Renting a car on a RTW is probably one of the least common ways to get around for most people, and that’s probably for the best because there can be quite a few downsides that go along with the convenience of it. But on the other hand, occasionally it can be the best or more fun or even cheapest way to travel.
If you are going out with one or more other people in your group, the math of renting a car is much more likely to work out as a feasible travel method, but even for someone traveling solo it can be an option worth exploring. If you are at an internet café pricing bus fares versus train tickets versus airfares, it could be worth an extra 2 or 3 minutes to check rental car prices because occasionally the deals can be astonishing.
For example, when I visited Australia I flew into Sydney and I would be flying out of Sydney when I left. I wanted to see Melbourne, along with a few other things, so I thought I’d rent a car and drive to Melbourne, and then fly back to Sydney. When I checked rates it looked like I’d need to pay around US$50 per day for the car, so stretching the trip out to 4 days would cost me US$200 before I even bought any petrol.
On a whim, I checked for rental car prices in the other direction, and I was shocked to find rates of US$8 per day from Melbourne to Sydney, so the 4-day rental would cost me only a bit more than the airport shuttle ride, at least up until I bought fuel. It turned out that this particular company needed this model of car back in Sydney, so they were anxious to get drivers for them.
These one-way rentals will usually cost even more than a normal rental where you return the vehicle to the same place, but once in a while you get lucky. In the United States, companies need cars down in Florida in the winter, and back north in summer. In New Zealand there are times of the year when companies need cars in the Queenstown/Wanaka area in the South, and other times when they need them on the North Island. Europe obviously has their spring demand in the south. Sometimes you’ll get unlucky and other times things will fall into place, so it’s not a bad idea to check prices when you are looking at airfare and bus schedules.
Sure, fuel costs in Europe can be really high, but distances are short and most cars there get excellent mileage, so as long as the price for the car itself isn’t too bad it might be very affordable. There are also benefits of being able to see out of the way places, and go at your own schedule. You can check rental car prices on almost any major travel site, so at least you’ll usually have your answer in just a minute or so.