The
thought of driving in the US was terrifying me. I didn't let on to Mrs M
just how bad my anxiety was because I really didn't want her stressing
out. I don't generally tend to be a worrier but the thought of making a
wrong turn and driving the wrong way up the highway was filling me with
dread. On our last visit to Orlando we stopped on international drive,
probably the most popular area for tourists due to there being bus
services to all parks and the I Ride Trolley which pretty much takes you
wherever you want to in regards to the parks along its epic route.
Although the idrive is great if you want to be doing a lot of shopping
etc hiring a car is a must as we spent a small fortune last time on
taxi's.
This
time round though we wanted to try staying somewhere out of the way so
we booked a condo in Davenport, because of this a car was really
important. i need to get used to the roads anyway as we will be coming
here many more times. We've been lucky enough to work with Hertz
while on our tour of Orlando and on arrival of the pick up point,
despite feeling like a nervous wreck and firing a barrage of questions
at our taxi driver about all the possible things I could do wrong on the
roads the two chaps at Hertz made me feel right at home and their friendly laid back attitude definitely calmed me down.
There's
a great selection of cars to choose from depending on your preference.
For a little run around your looking at around £200 for a fortnight. You
can pay for a full tank of gas up front which works out cheaper and for
convenience is just what you want to be on your way and enjoying your
holiday. There are lots of add ons, which come at a cost. A satnav is a
must if you're not familiar with the area it's made our journeys so far
effortless. If you have younger children and need car seats there is the
option to add them to your hire package but at $70ish each to hire them
for 2 weeks we chose another option. For opeie we looked on eBay for a
cheap maxi cosy car seat that we could take in our case which we intend
to leave here when were done. For Seth we were lucky enough to be sent a
BoostApak by Trunki which has turned out to be an amazing and much
needed bit of kit, a backpack that transforms in to a car seat, Seth
loves it and feels like its some sort of James Bond gadget. Although the
carseat is solid and takes up the full shape of the back pack there is
still space to pack items to carry about making the backpack usable out
of the car too, great work Trunki. (I will write a full review including
spec when we're home).
Anyway
back to the driving, the guys from Hertz were amazing and fully showed
me round the car explaining every part in detail by the time I got
behind the wheel though I felt like I was going to be sick, ridiculous
when I think about it now as by the time I'd got 10 minutes down the
road I felt fine. Because of the 55 speed limit on most of the larger
roads driving seems so much more relaxing, plus we're on holiday,
there's no racing to do the school run. It's important to know that at a
red light you can still turn right as long as you come to a stop and
checked oncoming traffic (apparently if you don't stop it's called a
'California roll'). Also if parking on the side of a road always park
facing the way the traffic is going or you will be given a ticket.
Here's a few more of our top tips for hiring a car in Orlando with Hertz.
- There are lots of destinations where you can
pick your vehicle up, use the Zip Code tool to work out where is closest
to where you're staying, that way the taxi to the pick up centre won't
be too much and you'll save time.
- Ideally pay before you hire, this saves you money but also makes it easier when hiring due to the way all hire companies put the payment into a pending transaction , which you have to then pay at the end of the contract hire... slightly confusing when you first sign up, as they add $200 onto your rental agreement in case anything gets damaged, as a deposit, again in a holding form payment, which then gets returned to your bank if all is well with the vehicle.
- Hire a GPS as I've said, worth every penny! Saves you time, stress and makes it easier to drive on the opposite side since they prompt everything.
- Book in advance if possible... a lot cheaper than last minute!
- Make sure you keep the keys safe, there's a excess of $200 to pay if they're lost with any rental company.
- Think about taking out the optional $6 a day road side assistance, breakdown cover. Totally worth it when you think how much it would cost to get towed.
- Make sure you choose a model which is big enough for your luggage , if collecting from the airport, you don't want to struggle making two trips!
Well its been three days on the US roads and I've not hit anyone, got seriously lost and most importantly I have driven along every road in the correct direction, which was my main fear. The first hour or so is a little daunting while you adapt but once you are comfortable driving in Orlando is really relaxing. There are a few drivers in a rush weaving in and out of traffic, you get that everywhere but a large percentage of the drivers on the road happily drive well under the limit (these may of course be other tourists panicking and being over cautious). In regards to both Hertz rental company and the SUV Style vehicle we chose i cannot recommend them enough, The motoring side of the holiday has been a joy.
