Thinking about a last-minute summer trip across the pond? Aer Lingus has a deal with the Ritz-Carlton Powerscourt (shown here), outside Dublin, that's more affordable than you might imagine.

by Katherine Hottinger on Travel Deals

In this month's issue of Condé Nast Traveler, on newsstands now, "Europe on Sale" details how the current economic downturn means there are bargains to be had in major European cities, destinations whose prices had until recently put them out of reach to some travelers. A sidebar, "Luxury for Less," lists deals at top European hotels. In the weeks to come, Deal of the Day will tip you off to a few more late-breaking European offers and promotions.

Summer-trip-planning procrastinators, rejoice! The current crop of Ireland travel packages on offer from Aer Lingus can get you to the Emerald Isle for less than you might think. Here's the lowdown on a couple of deals we like:

*Round-trip airfare to Ireland, plus six nights in a suite outside Dublin at the Ritz-Carlton Powerscourt (an honoree on Condé Nast Traveler's 2008 Hot List), plus a rental car, for $1,174 per person, including taxes, when flying from New York. (You'll pay more for flights from Boston, Washington, Chicago, and San Francisco.)

*A fly-and-drive package, covering airfare from New York plus a week's car rental, for $664 per person including taxes. (Again, you'll pay more when flying from other cities.) Accommodations aren't included, so you can make your own arrangements, or Aer Lingus can help you out with room reservations for an additional fee.

For travel from: August 1 through August 22. These packages are also available in September and October for about $200 less, and in November through March for $300 less, but trust us: It's better to go in summer and avoid the off-season drizzle.

Book by: This Friday, July 31, at the Aer Lingus Vacation Store or by calling 800-495-1632.

by Wendy Perrin

Remember last week's post Don't Book a Cruise Until You Read This? Reader Deannadv wrote in to say that my tip saved her $600 on a stateroom on Cunard's Queen Victoria. Then she wrote again last night to say that my tip about Cheap Rental Cars in Europe has saved her another $1,500:

"You did it again. Traveling to Tuscany with family for Xmas at farmhouse/villa. Was able to book the same 9-passenger van with car seat for more than $1,500 less. Avis had quoted $2,300 for our 10-day rental, and Nova Car Hire is charging just $770. It's a miracle. Add this savings to the $600 Cunard cruise reduction and we almost have enough saved for another trip somewhere. Thank you so much for the solid travel advice you provide."

No problem. I'm here to help.

by Wendy Perrin

Itching for a European road trip but scared off by car rental costs?  Conde Nast Traveler's executive editor Ted Moncreiff just returned from a trip to France and Italy raving about NovaCarHire, a reservation service based in the town of Killorglin in southern Ireland that claims to offer "the lowest rates with top car rental companies" while also providing "the highest levels of service." 

Ted booked two rentals through Nova--one in Paris, one outside Rome--and came back bowled over by how friendly, competent, and totally reliable the service was. As for the costs . . .  a four-day rental of a brand new Fiat mini-van (with built-in GPS) from National Car Rental, picked up and dropped off at the Gare de Lyon in Paris, was $368. And a five-day rental of a brand new Fiat station wagon with automatic transmission (and portable GPS), picked up and dropped off from Auto Europa at Rome's Fiumicino Airport, cost $466. Those were the total prices -- including insurance, tax, everything.

Ted was particularly thrilled that both cars got fabulous gas mileage. Even though he (and his four travel companions) drove the Paris car all the way to the Loire Valley and back, and the Rome car all the way to Tuscany and back, he filled each car's tank only once (shortly before returning the vehicle to the rental agency).

I put 1,300 miles on this car in Spain in February.

by Wendy Perrin

My last post shared a taxi tip gleaned from the front desk at the Madrid hotel where I stayed a few weeks ago. I've been meaning to share another tip I picked up during that trip -- at the Avis car-rental counter: If you own a portable GPS for your car back home, consider carrying it with you instead of renting one.

Say you're planning to rent a car in Europe this summer: Consider downloading a map of Europe into your portable GPS. At the Avis office in Madrid, the cost of renting a GPS was $18 per day. Rent for nine days and the cost is $162. By contrast, the cost of downloading data for ALL of Europe into my Garmin GPS was about $160 -- and I can use the Europe maps during future trips.

Okay, so that was smart enough, but wait till you hear the dumb thing I did next: I rented snow chains from Avis for $98, only to discover -- at a roadside supermarket later that day -- that I could have bought them for $31.

The moral of the story: Before opting for car-rental extras, compare the cost of borrowing them from the rental company with the cost of buying them from another source.

by Brook Wilkinson

Yesterday, Enterprise Rent-A-Car debuted a new car sharing system in the St. Louis area. Zipcar has long been the leader in the car sharing business, with dozens of locations across the country, but now that the rental agencies are diving in (Hertz may well start its own program soon), rates could get even more competitive.

What's a car share? If you're not familiar with Zipcar, here's how it works: Members typically pay a one-time application fee to have access to a fleet of cars spread around an urban area, which they can then borrow by the hour or the day. Gas and insurance is included. Car sharing is an environmentally friendly plan because (1) it reduces the number of cars on the road, and (2) members think twice before hopping in the car to run a nonessential errand.

Enterprise's program, called WeCar, is starting with a fleet of Prius hybrids in downtown St. Louis. The Web site is sparse, to say the least, but you can send an e-mail to WeCarSTL@erac.com to join the program.

Read on to hear about U-Haul's car sharing program.

This Smart is the perfect rental car: small, cheap, fuel-efficient, and adorable!
Photo: smartusa.com

by Brook Wilkinson

Last week I urged green-leaning travelers to get around by bike or scooter. But if you must rent a car (as I often have to when I'm on assignment; try covering three Caribbean islands in six days on a bike!), here's my advice: Don't accept a model upgrade. It's a common strategy for the counter agent to offer to turn the subcompact you reserved online into an SUV for "just a few extra dollars a day" -- sometimes even for free. But this quick-change will end up slurping more gas and costing you more money. Instead, reserve the smallest model possible, and insist on driving off the lot in only that.

I ALWAYS rent the smallest car available, and it's always more than enough space . . . well, almost always. There was that time in Queenstown, New Zealand, when my mother and I picked up a Ford Ka -- a cute little hatchback roughly the size of a washing machine. We fit fine, but when our friend showed up with her luggage, we knew we were in trouble.

by Stephan Wilkinson 

Rental car companies do everything they can to make the car pickup process painless for business travelers. There are frequent renter clubs, special privileges for Mister Big, red carpet treatment at the airport rental car lot, and more, but for the vacationing occasional renter, it can still be a matter of standing in line at the counter, figuring out insurance options, signing contracts, and then the endless van ride to space Z398 after all the high rollers have debarked at valet parking.

Hertz has taken its cue from the increasing ease with which airline boarding passes are automatically processed at electronic kiosks and has started a new subsidiary, Simply Wheelz, that will allow--make that "require"--customers to (1) make reservations via the Internet, (2) print out a bar-coded reservation form, (3) have it and a driver's license scanned at an airport kiosk, then (4) go straight to the pick-up lot to collect the car.

Here's what else sets Simply Wheelz apart (other than the cutesy name--"Simply Wheeze"?):

A speed camera -- common in the U.K. -- nails a lead-footed driver.
Photo: de.wikipedia.org

by Stephan Wilkinson

Question from reader SuzR:

"We spent two weeks in May touring Wales, Scotland, and England in a rental car, and I just got a notice from the rental company saying we were caught by a speed camera doing 42 in a 30-mph zone. The rental company charged our credit card 23 pounds [$47] for supplying our information to the police. Will the U.K. police pursue this since we live in the U.S.? Will we have problems next time we visit the U.K. and try to rent a car?"

The short answer is that the cops don't have to pursue this in the U.S., and that no, you won't have problems next time you try to rent a car. But you will pay the fine. (Unless you want to go to England and fight it, which would be silly since speed cameras don't lie.)

Here's why...

Electronic miracle or urban legend?  Try it and see.

by Stephan Wilkinson

It's a claim that's been making the rounds of endlessly forwarded e-mails and YouTube postings, but the answer is NO   . . . unless you use the cellphone to call a locksmith.  I wish it were true, because I still remember the day I locked a Hertz Mustang convertible's keys inside the car when I was staying at the Ritz-Carlton in Marina del Rey, looking forward to an evening of stylin' in LA with my cool ride. It took me several hours, many dollars, and a taxi back to the rental office to retrieve a spare key. 

Here's the bogus claim: if you've locked your keys inside the car, simply call home and get your spouse or one of the kids to find the spare remote-opener keyfob. (Surely you have one?) Have them point the magic fob at their phone and push the unlock button while you hold your cellphone next to the locked car's door. Presto!  Open Subaru!

Uh, not so fast...

 
Here's a Toyota "Energy Monitor" display, this one from the Lexus GS450h
sport-sedan hybrid. Photo: courtesy of Toyota

by Stephan Wilkinson

Curious what it's like to drive a semi-electric car? Avis has just announced that it's adding 1,000 Toyota Prius hybrids to its rental fleet in Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; and throughout California. Enterprise Rent-A-Car already has 3,000 Priuses available throughout the U. S., and Hertz is adding 1,000 more Priuses to the 1,000 already in its fleet

Avis will be charging $69.95 a day and up, depending on location, day of the week, phase of the moon and all of the other mysteries that determine rental-car rates. Hertz says a Prius will cost renters $5 to $10 more than a comparable gas-engine car

I've put a fair amount of mileage on a number of hybrid cars, ranging from the Prius and the Ford Escape hybrid all the way up to the $104,000, 438-horsepower Lexus LS600h L super-hybrid limo--including a Conde Nast Traveler "Great Drive" in a Prius--and I can tell you that driving a hybrid is more fun than you might imagine.

Here's why:

Keep the surfboard, but don't bring the car back early.
Photo courtesy of Alamo Rent A Car

by Stephan Wilkinson

     Our compatriot Christopher Elliott runs the excellent travel blog elliott.org ("first aid for travel"), but he called one wrong in a recent post. 

     A reader wrote in griping that she and her husband had been charged extra by Alamo for a rental car they returned three days early because her husband's grandmother died, necessitating an early end to a vacation. "If anything, Alamo should be offering you a refund for bringing one of its vehicles back early, thereby allowing the company to rent the car to someone else," Elliott opined.

     It's not that simple.

     Cars in an enormous fleet such as Alamo's (200,000 vehicles worldwide) don't just get driven around, then parked to await a new renter. Rental cars are almost as tightly scheduled as airline seats, and when a car suddenly shows up three days early, that might well mean three days of lost profit for the rental company. Far from "offering a refund," Alamo had every right to charge a penalty -- as specified in the contract the renter signed -- and renters need to be aware of this. 

     Whether Alamo should have been more compassionate about the death or should have charged a lesser penalty -- they upped the renter's rate from less than $22 a day to more than $73 a day -- are different questions, but don't think you're doing anybody a favor by bringing your rental ride back to the barn early.

The VW Polo BlueMotion, available only in Europe, is the Continent's
most economical five-seater: It gets 60 miles to the gallon. 
Photo: Volkswagen of America

by Stephan Wilkinson

Renting a car in Europe this summer? Two reasons to opt for a diesel:

(1) Diesel fuel is typically about 50 cents a gallon cheaper in Europe, where gasoline can cost as much as $7.50 a gallon. During my own most recent Euro-drive, in a superfast Maserati Quattroporte sedan, I routinely watched hundred-euro bills gurgle into its gas tank.

(2) Diesel cars get 20 to 25 percent better fuel mileage than the equivalent gasser. Europeans love the economy of diesels, and more than half of all new cars sold in Europe have diesel engines.

Do the math: Drive 2,000 vacation miles in a 60-m.p.g. VW diesel and you'll pay less than $140 for fuel. Do the same trip in a 37-m.p.g. Ford Focus and you're out more than $250. You'll have no trouble finding a diesel to rent at any European or British rental agency -- in some countries, like France, you may find nothing but diesels available -- and, trust me, you'll never know you're in an oil burner.

The rental car I booked through AutoEurope for a trip to Tuscany in
Oct. 2005 was a brand new Mercedes sedan.

by Wendy Perrin

Question from reader J. Budrow:

"One of my biggest fears when traveling is that I will total a rental car and get charged for the loss on my credit card because the card's collision damage waiver (CDW) policy denies the claim.  My first question for you: What do you do for insurance coverage when you rent a car abroad?  Second question: Are there additional insurance options you can purchase, other than those offered by the car rental company?"

Your fear is legit. I've seen credit card issuers weasel out of a number of collision-damage claims, as there is fine print about types of damage not covered (e.g., damage to the undercarriage, tires, windshield).

Renting overseas: Personally, I purchase the CDW -- even though it's expensive and avoidable in most countries if you pay with an American Express card, thanks to AmEx's rental-car benefits -- because, if I do get into an accident, it will be a time-consuming headache to take all the steps required to ensure that AmEx pays the claim.  I know from past experience that you need to stop your trip for at least half a day, if not a full day or more; get an informed AmEx rep on the phone (often several times); follow all of the rep's instructions; get a police report; go with the car to the repair garage; wait for a damage estimate; ask all the right questions; leave with the proper paperwork, etc.  As with all insurance claims, you must dot every i and cross every t if you want the claim to get paid.  Overseas, when I'm dealing with unfamiliar phone systems, foreign languages, and a tight itinerary, I simply don't have that kind of time. I prefer to have the peace of mind of knowing that, should there be any damage, I can walk away free and clear. Pricey?  Yes.  For me personally, though, it's worth it.

Saving money on European rentals: I do this by booking through a consolidator such as AutoEurope or Europe By Car that includes the CDW and any mandatory insurance in one relatively low price that you pay in advance. Anyone who plans to book through a consolidator should read my posts warning about potential snags when renting through AutoEurope, especially when the car AutoEurope books for you belongs to Europcar. Don't miss the comments posted by readers!  Another good source of advice re: the ins and outs of insurance for European car rentals is Rick Steves' Europe.

Last week I drove from San Francisco to Portland, Oregon, via the
Pacific Coast Highway. Photo: Photonica, Getty Images

By Brook Wilkinson

Just got back to the Conde Nast Traveler offices after a West Coast jaunt, and what's the first thing I did?  Marched straight into Wendy's office to tell her about my rental-car fiasco.  (Nobody appreciates a good travel debacle like Wendy.)  Her response?  "Fabulous!  You should make that your first blog post!"  So here goes:

I'd made a reservation through Expedia for a Thrifty rental car to be picked up in San Francisco and dropped off in Portland, Oregon: 3 days, $115. I know, it sounded too good to be true -- particularly to someone who sits down the hall from the Ombudsman himself. But believe me, after working with Wendy for almost five years now, I know how to find loopholes in travel bargains, and I'd scoured the e-mail that Expedia sent me for any whiff of any extra fee they might tack on. No asterisks, no fine print -- just a daily rate, taxes and fee, and a total: $115.

It wasn't until I called Expedia to try to extend the rental that I was told Thrifty would be adding a $235 drop-off charge!

How Mapquest's gas price finder works.

By Wendy Perrin

As soon as I read the news on TravelPost's Insider this morning about Mapquest's new gas price portal, I excitedly phoned my husband Tim. He's the one who plans our family's weekend car trips. Now, whenever he maps out our route in advance, he can plan our gas stops too, by inputting any given intersection and learning the gas prices there.  How great is that?!  The only downside:  Saving on gas will cut into the double miles I get at gas stations by paying with my Delta SkyMiles AmEx card.