Common mistakes made when renting a car in Orlando

Today we are going to talk about trips that are a little less extreme and more urban, and although my favourite trips are hiking and mountaineering, don't believe it, there are other mountains that drive me crazy: roller coasters. And Americans do know about extreme rides and theme parks. Today we are going to talk about Orlando - Florida, the Walt Disney World and Universal Studio parks and what are the most common mistakes made when renting a car, take note and let's keep the budget aside while enjoying this extreme destination!

Orlando is a wonderful city in the state of Florida in the USA, it has an endless number of tourist attractions but the most relevant (and the reason why I am writing this post) is because of the theme parks. While I spend my time writing about mountaineering and hiking, it doesn't mean that I don't find Disney's mechanical attractions, where there are extreme roller coasters set in natural places and animated films, very appealing. I've been researching for a while now how to have an amazing trip to Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando and although there are many recommendations that I will share with you little by little, there is one that is, in my opinion, the most important: it is necessary to rent a car if you want to have a comfortable and personalised experience according to your schedule and your taste.

This wouldn't be my first time renting a car, and I know travellers who have decided to rent a car before and have made several mistakes that they have had to pay for with extra budget, so I have decided to make a list of the most common mistakes made when renting a car:

• Rent a car directly at the airport and not online.

I don't know if you know this, but waiting until the day you land to rent a car is a very bad idea. The companies at the airports know that you will need a car to get around and taking advantage of your need they are likely to inflate the prices more than 50%. The car rental business (like most tourism businesses) is all about offering better prices if you plan ahead, so they can estimate their sales budget and prepare all their logistics. Suddenly it's like if you want to buy an overnight flight or book a hotel with less than 24 hours to go, the prices will go way up and you'll have to make do with what's available. Waiting until the last minute won't give you the chance to take advantage of deals and you'll lose money.

• Do not use third parties or brokers.

The second most common mistake when renting a car in Orlando is not using a third party or brokers, these terms refer to digital platforms where you can compare rates and cars from different companies or car rental agencies, the fact that there is a meeting of several companies in one place makes the rental prices more economical, each company strives to have a competitive and differentiating price for the end customer to choose, a bit of market regulation, eh?, so get a rental car in Orlando using a broker, compare prices and you will be surprised.

• Do not check the trolley before removal.

In life and in travel it is better to be cautious. Every day rental cars are used by different people, with different ways of driving and different levels of responsibility. You may be an expert driver and if you damage a car you may report it, however, not all people would do the same, so I recommend that whenever you go to pick up a car you inspect it properly, look for dents or scratches and, if necessary, take pictures. This will help you to avoid possible overcharges in the future.

• Do not use a rental company with high demand.

Car rental companies that are larger and more reputable, have in stock a larger capacity of vehicles to rent, in some seasons they can even handle differential pricing and in my personal research on approximate prices for renting a car in Orlando I have found the most reputable, most reputable and reputable companies in Miles Car Rental a broker that, as I said before, has all the best suppliers on one website. This is why I always recommend you to use a company that can give you more flexibility in prices and car models, in addition to this, supposing you want to do a road trip around Florida and visit different cities, you can deliver the car in a different office than the one you picked it up from. Choosing a rental company that is well positioned in the market will help you to get better prices and rates and will give you additional benefits that only the big companies could.

• Do not include insurance at the time of booking online.

It will always be more expensive to buy insurance directly at the counter when collecting a car.

Before renting a car evaluate what type of insurance you want to include, depending on the type of trips you want to have, so will be the insurance you should choose; for quiet trips and within the city with a basic insurance will be enough, for more adventurous trips and with more risks it is not a crazy idea to include insurance against all risks, but the most important thing is always pay the insurance at the time of booking online.You can buy everything in one package and you can save up to 70% unlike if you buy it directly when you pick up the car and not to mention what you save in case of an accident when you have insurance policies!

I don't think a trip like Orlando will require very elaborate insurance, however, I recommend that you do the exercise of evaluating your trip and based on that make the right decision.

• Do not think about the extra uses of the car.

Last but not least, we often think that a car is only going to be used to get us from our accommodation to our destination and we think that we will only be able to use it once a day, but the truth is that a car (at least in a city like Orlando with such huge roads and far distances) will help us save money when we go grocery shopping, go to malls, travel and make big purchases at the outlets. If your plan is to visit the Disney and Universal parks, it will also help you to get to the best times and go to the end of the day to enjoy the midnight shows.

These are the points that seem to me to be the most critical and where people tend to make the most mistakes when renting a car (focused on Orlando - Florida). If you know someone you think this guide could be useful for them, don't forget to share.