With such a feeble dollar isn’t it time to set aside, at least for a while, the famous-destination model of European travel? The classic Paris-Venice-Munich-Vienna sort of itinerary is not only expensive, it’s often a stressful succession of crowded airports, rail stations, hotels, restaurants, and sights. The big-city traveler stays in a centrally-located hotel where employees speak English, he marches off each day with battalions of other North Americans to view renowned pictures and buildings, orders food off an English menu, congratulates himself on successfully negotiating the public transportation system, and all the while pays top euro.

Now is the time to be where the pace is slower and the dollar goes much farther; to wander around small towns and villages and explore the countryside. But getting off the more familiar path requires some research, a little savvy, and a willingness to stick your nose a little deeper into a different culture. A travel style done best by car.

The aforementioned Paris-Venice-Munich-Vienna itinerary is tailor-made for the train. One is whisked from city center to city center, with no worries about $50-plus per day parking, or driving in heavy traffic on unfamiliar streets. But for the countryside, get thee to a rental car. It has the ability to quickly and comfortably take you places the vast majority of tourists never go. You move on your own schedule, the car is there whenever you need it. Trains are fast, comfortable, and romantic, but there are a lot more miles of highway than railway in Europe. If you want to be in the company of other Americans and visit big cities, rail is the way to do it. (The exception to this, of course, is Switzerland, where nearly every hamlet can be reached on a Swiss Pass that includes trains, postal buses, and lake boats.)

Comparing costs between rail and car rental is difficult because of the profound differences in their very nature. One is public, the other private. But the main difference lies in the way they are used. A four-day, second-class German Twin Pass for $362 ($492 first-class) may be just right for a couple whose itinerary is, say, Frankfurt-Cologne-Hamburg-Berlin-Frankfurt. All they require is four days on a train. But for a couple who plan to explore the Franconian wine country’s back roads, discover the Bavarian Forest, or meander the curves of the Mosel river, the rental car is really the only choice. For two weeks it will cost them a little less than $500 plus fuel, but the car will be at their disposal 24/7 for 14 days. And, if needed, they can take it anywhere in western Europe, the only added cost will be fuel.

Renting a car in Europe has become more complicated in recent years. The rental car shopper must be knowledgeable about insurance, currency exchange, European automobiles, and the many ways rental companies and brokers obfuscate charges added to the basic rental rates, many of them mandatory.

The price difference between the lowest and highest prices on a two or three-week rental can be considerable for the same car category. In the spring of '08, Travelocity’s website quoted a compact car for two weeks in April, from Frankfurt Airport (I found it very difficult at Travelocity to get an off-airport price), for $642. The website’s fine print boasts there’s no prepayment, the amount due will be collected at the time of rental. What that means, of course, is the rental is guaranteed in euros, not dollars. If the dollar continues to fall, the rental will ultimately cost more than $642. In addition, since payment will be made in Europe, it is highly likely your credit card will impose a three percent foreign transaction fee—another $19. The fact is, you really won’t know how much the rental will cost until you get back to the U.S. and your credit card bill arrives in the mail. Excuse the plug, but contrast the Travelocity/Hertz deal with Gemut.com’s price for the same car with Avis for $567, guaranteed in U.S. dollars, prepaid but cancelable without penalty up to and including the day of rental.

It’s important to remember here that online dollar quotes that do not specifically state that the price is guaranteed in U.S. dollars are actually guaranteed in euros and thus are only an estimate. In this case, the guaranteed euro price is €416.90. In order to get to the $642 quote, Travelocity/Hertz used an exchange rate of 1.54. The actual exchange rate on March 26 was 1.584, making the real price in dollars, $660. I leave it  to your judgement the morality of using an incorrect exchange rate to make online rates more appealing.

• Value Added Tax: Virtually every car rental quote includes this tax. It ranges from 7.6 percent in Switzerland to 25 percent in Norway. Germany is 19 percent, France 19.6 percent, Italy 20 percent, and Austria 21.2 percent. You must pay it and, except in very rare, extraordinary circumstances, it is not refundable.

• Premium Station Fees: In Germany, if your rental originates at an airport or rail station the fee is an additional 19 percent. Here’s how it’s figured: if the base rate of the car is $100 you add the 19 percent VAT to get a price of $119. That’s if you pick up downtown. If the rental commences at an airport or rail station, however, the price becomes $119, plus the 19 percent “premium station” fee, for a total of $142. Austria’s “premium station” fee is 15 percent, Switzerland’s is 19 percent; and Italy is 14 to 17 percent.  For these countries, substantial savings can be achieved by arranging to pick up the car at an off-airport/rail station office. Some countries charge a flat fee; in France it’s about $45, Holland is around $80, and Belgium about $40. There is no additional charge for returning a rental car to an airport or rail station.

• One-Way Charges: If you want to rent a car in, say, Berlin and drop it in Munich, it’s very likely you’ll pay no more than if you returned the car back to Berlin. With a couple of minor exceptions, this is true of most European countries; seldom will you be charged a one-way fee within the same country. But if you want to drop that car in another country, you’ll pay an international one-way charge. These range from about $100 to over $2,500. One-way fees on rentals that involve Italy are expensive, typically in the $500 to $1500 range. A one-way rental between Scandinavia and Italy, provided you can find a rental company that will do it, will be at least $1500, prohibitively expensive for most. It’s the same when pickup is in an eastern European country and the drop is in a western European country (and vice versa); very expensive or impossible. So don’t paint yourself into a corner by booking “open jaw” travel that has you arriving in, say, Frankfurt and leaving from Rome, or Warsaw, without first fully understanding the cost of travel between the two cities, be it car, air, or rail.

• Extra Drivers: Must be arranged at the rental counter, not when booked. The added drivers must be present and have a valid driving license. Be sure, however, to inquire about cost when you book the car in the U.S. Prices range from free to as much as E15 per day.

• Insurance: This is a complicated topic but here, in general, is what you need to know:

1. Liability and fire insurance is always provided in the basic rental rate.
2. Collision (CDW) and theft insurance is optional. The renter is responsible if the car is damaged or stolen. Except in countries where you must purchase it (Italy and Ireland, for example), we recommend rentals be paid for with a credit card that provides free CDW and theft coverage. Don’t listen to those who say your credit card offers only “secondary” coverage. That’s true, but you don’t have any other coverage in Europe unless you purchase it from the rental company—something you don’t want to do, especially since the credit card coverage is so much better. The CDW/theft insurance sold by rental companies costs $10 to $25 per day and usually has a high deductible, between $400 and $3000. Your credit card insurance is free and zero deductible. Proponents of CDW/theft are fond of saying that in the event of damage you “just walk away” at the end of the rental. Not so. You don’t “walk away” until you’ve paid the deductible. In addition, failure to file a police report is often grounds for invalidating purchased insurance. Some CDW policies also exclude one-car accidents. In other words, if you get a dented fender while your car is parked and you can’t locate the driver of the other car, you’re on the hook for the damage repairs. Many CDW policies also exclude damage to the car’s roof, windows, wheels, undercarriage and interior.
   
3. Be sure to decline the rental company’s offer of CDW/theft. Your credit card company can easily email you a letter that proves you have insurance coverage. We suggest you carry that letter with you to Europe to show at the rental counter. If you do not refuse the proffered insurance two bad things happen: one, you pay for expensive CDW/theft insurance, and, two, your better credit card coverage is invalidated.
   
4. American Express card members may find it worthwhile to enroll in the company’s Premium Car Rental Protection. The cost is $16 to $25 per rental but coverage is “primary” and there are several other benefits.
   

•Transmission: An ability to drive a car with standard transmission will save you money if you rent a car in Europe. In addition, automatic transmissions are rare in vans and station wagons. Earlier, we mentioned a price of $567 for a compact car for two weeks from the Frankfurt airport. The same car with automatic is $831. The message is clear, learn to drive a ‘stick.’

•Navigation: When available, GPS (Global Positioning System) only works in the country of rental, though some devices may cover major highways in other countries. GPS is sporadically available on European rental cars and it’s safe to say the larger and more expensive the car, the better chance it will come with a factory-equipped device. In Germany, if your car is midsize or above, and the supplier is Avis or Europcar, you have a good chance of getting a free GPS. In other countries, however, there is much less availability. The one-way rental of cars with GPS is often not permitted. Portable GPS is sometimes an option and the daily charge ranges from about $10 to $20 per day.

•Other Costs: There are plenty of other ways rental companies pile on extra charges. The most common are registration fees, road taxes, contract fees, cross-border fees (usually to go into eastern countries), winterization charges, congestion charges, and eco surcharges. Inquire when booking.

First, come to grips with the reality that there are no Ford Victorias or Lincoln Town Cars in European rental fleets. That kind of passenger room and trunk space doesn’t exist. You can rent S-class Mercedes, 7-series BMWs, and Audi A8s, but they start at about $1200 per week, require two credit cards at pickup, can’t be driven into Italy or any eastern country, and are probably excluded from insurance coverage by your credit card. So get used to the idea of Opel Astras, VW Passats, Opel Vectra station wagons, VW Tourans, and seven and nine-passenger minivans with limited luggage space.

Subcompact: Typical cars: Opel Corsa, VW Polo, Fiat Punto. Okay for two persons not interested in burning up the Autobahn. Trunk space is small and frequently there is no air-conditioning.

Compact: Typical cars: Opel Astra, VW Golf, Ford Focus, Peugeot 307. Comfortable at 80 to 90mph. Good trunk - figure one big suitcase and two small ones, or two large ones. Should also be room for a garment bag and/or a soft duffel or two. Both two-door and four-door models, occasionally with a sunroof. Fine for three adults who go easy on the luggage. Air-conditioned.

Intermediate: Typical cars: Opel Vectra, VW Passat, Renault Laguna, Audi A4. Our recommended category for two couples. O.K. on the Autobahn but underpowered with four people and luggage.
Full-size: Typical cars: Mercedes C-class, Opel Signum, Peugeot 607. Full-size is a misnomer. Most of the cars in this category are no larger, in some cases smaller, than the intermediate VW Passat. If you want a nicer car, by all means rent a full-size; but if you’re only moving up for extra passenger and luggage space, forget it, you’re wasting your money. (Read “The Myth of the Full-Size Rental Car in Europe” )

Station Wagon: Sometimes referred to in Europe as a Kombi. Come in three sizes - compact (VW Golf, Opel Astra), midsize (Vectra, VW Passat) and full-size (Volvo V70). You pay more for a wagon than for the same model sedan. Can hold more gear but it is often exposed. For four people we like the midsize sedan over the compact wagon; more passenger comfort and almost as much luggage room. In a pinch, the midsize and full-size wagons can carry five people but someone has to ride in the rear center seat.

No European sedans or wagons we know of have a front bench seat, so carrying six passengers is not an option in these vehicles.

Vans: Mostly seven and nine-passenger vehicles with three rows of seating, similar to US minivans. The nine-passenger assumes three persons per seat—three in front, three in the center seat and three in back. Seven-passenger vans have front buckets, a shorter center bench seat or two buckets, and a rear bench. Minivans are fine for four or five people, but beyond that, luggage space is a problem. Do not plan to rely on a credit card for CDW and theft insurance when renting a nine-passenger van. Some credit card companies exclude it from their insurance coverage. Vans become scarce every summer. Book early. It may be cheaper to rent two midsize sedans.

Luxury Cars: Power and engineering make them somewhat safer than the run-of-the-mill Opels, VWs, Skodas, and Fords, but at a hefty price. Expect to pay more than $500 per week in Germany for an E-class Mercedes, 5-series BMW, or Audi A6. Weekly prices exceed $1200 for S-Class Mercedes, 7-series BMW, or Audi A8.

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