doug

It seems that only those with good driving experiences post messages here. I rented a car in Scotland and wished I didn't. I read this forum as well as talking to others and overall got rosy pictures on driving in the UK. Perhaps our experience was an exception, but I wished I had known more about liabilities of driving in the UK. Obviously, each of us need to weigh individual benefits and liabilities. In our case, the liabilities got us. We were able to recover, but lost money, time, and energy in doing so. <BR> <BR>We rented a car from Avis vis AutoEurope in Edinburgh. We kept the car for two days before we decided not to keep the car for a week. Adding the time it took to get to the rental office, renting and returning the car, getting lost many times in Edinburgh (we were armed with a detailed map of the city with all the turnes highlighted,) having to wait at a long line at a gas station (not to mention the cost!), and having to wait for RAC to replace a flat tire (after scraping the left front tire against the razor sharp granite sidewalk walls on narrow side streets to pass oncoming cars--I drive on the right side at home,) we lost at least 6 hrs in two days because we rented a car. Additionally, constantly yelling to my wife and vice versa for missing the turns, kids getting sick in the back seat, and exhausion of driving on the left side on narrow roads, we decided we were not enjoying our trip at all. We took a train to York instead of driving and the kids could not have been happier; it took 2hrs vs 5hrs driving, able to play cards to pass the time instead of getting car sick. We were able to visit additional places in York, because we arrived much earlier than originally planned.

Jen Z

I have never rented a car in Europe and I doubt I ever will. I love the trains too much, and it's so nice to sit back and watch the scenery, and have no car-related hassles. I have never found it to be inconvenient to not have a car. I'm sure there might be a few places where a car might be a necessity (getting to Avebury without taking a tour, for example) but I'm willing to sacrifice those places until I've seen all the others, and that will probably take a lifetime! <BR> <BR>My problem is getting back into a car, even as a passenger, after weeks travelling by train and busses. Once I took a cab in Hamburg, and I hadn't been in anything smaller than a city bus in about six weeks. I was so terrified I sat through the whole ride with my hands over my eyes!!!