Renting A Car in Edinburgh

If you’re under 22, you can’t be grateful enough for Scotland’s free buses. Scotrail too doesn’t cost a fortune and takes you through all those scenic routes. Even so, nothing compares to that epic road trip through the Scottish Highlands, giving you the freedom to take as many pit-stops as you want, pause to admire the scenery every few metres, play your favourite playlist and belt your lungs out to some road-trip classics.

Our EuropCar rental van in the Isle of Skye

I finally had the opportunity to go on

this magical road trip last year, and I cannot recommend it enough. The occasional detours only added to the adventure and the flexibility was an absolute blessing. That being said, deciding to go on a road trip in a new country was not the easiest call to make. We didn’t know if we’d be able to adapt to the driving style or if it had any legal or financial risks. Thankfully, the whole journey went by hitch-free, and here's how that happened.

The first thing I would suggest you to do is choose a reputable car rental company (I went with EuropCar). You don’t need to get an overly expensive one, but make sure you look over reviews (as with everything). If possible, set your pick-up and drop location to the same place – this tends to be much cheaper than the alternative. Also, try and book well in advance to avoid any disappointment as these car rentals tend to be popular.

Your Indian driving license is valid in the UK for a year. Outside of that, you may need to get an International Driver’s Permit or a UK Driving License. The biggest thing to bear in mind, though, is more rental companies have an age limit. You need to be at least 21 to rent a car here, and some companies even have a minimum age of 26. You may even need to pay a higher fare if you’re younger. The costs will also go up if more than one of you will be driving the car as rental companies tend to add a per-driver charge to bookings. All extra drivers also have to be over their minimum age.

When you rent a car, the fare includes a basic insurance plan. We decided to pay extra for a plan with better coverage, just so we wouldn’t be blindsided later by additional, unexpected charges. In the end, we thought it was super worth it and made the driving experience so much smoother.

When you get the car

When you first get the car, make sure you make a clear video of it, making sure that the company cannot charge you for any pre-existing damage. Take a picture of the fuel gauge (or include it in the video). For EuropCar, your car has a full tank when you get started, and you’re supposed to return it with a full tank (or buy a fuel tank in advance). Fuel is expensive – twice as much as India. Make sure you read any manual you are given and go over the terms and conditions. Take a note of emergency numbers. We set up a car phone mount too, so it would be easier to navigate. Once you’ve covered all your bases, you can load up and head off.

For the (Indian) driver

I don’t know about you, but after only being used to Indian driving in all its chaotic beauty, I would be quite nervous to take the wheel in a new country. Much like you would expect, people here take rules very seriously. It’s super easy to get fined, so it’s very important to be aware of rules, speed limits and driving conventions.

One of the things we found most difficult to get accustomed to was lanes. For my friends who’ve not lived in India, this is normal (I can hardly imagine it), but here, if you are planning to turn left, even if it is kilometres ahead on the highway, you stay in the left lane. Each lane is designated for the route, usually, and one wrong turn can cost you a lot of time.

While we were very used to driving both manual and automatic cars back home, we chose to get an automatic car here. With the long journeys and the culture shock, that ended up being a really good idea. Plus, since we’d already got the better insurance plan, we could be less worried about accidental scratches to the car and having to bear those costs.

Thank goodness they drive on the left. At least we don’t have to worry about that.

Parking

I was so sure that we would end up spending a fortune on parking, but surprisingly, it was a fraction of what I had been expecting. Almost all hotels and AirBnBs that I had booked had free parking, and the one that didn’t, had an all-day multi-story car park just minutes away. Some attractions that we visited had free parking, while others had a pay-and-display that cost about £1 for an hour. The all-day parking was £7 for the day.

It is very important that you only park in designated areas - make sure you’re not parking in any spots that are reserved. If it’s a pay-and-display, park your car, pay for the ticket, and display it on the dashboard so it’s clearly visible.

At the end of our 8-day road trip across Scotland, we were so glad that we’d gone ahead and got the car. There was no way we could’ve had the same experience relying on cabs and public transport. Overall, it was an adventure we would not forget.

Can’t wait to turn 21 and rent a car on my own.

P.S. EuropCar may have issues with overbooking. Thankfully, even though they didn’t have our car available, they saw we were a group of 4 with plenty of luggage, so they offered us a bigger van immediately at no extra cost. Had a super-smooth experience with them, from beginning to end.