Driving Abroad For The First Time – A Nervous Driver’s Guide
It wasn’t until I’d made it most of the way to the centre of Porto from the airport, stalling along the way, that I realised I’d been driving with my handbrake on…that’s driving abroad for the first time for you.
When I decided that hiring a car would be the easiest way to spend a week exploring Portugal, I completely ignored the fact that I’d only driven a handful of times in the past eight years. And that I’d never driven abroad in general. Or on a motorway, ever. Growing up in the countryside then moving to a big city does that to you, y’see.
Usually when I travel, I prefer to take public transport, but hiring a car for a road trip allows more freedom, flexibility and the chance to discover exciting, off-the-beaten-track places than a train timetable allows. My recent Portugal road trip was the perfect example of this – without the car, we’d have missed out on spending a day in Aveiro and Obidos, and we were able to arrive early in Albufeira in time to catch a sunset boat trip.
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If you’re toying with the idea of hiring a car for a road trip, I’d recommend it, even if you’re as nervous as I was about my first time driving abroad. I’ve split this guide into two sections: one about how to hire a car abroad, and one with more general tips about driving abroad for the first time. Not everything ran totally smoothly for me (does it ever?), but after reading this, you might be able to learn from some of my mistakes…
How to Hire a Car Abroad For The First Time
Chances are, if you’re reading this, you don’t have your own car to drive abroad with. If you do, then feel free to skip this section, which is all about hiring a car abroad for the first time.
How to choose your rental car
Because I’ve always been used to driving a smaller car, and there was only two of us, we went for the compact economy option – which, for us, was the Fiat 500. It was ideal, as the smaller size made city driving much easier, and it was more economical with fuel than a larger car would have been.
If you drive automatic, make sure that’s what you’ve booked. And even if you drive in manual, consider an automatic if you’re comfortable with it – after having some major gear-based hill fails, I basically wish I’d done this!
Book your rental car in advance
I highly recommend booking your hire car in advance, as you’ll likely get a cheaper deal and can compare providers. Start by checking out a comparison website like EconomyBookings for the best deal. We went with SixT Car Rental, who had terminals at our arrival and departure airports, and were also more affordable than other options but with all the things we needed to include.
Have your driving license & passport…
You’ll need to show both of these when hiring a car abroad. Also, check with your government website in case you need an International Driving Permit on top of your license, and how to get one (UK info is here).
And a credit card!
To hire a car, 95% of the time you’ll need a credit card (not a debit card – some places do take these, but it’ll cost a lot more and be more restricted). I totally forgot about this, which resulted in a panicked trip to a MetroBank the day before we left, because they’re pretty much the only bank that print your new credit card on the spot…
Fuel policy
A ‘full to full’ policy is usually the recommended one to go for, as it usually works out at the best value. It basically means you return your hire car with a full tank at the end of your trip. The only downside of this is if you’re returning your car super late at night in a quiet area, you might have to go out of your way to find a petrol station.
That said, I’d worked out we needed pretty much precisely a full tank of petrol to get from Porto to Albufeira, so I opted for the pre-purchased fuel tank (returned empty), and the option of refunding any fuel left at the end of the hire. This actually worked out perfectly for us, but if I was driving shorter distances, I’d still go for full-to-full.
Car rental insurance
There are various elements to an insurance policy, so check that your car hire company includes the base three: collision damage (if you crash), vehicle theft, and third party damage (if someone else is responsible for damaging your car).
Car hire excess insurance
When you hire a car, insurance is included in your hire, but has a large excess (amount you need to pay before insurance coverage kicks in), which could be as high as £1000 in some cases. Before hiring our car in Portugal, I actually took out car hire excess insurance, which cost £17 for the whole trip and would reimburse us for any excess we needed to pay. Booking it beforehand with an independent company saves a fortune on what the car hire company will charge at the booking desk!
Check the car
Before you drive off, take a quick look around the car, and snap photos of any existing damage (date stamped if possible) to avoid potential charges when you return it.
Top Tips For Your First Time Driving Abroad
Driving abroad for the first time can be scary, but actually, once I got used to it, it was pretty similar to driving at home, just on the wrong side of the road! I was incredibly nervous about it (did a big cry the night before, didn’t I?), but there were some things I did before and during that made me feel a lot safer and more confident driving in a foreign country.
Take time to get used to your car
Even if you’ve driven pretty recently at home, not all cars are made equal. The Fiat 500 we hired had a different layout to my old Fiat Punto, with different pressure required on the pedals, etc etc.
This one’s especially relevant if you’re sitting on the opposite side to where you would normally. On the first drive, I ended up with a pretty sore left hand from hitting the door on the left hand side when instinctively going for the gears. Ouch.
Even ten minutes having a go around the airport car park can really help you get used to the car and being on the wrong side. Get to know the important bits, like the indicators, windscreen wipers, lights and what the warning lights mean. If the car looks a bit different to what you’re used to, you can always ask the person at the hire company, who should be able to give you a quick tour around the functions (I really regret not doing this!)
Driving on the wrong side of the road
One thing I was super nervous about when driving abroad for the first time was being on the opposite side of the road in Portugal. Visions of head-on collisions when accidentally turning on the wrong side filled my head. In reality, I found it relatively easy to get used to. The fact that it was always at the forefront of my mind meant I was careful when turning, and on motorways, it was really easy. For someone who’d never driven on more than an A road before, driving on the motorway actually came pretty easily – if I’d known, I might have done it in the UK sooner!
Get to know the rules of the road
One thing that made me feel a lot more confident driving abroad for the first time was knowing the rules of the road before we set off. The RAC have helpful guides to driving in Europe.
Take it slow
If you’re nervous about driving abroad for the first time, there’s no need to rush – take it slow. I spent most of my first day of driving in the slow lane on the major roads, and after a while I grew in confidence. And if you need to, pull off somewhere safe (service stations, parking spots, etc etc) and take a breather.
Don’t let other drivers rattle you
Drivers can be impatient types, although apart from a beep or two when I stalled on a roundabout or spent too long in one lane, I actually had a pretty relaxed time driving in Portugal. If someone IS being a dick, ignore their anger, move out of the way when it’s safe to do so, and let them get past you. Best done while wishing them a minor inconvenience, like stepping on a Lego brick or temporarily losing their keys.
Plan your parking before you go
Driving around a new city at night trying to find somewhere to park is probably the most stressful thing I’ve ever experienced. In Porto, we’d marked off a multi-storey car park which I struggled to find the entrance to, so have backup options saved into your Google Maps too.
Parking in cities can also be pricey when it’s for more than a couple of hours, so watch out for that one too. After being stung a bit in Porto, we found a spot in Lisbon for just €3 a day, and took a €5 taxi to and from our more central apartment. It meant I didn’t have to drive up and down the hilly, tight streets (I am NOT good at hill starts…), and worked out a lot cheaper than the €40 per day car park near where we were staying…
Should you rent a GPS when hiring a car abroad?
We decided not to bother hiring a GPS and used our phones instead – which was a bit of a problem when we realised the car didn’t have anywhere to mount it. Whoops. So for the first journey, Conor had to hold up his phone and direct me, which caused a fair bit of bickering (‘This right?’ ‘erm…yes…WAIT NO, THE NEXT ONE…wait sorry, it WAS that one’). In Porto, we picked up a mount that fixed to the air conditioning, and apart from the time it fell off mid drive, it was a big help. So it’s worth bringing your own mount, just in case, as well as a car charger to keep your battery alive.
Top tip – get one of the mounts that stick to your window, which tend to be a bit sturdier.
Driving abroad is a great way to explore more off-the-beaten track places, and my experience hiring a car in Portugal has made me feel a lot more confident about doing it again in future. Hopefully these tips are helpful for anyone else considering doing the same!
