How to rent a car in California to make the Los Angeles - San Diego route but not only, here's how we found ourselves with Auto Europe and why we recommend it.
On our last trip, done in California, we decided to rent a car. Yes you know, California is huge and distances are always to be calculated well, also because traffic is not always predictable. When we started thinking about which site to rent our car and we considered valid and reliable the site on which we had rented the car for other trips already made: Ibiza and South Africa. We have therefore chosen to confirm again Auto europe.
Why did we choose Auto Europe?
We have chosen Auto Europe again because we like to continue to believe in those who make us feel good, who facilitate a journey rather than complicate it. With Auto Europe the rental is very simple, the things to pay attention to (and I always recommend it) are the kasko insurance that covers everything (even from damage caused by others) and that can only be paid on the spot and not through the site at the time of booking, so to be clear when you go to collect the car once you arrive at your destination, and the points of collection and delivery of the car.
In fact, for a moment, during our travel arrangements, we had the idea of picking up the car at one airport and delivering it to another. To my surprise, I noticed that the cost of difference, which we often imagine enormous, was truly ridiculous. In the end, we chose the same airport drop off option, but only for convenience
What you need to know to drive in the USA
In America everything is great, everything! So we end up booking a car that seems medium-sized to us and instead we end up with a 8-seater SUV. Luckily three of these were lying flat, so we ended up with a huge trunk, which is perfect for those with a stroller and two suitcases, and lots of space in the car. The car that initially seemed huge to us turned out to be in line with other Californian cars. We have almost always seen SUVs and off-road vehicles, even some smaller cars, it is true, but mostly the big cars were the masters.
Unless you ask, cars in America have the automatic change. This means that at the beginning you will find yourself a little confused to drive, but in the end when you return home, you will no longer be able to do without the manual gearbox and you will want it for yourself too.
How are the roads and how they drive in California
The streets in Los Angele and San Diego are most of them have five or seven lanes. You will find the roads in excellent condition, even those we traveled to go from San Diego to Palm Springs which had only one lane, so to speak. Clean road, no holes or cracks, mostly straight roads, but beware of traffic.
Los Angeles is known for its traffic. You will almost always find it, obviously mostly during rush hours and when you leave the offices, but at any time of the day you decide to get in your car, you will always find some traffic. It is enough to know, to leave with the heart in peace. Traffic as it forms, disappears. Just a curve, a bit of waiting, maybe the right radio to pass the wait and the queue is gone.
I was very impressed to find on the side of the road in Los Angeles as in Sam Diego, signs explaining who had adopted that piece of road and its cleanliness. Or in others, there was the possibility of taking that piece of road. I noticed that the further south we went, the more I found shops or restaurants as sponsors. One thing that struck me very much.
