Rental Cars

After a long trans-Atlantic flight your first experience typically will be arranging car hire.  Most major airports will have courtesy buses to take you to the car hire company.  At the arrivals doors look out for buses bearing the car hire company name.

Pre-booking your car hire saves some form-filling and thus time when all you want to do is get to your hotel.You will need : A Full British driving license with some photo ID if your license is not a photocard and major credit card

Cars will vary between different rental companies, but as a guide we have listed example cars in each of the main categories.  Boot space in American cars tends to be less than equivalent UK models, so bear this in mind when choosing which size of car you will need.  A typical family of 2 adults and 2 children with luggage for 2 weeks really need a Mid-Size car.  You may not feel comfortable driving a larger vehicle around US cities, so also bear this in mind.

Some American cars have foot pedal operated parking (hand) brakes.  Press the pedal to set the brake, press again to release.

All cars (other than specialist sports) will be automatic sometimes having the shift lever on the steering column, all have air conditioning.

You may find some other features that are not common on UK models - such as doors locking automatically when you start driving the vehicle, 'turning lights' that illuminate the road at the front of the car when you use the turn signal, lights that switch on automatically according to ambient light levels.  If you are not sure about anything - ask the rental company before driving away.

Fuel consumption given is in miles per US gallon, which is slightly smaller than a UK gallon.  All vehicles will use unleaded.  As a guide to costing your holiday, fuel in California as of January 2004 is currently $1.537 / gallon for Regular up to $1.691 / gallon for Premium.  Regular is usually fine for cars up to Mid-Size, use the Premium grade for larger models.  Again, ask if you're not sure.