We are going to Croatia for 3 weeks, flying into Dubrovnik and out of Zagreb. Our first two nights will be in Cavat. I am trying to decide if we should get our rental car when we arrive or the day we leave Cavat for Mostar (1 night there). Our one full day in Cavat will be spent recuperating from jet lag and visiting Dubrovnik. I know we will have to pay to park a car in Cavat.

My biggest dilemma is who to rent a car from. I have done lots of reading and have read plenty of negative reviews. I have also read suggestions of using auto europe which is just a broker and then I still have to make a choice of which car company. I know that cheapest is rarely the best. I would appreciate any suggestions.

First and foremost, do NOT rent a car until you have been in Croatia for at least a day or two -- driving after crossing multiple time zones is not safe and cannot be made to be safe. Instead, driving ANY distance is just as dangerous for yourselves -- and anyone else on the road -- as driving drunk.

I always make my rental car arrangements for any where in Europe through gemut.com, which works with AutoEurope, which -- as you note -- is a broker working primarily with Europcar and Hertz. I've never been asked to make the choice between them, and if I were asked, I would ask the people at gemut to help me make that decision.

BTW, the scenery that can be seen from the BUS from Dubrovnik to Mostar is among the most spectacular scenery I've had the good fortune to see, and I would not want to be a driver forced to forego those vistas when there is a comfortable, convenient option for public transporation. (And the road is challenging enough that the driver would not be able to fully appreciate the scenery.)

You're most likely going to get the best price from one of the brokers like Auto Europe. Last time, I used EconomyCarRentals.com - and they got me a good price on a car from Oryx, a Croatian company with offices around Croatia. They were OK. In the past I rented with Sixt, a big European car company, and they were OK, too.

Yes, you'll read horror stories about just about all of them, really. Some of them are from people who either didn't have proper expectations or may simply have been unreasonable. Read a lot of the reviews not just the bad ones to get a general flavor for the company.

I think the important thing is to understand the insurance cost and requirements up front as well as whatever extra fees you might be required to pay. All European cars come with liability insurance included, but the collision and comprehensive coverage varies a lot. I used my Amex card when I rented with Oryx and had some damage and kind of got screwed - Amex's insurance company assured me I was covered, but after I filed my claim they refused to lift a finger to help me with it, so I never got paid. Lesson learned. In the future, I'll probably just pay extra for full coverage with either the broker or the car company itself and just look for the cheapest price when the insurance cost is added.

Note that Bosnia is not in the EU, and when you drive the car out of Croatia, you must have an insurance card ("green card") in the car - it may be inspected at border crossings. And this is often not free. Find out what the extra cost is for this - it varies by the car company, don't assume it is included in the reservation price unless it explicitly mentions it. And don't assume every car you reserve will include this insurance card unless you requested it.

Thank you for the great suggestions. I have decided to hold off getting the rental car for a few days.

Thank you for the great advise. I will definitely be looking into the green card issue. I really appreciate your suggestion about car insurance.