Tips for Other Means of Transport: Cars, Taxi, Rideshare, Hitchhike

Car rental

I’m not an expert on this subject as I rented a car only once during my trip to Cyprus. I have only a couple of tips.

– Book online from the website of either the car rental company (Avis.com, Budget, etc.) or the booking company, Cartrawler, for example. I choose Cartrawler and Avis as examples only because a traveler we met in Cyprus, who gave me the idea of renting a car to explore Cyprus instead of taking the bus, used these companies

The winter rate I checked on Avis and Cartrawler websites listed $10 per day for a one-week rental with pick up at Larnaka airport. I called Avis agency from the airport, and she confirmed that this rate was only available via online booking. The walk-in rate at the desk is a whopping $30/day.

– Leave the gas tank empty when you return the car: Not sure if this is a common practice for only Avis, Cyprus or whole Europe. Avis’ policy states that you pay 64 euros for gas + 20 euros gas fee when you return your car. So drive, drag the car to empty if you can before returning. Fill it as little during the last days. You pay the same amount even when your tank is full. The agency people will tell you that when you rent the car. I saw one customer who got into an argument with the rental agency when he returned his car fully filled.

Taxi

As a rule for budget traveling, I don’t use a taxi unless I have to. Taxi drivers in most places are notorious for ripping off tourists. Be prepared to fork out a lot of money if you hail a taxi randomly on the street. If you need a taxi, you’d be better off calling the taxi company and order your taxi from them. In lesser or non-tourist destinations where taxi drivers are not yet contaminated by greed, taxi can be a convenient way to move around. When I lived in Sarajevo, I took taxi quite frequently as the rest of the local people. The taxi fare was only slightly more than a bus ticket for the same distance.

Basic tips
– Use public transportation and walk a few blocks.  Europe is very good when it comes to public transportation, so use them. Ask the people where you’re going to how to get to them using public transportation.
– Check the guidebook or ask the locals for taxi company’s phone numbers and call them.
– Share the taxi with other people.
– Always ask the locals for an estimate fares to bargain with the drivers.

Countries with cheap taxi fares

Bosnia-Herzegovina: Locals, even students, and teachers, use the taxi regularly, so use taxi whenever you want. Do ask local people for estimate fares. Most drivers were very honest when I was there. Some might cheat a little, but the difference wasn’t so much.

Moldova: Same as in Bosnia. Know the price beforehand, though. For example, one driver quoted me 3-time the price told by a local. Knowing the price, I was able to dismiss him instantly and negotiate with another driver just for a little bit more.

Turkey: Used once in Istanbul as I missed the last bus back to the city center. Forgot the price but it was reasonable. But then again, my Turkish friend told me ahead of the price which I used to negotiate with the driver.

Overall, I think taxi should be cheap in poorer countries where tourism isn’t as developed as the west.

Taxi at your fingertips

Nowadays when mobile is taking over the world and every service can be turned into a two-sided marketplace, you can conveniently order a taxi from your smartphone or tablet. Two biggest providers are Uber and Lyft.

Rideshare

I had rideshare experience in the US, Czech Republic, Germany,  Slovakia, and Romania and enjoyed it a lot. From my experience, rideshare tends to cost less than a full bus/train fare. Sometimes you might find rideshare more convenient because you can negotiate the pickup and drop-off time and location with the driver.

• Blablacar – a marketplace that connects drivers with empty seats to passengers looking for a rideshare.
• Additional rideshare resources – This document is maintained by a Couchsurfing member and a few other collaborators. You can find rideshare websites from the US, Canada, and many European countries (mostly Western ones).

Hitchhike

Hitchhiking is popular among young people in Europe (students and those who are traveling on the cheap, mostly guys). It’s not only a mean of transport, hitchhiking can be a fun rite of passage for budget travelers, backpackers, and wanderlust. I don’t hitchhike and don’t personally recommend it unless you feel really safe in your surrounding and that you can trust whoever stops to give you a ride. On the other hand, hitchhiking can be useful in a remote area where you can’t find a taxi or public transportation.

From my own and other travelers’ experience, here is the finding.

– Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden): You should be able to hitchhike easily here as the locals welcome the idea.
– Romania: Locals open to give you a ride in exchange for a small fare. I was told (2 months ago) that 2 euros should get you 50 km.
– In countries (former eastern European countries like Albania, Moldova, Montenegro, Ukraine, etc…) where private-run transportation as alternative to limited and inadequate public transportation, you probably don’t need to hitchhike because you can flag down any of these local bus/minivan/mega-taxi… on the street as they should be everywhere in the city. You pay but, the cost is minimal.
– Israel: Hitchhikers probably won’t find luck in this country. I was told by a few backpackers there about their negative experience. A couple was forced to walk for hours in a remote area not being able to get anyone to stop for them. They said that it was probably due to the political situation there that made people less trusting of strangers. I had to hitchhike because I was staying at a Kibbutz way off the main road with no public transportation or taxis passing by. I had to hitchhike and eventually got one to stop after almost an hour waiting and seeing many cars passing me.

I hitchhiked and had good experience in the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, Spain, and Israel.

There is no rule really; you can try in all countries. Be careful, though. While guys can do it whenever and wherever they want, ladies should take extra caution.