- Car hire prices are down around 25% for global destinations compared to 2022
- Book car hire a week before for the best value
- Poland offers the most wallet friendly prices, at £25 on average per day compared to the average global average price of £56
While the cost of everything seems to be soaring this year, including summer holidays, rental car hire prices for global destinations have been slashed by around 25% compared to last year according to search data from KAYAK.co.uk, the world’s leading travel search engine*.
It seems more Brits are choosing car hire this summer, as searches are up around 15% compared to 2019. But, they are still money conscious and looking at economy and mini car hire over premium and luxury.
On the right track to savings
Whilst it might seem logical to book your car hire at the same time as booking your flights, that can actually end up costing you more. Booking your car hire just a week before, the average daily rate then is £48 compared to £54 on average, if you book 44 days in advance.
There are plenty of destinations with car hire for less than £50 a day. If you’re looking for a European road trip, hitting the roads in Poland ends up at an average daily rate of £25. Whilst if you want something further afield, you can explore the great outdoors in South Africa for an average rental price of £34 a day.
Most wallet-friendly car hire destinations Based on searches on Kayak.co.uk
| Destination | Average daily car hire price* |
|---|---|
| 1. Poland | £25 |
| 2. Malta | £26 |
| 3. Romania | £32 |
| 4. South Africa | £34 |
| 5. Bulgaria | £34 |
| 6. Spain | £38 |
| 7. Cyprus | £39 |
| 8. Hungary | £41 |
| 9. United Arab Emirates | £43 |
| 10. Croatia | £44 |
British road trip trends
The most searched destinations Brits are looking to travel by car in Europe is Palma de Mallorca, Spain, with average car hire prices of £38 a day, and Orlando Florida, USA, where prices are £53 a day on average.
For Brits looking for a UK road trip, it seems Londoners are searching the most for car hire, and average prices are £66 a day. The more rural destination of Inverness, Scotland has one of the most expensive car hire prices at an average of £83 a day.
Evan Day, KAYAK UK commented, “Travelling by car is a great way to explore and allows you to be in control of your holiday schedule. You’re as free as the road in front of you, to go and see for yourself when you want and how you want. Travelling by car also gives you the opportunity to cross borders, and visit multiple destinations in one trip. The best flight and car hire prices are not always the city you want to travel from, so it’s worth doing your research to find the best price as it could be worth starting your trip in a different city. Our car hire search can help you to find a car for a great price.”
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Note to editors:
KAYAK offers a wide range of tools including a variety of search filters to find the flights, cars and hotels to help travellers book their next getaway including:
- Explore: Debating where to travel? Use KAYAK’s Explore tool to see all the amazing places you can visit within a given price range.
- Flexible Dates: KAYAK’s flexible dates tool shows you how much you’ll save just by having some wiggle room on your arrival or departure dates.
- Price Forecast: Use KAYAK’s price forecast tool so you know the likelihood of your flight price rising within 30 days, helping you determine whether you should book now or wait.
- Price Alerts: Never miss a deal by signing up for KAYAK’s customised price alerts so you know when prices change for the flight, hotel or car you want.
- Vacay Valuator: Find the destinations you could fly to based on the savings you could make by cutting back on some everyday luxuries
*Based on car hire searches made on Kayak.co.uk and associated sites in the period between 01/01/2023 – 16/07/2023 for travel dates 01/07/2023 – 31/08/2023 compared to the same periods in 2022 and 2019. Prices are on average for daily car hire. Prices may vary and savings cannot be guaranteed. Percentages for changes in searches are approximate.
About KAYAK
KAYAK, part of Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG), is the world’s leading travel search engine. With billions of queries across our platforms, we help people find their perfect flight, stay, rental car and vacation package. We also support business travellers with our corporate travel solution.
