad you would also need the continental cover package which would cost £86.25 (including VAT). This package needs requesting from the office with 2 working days notice.
As you are 24 there would also be an underage surcharge which is £12.65 per day.
I hope that helps
Chris
May 28th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Hi Chris,
thanks for the above response.
Another question I have is what would the price of say a mid-size car be for these dates. Similar to a focus?
Thanks Nishi
May 29th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Hi Nishi,
For those dates picking up form London Heathrow, a Focus 1.4 comes in on a prepay rate at £87.95. It includes unlimited mileage, vehicle damage and theft cover with an excess of £800 for damage and theft and all taxes and surcharges. A similar car but in a 1.6 comes in at £105.16 with all the same inclusions. On top of these prices you would also have the underage surcharge of £12.65 per day.
I hope that helps
Chris
June 7th, 2009 at 6:04 pm
please can you advise on car hire from cyrus larnace airport and taking it over the border to the north of cyprus , is there any extra cover needed ontop of you basic cover incl cdw also are you still covered for breakdown.
July 6th, 2009 at 11:41 pm
I am planning on a 2 week european trip which includes travelling through Poland. I have found that most rental companies exclude Poland as a possible destination. Would Avis allow this and if so how much is likely to cost me?
July 7th, 2009 at 9:57 am
Hi Stuart,
Sorry which country are you picking the car up from? The UK?
If so then yes you can travel to Poland providing you purchase the Continental Cover package which will cover you for the extra insurance required driving in these countries and the additional breakdown cover.
The cost would be £109.25 for 14 days and you need to ensure that you give the pick up office 2 days notice and certain details e.g. names of all drivers, number of passengers and the countries you are planning to visit.
I hope that helps
Chris
July 7th, 2009 at 10:30 pm
Hi Chris,
I would like to drive around Eastern Europe starting from Strasbourg (France) going to the Czech Republic, Hungary, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, Austria, Germany back to France. Is this possible? I was told by someone from the French branch of Avis in Strasbourg that I cannot do it. Is it so? Should I book a rental from Germany in the alternative (returning it to Germany)?
If this is possible, can I sign up to a continental or other insurance with Avis? How much is it likely to cost me?
Many thanks for your help,
Gabrielle
July 8th, 2009 at 9:54 am
Hi Gabrielle,
I’m afraid that renting from France you wouldn’t be able to visit the majority of those countries. If you decided to collect the car from Germany then you could drive into all these countries with the exception of Montenegro. The charge for this would be €8 per day. You would need to make an advance reservation and state the names of the countries you wished to visit to ensure the office could prepare any necessary paperwork.
I hope that helps
Chris
July 29th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Hi,
I would like to rent a car in London to go to Germany. It is only a One way. I understand that it is not possible to drop the car off in Germany, however I was wondering if there is the possibilty of driving to the Border and change the car overthere. Just an idea, but I have to move some stuff and it is a bit to much for a suitcase.
Look forward for your answer.
Many thanks
July 30th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Hi Britta, I really like the idea but unfortunately we are not able to do what your suggesting as one continual rental. So effectively you would need to make bookings for each separate rental in each country. Of course this adds the extra inconvenience of having to carry your stuff across the border from rental office to rental office. You may find in this instance that it is more convenient and probably cheaper to courier your stuff to Germany.
Rob
July 30th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
HI. A couple of friends and I are looking to pick up a car from Trieste in Italy and drive to Slovenia and Croatia before returning to Italy. Is this possible to do and are there any additional charges for entering these countries?
Thanks
Chris
July 30th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
Having read the blogs on crossing borders, I am allowed to hire a car in Geneva (Switzerland) and travel to Chamonix (France) and then return the car to Geneva. Will it cost me extra?
July 31st, 2009 at 11:07 am
@ Chris – you can take the car into Slovenia and Croatia from Italy (with the exception being some of the more premium car categories). The only thing to remember is that in Slovenia you need to pay a tax of €35 to drive on the highways. You can pay for this at any tobacco shop, petrol station or newsagent and you will be given a blue sticker to display on the front windscreen.
@ Anthony – there is no charge for taking the car from Geneva into France although, again, there are some of restrictions of the most premium car category.
Rob
October 10th, 2009 at 11:43 am
Can you tell me if I rent a car in USA can I take it across the border to Canada? What charges will there be for this?
October 13th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
Hi Chrissie,
Provided you are a non-Canadian resident you can take the car across the border without any problem or extra charge. Simply inform the Avis agent when you collect the car and they will provide you with the necessary documentation to complete and display in the vehicle.
Chris
October 29th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Hi, Im flying to Budapest (Hungary). Would that be possible to cross the border to Slovakia and drop off again in Budapest?
October 30th, 2009 at 10:31 am
Hi Filip,
Yes you can cross the border into Slovakia with no extra charge. Have a good trip!
Chris
December 1st, 2009 at 5:08 pm
I booked a car for pick up and drop off in Brno, Czech Republic. I need to make two trips on different days to Viena Schwechat airport. a) Is there an extra fee for that? b)Is there any road tax in Austria? c) What if I use the motorway via Bratislava… any motorway tax in Slovakia?
December 2nd, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Hi Martin,
There is no charge or problem in taking the car from the Czech Republic to Vienna or Slovakia. You will however need a road tax sticker which you can pick up at the borders. I’ve been told that it is around €7 per week.
I hope that helps
Chris
January 8th, 2010 at 4:14 am
I am moving from Cambridge (UK) to Saintes in France. I would like to hire a care from Cambridge and return it in France (Saintes or La Rochelle). This would be for a couple of days, February 22-24.
Please could you provide a quote and advise whether this is possible? My mum will be driving, she has a French license.
Thanks for your help!
January 8th, 2010 at 4:28 am
In addition to my question above, we could alternatively return the car in Calais, which would make it easier for you to take it back to the UK. Would that make a difference to the cost?
Thanks!
January 8th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
Hi Diane,
I’m afraid that you cannot leave a car rented in the UK on the continent. You can collect it in Calais and leave it in Saintes but you would be unable to collect it in Cambridge.
Apologies
Chris
January 10th, 2010 at 2:15 pm
Hi I need to make a complaint about the service I have had from Avis. I have tried the usual telephone route with promises of returned calls, starting 24th December. assured maximum of 7 days, as yet no return after chasing on 4 occasions. guidance wouild be appreciated. Thanks
January 27th, 2010 at 4:38 pm
Hi Jeremy,
I have passed your comment onto our customer service team and they should be contacting you. If you would like me to look into this for you further and follow this up, please email me at comments@avis.co.uk with your rental agreement number and details for your rental.
Vicki
February 1st, 2010 at 1:39 pm
Hello, I’m flying into Zurich in early April and after a couple of days there, want to drive to Strasbourg, Luxembourg, Brussells and then onto Paris. I’m expecting that the trip will take some 21 days. What sort of rate would apply for a medium-sized car and are there problems in travelling into four different countries as far as licensing (I have an Int’l licence over a Victoria Aust. licence) is concerned?
February 3rd, 2010 at 5:54 pm
Hi David,
For a quote I would advice you to call our reservation centre on 08445-818181, as we work on a live system our prices can change.
As far as your licence concerns it is not a problem at all, to drive into the mentioned countries is also allowed.
Kind Regards,
Sandra
February 8th, 2010 at 10:18 pm
Hello…I am trying to rent a car at your Heathrow location and want to take the car to France and Germany. Can I book the car online AND THEN call the location to have the Continental Cover added? Or will I have to do the entire reservation online?
Thank you
February 9th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
Hi Kenneth,
The best option to make this reservation is to call us at the reservation centre, and we will add it to your booking directly, you will have to phone the station 2 days before picking up the car to confirm.
Our number is: 08445-818181, we will be happy to attend you!
If you want to do it online, I would advice you to make the booking and call the location.
Sandra
March 6th, 2010 at 11:47 pm
Hi,
could somebody advise me please if I rent a car in Italy could I drive it to Slovenia , Croatia and Bosnia (trip wouldn’t more than 14 days).
If so what would have to pay?
by the way I’m planing to rent – fiat punto grande. thanks
March 9th, 2010 at 2:43 pm
Hi Dino,
With something like a Fiat Punto you certainly can drive into Croatia and Slovenia from Italy, but unfortunately not Bosnia. The car is completely insured if the Super Insurance is purchased (EUR19.17 per day for the size of car you wish to rent).
In addition, customers driving Avis cars on higways in Slovenia have to pay a tax of EUR35,00 for the period of stay in this country. The blue stamp must be put on the front window of the vehicle and can be bought at the border to Slovenia, in tobacco shops, petrol stations and newspaper shops. The penalty, if there is no stamp on the front window, will be from EUR300-800.
I hope that helps.
Maxiema
March 26th, 2010 at 5:32 pm
If I rent an Audi A4 in Germany, would it be possible to drive it to the Czech Republic and Italy? If so, would there be any additional fees required?
April 8th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
Hi Mason,
Many of our car groups can travel to Italy and the Czech Republic without extra cost or restriction, but the Audi A4 group is not allowed to leave Germany at all.
However, you can take the following groups to Czech Republic: Groups A(Ibiza, Punto), B(Focus,Golf), C(Merc A class,Golf),H(Golf estate,Focus estate),D(Audi A3),I(VW Passat, Exeo),L(VW Caravelle, Ford Transit)
Hope this helps,
Michael
April 18th, 2010 at 3:48 pm
Hi, further to the response to post 40 above, is the reverse equally permitted? I will be renting in Canada (YYC) but wish to drive into the USA , returning back to Canada (YVR). Thanks!
May 6th, 2010 at 6:51 am
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Croatia Map
May 13th, 2010 at 2:19 am
Hi,
I would like to rent a car in Italy (Rome or Venice) and drive it to Austria, Czech Republic and Poland. Can I do it? Are there any extra costs associated with driving to those countries?
Thanks
Robert
May 25th, 2010 at 10:09 am
Hello Robert,
You can drive the car into Austria and Czech Republic at no extra cost but you cannot bring the car into Poland under any circumstances.
Regards,
Michael
June 2nd, 2010 at 6:36 pm
Hi,
I plan to rent a car from Trieste on 11th July until the 22nd July. During the hire period I intend to visit Slovenia, is this included in the standard rate quoted on your website? If there is any extra charges incurred what is the reason for this?
Thanks for your help, Jonny
January 25th, 2011 at 2:36 pm
I’ve a friend coming over from Canada for 2 weeks in July. Would he be better arranging her car from Canada or should I do it from the UK (he’s flying into Manchester Airport)
February 22nd, 2011 at 1:44 pm
Hi everybody!
I’m planning trip to Ireland in July, 2011. I’m Croatian citizen. I would like to rent a car from Avis in Dublin and drive it through Ireland and Northern Ireland, but return it in Dublin again at the end of my trip.
Am I obliged to pay Continental Cover or any other additional tax?
Thanks for the reply!
Kruno
February 22nd, 2011 at 4:33 pm
Dear Kruno,
When renting with Avis in Southern Ireland, you can drive up to Northern Ireland and return the vehicle back into Southern Ireland with no additional costs.
The tax is already included in your quotation, no further surcharges will apply when crossing over to Northen Ireland.
Hope this helps.
Desiree – Reservations UK
February 22nd, 2011 at 5:41 pm
This helps very much! Thank you for your quick reply.
Kruno
March 10th, 2011 at 5:28 am
I have a Group L van booked to collect from Frankfurt Main when I fly in there for a holiday next month, dropping off in Berlin two weeks later. Looking at the map, I thought I might travel via Karloy Vary, in the Czech Republic (passing through the C.R. in one day, not overnighting) but my confirmation mentions a) The customer must advise counter to receive the necessary documentation and b) an additional fee of 8.00 EUR per day will apply.
I have two questions 1) Is there somewhere I need to email this request so the paperwork is ready beforehand and 2) would that 8.00EUR be applied for every day of the hire, even though my C.R. transit is just one day?
I can avoid the border crossing if needs be, it would just make the trip a little longer – and at 14 x 8.00 EUR it certainly would be cheaper!
Thanks.
Scott
March 21st, 2011 at 12:28 am
Hello. Similar to the questions above. I plan to pick up at Munich Airport on Saturday 2nd July and drop the car back off there on Sunday 17th July (15 days hire). I intend to do do a little loop of central Europe passing through Austria, Slovenia and Czech Republic. I gather this is possible but how much will I have to pay for the Avis’ Continental Cover package? Unfortunately i’m 24 so i’ll get stung by the young driver surcharge as well – is this still possible?
Many thanks!
Chris
March 24th, 2011 at 9:28 am
Hello Chris,
In order to travel to other European Countries, you will need to pay the Travel East charge, this is 8.00 EUR per day of rental and is paid locally at time of pick up.
The underage surcharge is of 11.90EUR including tax per day , maximum charge is 10 days.
I hope this helps Chris.
Desiree – Reservations UK
August 2nd, 2011 at 2:28 pm
I wish to hire a small car at Barcelona airport and will be driving into France but returning car at Barcelona. Is there a surcharge for going to France or does existing insurace cover?
August 5th, 2011 at 2:30 pm
Dear Paul,
I can confirm when you rent a acar with Avis in Spain you can travel into France at no additional cost. Just make sure to let the Avis staff at time of pick up so they can issue any relevant papaerwork ( is necessary).
Desiree- Reservations UK
August 8th, 2011 at 9:51 am
I’ve just read your answer(72) to blog 71 which says ”I can confirm when you rent a acar with Avis in Spain you can travel into France at no additional cost. Just make sure to let the Avis staff at time of pick up …………..” yet the terms and conditions in the Avis website seems to indicate otherwise. Please explain. Thanks.
William.
December 13th, 2011 at 6:34 pm
I am planning a trip form London to Amsterdam. Will i need continental cover? Also, can you give a summary of what continental cover is and all its benefits? as its not stated anywhere on your website.