Extra fee for taking rental car from Poland into Slovakia?
 

My husband is planning a trip to Slovakia next month. The closest airport was actually Krakow Poland so he will be picking up a rental car from the airport and driving it into Slovakia for the week. He's returning back to Krakow for the flight home. He has his flights and hotel booked but hasn't yet booked the rental car. Several companies indicated there could be a fee for crossing the border, but no amount was specified.

Does anyone know which companies charge for taking a car across the border? And how much? Do you know of anything that definitely don't charge extra for this?

There shouldn't be, as both are within the Schengen zone. Rental company will give you a cross-border certificate, with car's registration and insurance details (small credit-card sized). There may be a small charge for extra breakdown cover outside of Poland.

Just to warn you that roads in Poland, even main roads (other than motorways) can be in poor condition and carry a lot of commercial traffic, so don't expect to move very quickly. Average speed will be no more than 40 mph or 60 km/h. Also drive with care, as accident rates are high and surfaces are poorly finished. Slovak roads can also be poor.

make sure that he specifies that he'll be needing to take it into slovakia as some companies look askance at this, where for example a german car is being taken to Poland.

Poland to Slovakia shouldn't pose the same problems but it's as well to ask beforehand.

I suspect that he'll have to make a phone call or two rather than do this over the internet.

What I do on when I cross boarders, when I know the rental agency, I e-mail them my intent. This way you will have their answer in writing and know if there is an extra charge.

Having driven in Poland, I found the roads fine. We were on many back roads coming from Vilnius. However, commercial traffic or even tractors in the road could be a factor slowing you down. Many of the roads we were on were just two way.

We had no problems.

A few consolidators to try for a car rental. www.kayak.com www.carrentals.com

Just read the terms and conditions prior to booking. It shouldn't be a problem to find a company that allows border crossings as most larger ones do.

Thanks for the replies. I've started emailing various companies. The problem is that in the terms and conditions many just say "a fee may be applied" without specifying what that is. I think we'll probably go with Europcar even though they cost a little more just because they responded and we have something in writing from them now.

We rented our car in Krakow through http://www.economycarrentals.com/ but did not take it to Slovakia.

Problems are more likely to arise if he wants to rent a more upscale car - or a car originating in someplace other than Poland. as long as he is clear about the itinerary before he takes the car it should be fine.

When in Slovakia you need to buy a 'vignette' to drive on the motorways. They can be bought at petrol stations - 7 days costs EUR 10. Police are looking out for foreign cars and the on-the-spot fine is EUR120 in cash!

Definitely tell the rental agency that you will be taking the car into another country. The rental agency will then make sure that he is given a car that is allowed into the countries of travel.

For example: I rent a BMW from Sixt in Germany. When I pick up my car, on the rental agreement it shows that Sixt has 3 "zones" and I am only allowed to take the BMW into Zone I countries. If I want to go to Czech Republic or Slovakia (Zone II), I need them to give me something not a BMW or Mercedes (or Aston Martin) and this normally means i get a VW or Skoda or whatever.

This trip was taken last fall - October, 2012.

Most of the statements still apply, especially about different car classes and zones. :p