Most expensive countries for car hire in Europe revealed

Portugal is the most expensive country in Europe to hire a car Photo: Alamy

Portugal is the most expensive country in Europe to hire a car, according to new research.

More than one in five British holidaymakers is planning to hire a car on the Continent this summer, thanks to the strong pound and the prospect of cheap petrol at the pump, says the Post Office.

The travel currency arm of the Post Office has released its annual Car Rental Report, which says that the costs travellers encounter for a week's rental varies greatly across Europe. It shows that it costs £553 to hire a car for a week in Faro, Portugal, including 40 litres of unleaded petrol, an additional driver and sat nav hire, and only £248 for the same in Copenhagen, Denmark.

• Holiday car hire: how to save money

Croatia was second most expensive destination (£547), followed by France (£447). Germany was the second cheapest (£264), followed by the Netherlands (£277).

The cost of car hire in Europe Total cost (?) Excess payable (?) Cost of EWI (?) Denmark 248 459 66 Germany 264 691 109 Netherlands 277 731 85 Cyprus 278 523 61 Turkey 279 292 50 Malta 280 645 98 Belgium 289 628 100 Sweden 314 549 60 Spain 320 798 94 Austria 337 633 89 Greece 385 599 84 Ireland 388 940 90 Italy 388 946 131 Norway 396 651 74 Switzerland 399 1,270 102 Majorca 415 800 104 France 447 589 86 Croatia 547 549 76 Portugal 553 794 90

The report said that of the 2,000 adults surveyed who had hired cars abroad, half had done so in Spain, where a week's rental costs £355 in Malaga and £415 in Majorca.

The report also urged holiday drivers not to cut corners on car rental by neglecting to purchase excess waiver insurance (EWI) that reduces the excess payable for accidents or theft to zero. The Post Office said half of UK drivers failed to take the optional extra.

• World's most expensive countries to visit

The potential excess costs renters could incur in the case of an accident or theft varies across the Continent, with those hiring in Switzerland staring down the barrel of a £1,270 bill – a fee that could be prevented by paying £102 for additional insurance, which also covers tyre and windscreen cover. The figures are an average of the three car hire companies in each country.

Those hiring in Turkey face the lowest excess payment, of just £292, while Spanish tourists could end up paying £798. The cost of the additional cover in the respective countries is £50 and £94.

• Should I buy excess car hire insurance?

Andrew Brown from the Post Office said: "It's a false economy to cut costs by sticking to the basic hire cost. We advise motorists to protect themselves against costs that could run into hundreds of pounds if the car suffers damage or is stolen.

"Don't leave it until you get to the rental desk in your holiday destination where you will be bombarded with questions and may sign on the dotted line without understanding what's included and what's not."

Telegraph Travel consumer expert Nick Trend said that buying a policy that cove rs the excess from another source, a global car insurance company, for example, is an alternative option to purchasing EWI.

Source: Most expensive countries for car hire in Europe revealed