The Adventures of Driving in Foreign Countries

When we travel we like to get out and explore our destinations. We occasionally take part in group tours or excursions but being a family of five, we’ve found it’s often more affordable and provides us more flexibility to rent a car. For us, a car rental allows us to move at our own pace and explore things that all excursion packages may not include. We get to make our own schedule and stop and go where we want, when we please. Plus it’s a completely different experience than being a passenger in a taxi or tour bus.

Driving in other locations definitely isn’t the same as driving at home! Sometimes you’re on the other side of the road, there’s language barriers with signs and GPS devices, road conditions can vary and police may not function the same as they do in America. I love that my husband is confident enough to drive anywhere, because to be honest I don’t think I could. We’ve gotten to see and experience a lot of great things we never would have on tours, but boy have we had our share of adventures!

When everything is the opposite of what you know:

Whereas we are used to driving on the right side of the road many places in the world do just the opposite. I have to admit I’ve never attempted this myself but have had my share of laughs from the passenger seat! Driving on the opposite side is only a small part of what goes into this adventure. Rotaries are approached the opposite way, the driver sits on the opposite side of the car and many of the car’s controls are swapped from what Americans are used to. The blinkers are where the wipers should be and the window controls where the radio should be.

On an adventure in one of the Caribbean islands my husband got frustrated with another driver and while attempting to flash them in anger he proceeded to clean our windows. At another point, it started to rain and the wipers needed to be on. Instead of a clean windshield, we got headlights. It was hysterical and fairly entertaining – especially as the passenger! 

You should assume you’ll make a mistake at some point when you rent an unfamiliar vehicle, especially if you’ll be driving on a side of the road you’re not used to. Just be ready to act quick and hopefully just laugh it off.

Road conditions can be pretty dangerous:

As Americans, we’re very fortunate to have a well maintained highway and road system. Yes, you may occasionally come across a big pothole or road under construction but for the most part driving is easy and we know what to expect. That’s not always the case in other places. Many locations outside the US lack the resources and/or funds to properly maintain their roads, which often lead to some dangerous and somewhat interesting driving situations.

We’ve driven on roads that are on old coral reefs, dusty dirt and dangerously curvy along the edges of cliffs with no guard rails. Many locations also don’t have a lot of signage, lines, reflectors or street lights on their streets making it treacherous at night. We’ve even been on a few islands where one heavy rainstorm can completely wash out and flood roads for days.

Sometimes, places need to get creative with their roads. While driving in Costa Rica we came across a few old railway bridges spanning across very deep ravines. One bridge stretched at least 300ft and had pieces of wood layed down to cover the openings where the tracks should have been. There was only enough room for one lane of cars at a time so cars patiently waited for their turn. We hesitantly looked on as car after car drove across and even saw a tractor trailer take a turn. I’m not sure we actually would have gone across if there was another way, but we did it and boy was it scary!

On that same vacation, after a day of exploring we ended up having to make our way through the mountains in Arenal at dusk. FYI, the area is also known as the “cloud forest” and it truly was like we were driving in the clouds. Not only did we have to drive along the edge of cliffs on a curvy road but we were engulfed in fog and low-hanging clouds as the sun was setting and there was not one street light to be found. Fortunately we made our way out of the mountains just before it was completely dark!

The advantage of knowing another language:

Language barriers can definitely be an issue when it comes to renting a car. Signs are often not in English, asking for directions may not be easy and as we learned in Iceland even something as simple as using a GPS can be difficult when the preloaded alphabet is one you’re unfamiliar with. Fortunately, my husband knows a bit of French and I some basic Spanish so between the two of us we’re usually pretty good at figuring out simple directions and getting help when needed. Learning the significance of various colors and symbols of signs can be particularly helpful if you cannot read in the country’s language. It’s important to keep in mind that identical symbols and road markings can have different meanings depending on the country.

I really got to put my Spanish to the test while driving a rental car in Costa Rica. We somehow took a wrong turn and ended up in the middle of farm lands. After driving for awhile and guessing directions the time came when we knew it was time to seek help. Fortunately, we found some men working in a field. Since my husband doesn’t know Spanish, I was the lucky one that got to approach them. They were more than happy to speak with me – I guess what young guy wouldn’t appreciate a young American tourist in a cute sundress approaching them… Anyhow, my understanding of Spanish only went so far when I realized just how fast they spoke and with thick accents! Fortunately, I made a point to remember and remind myself of “izquierda” (left) and “derecha” (right) before we left home so, with that knowledge I was able to get us off the back roads and headed in the right direction. 

Besides different languages on signs, different places also use kilometers per hour instead of miles per hour – not something we’re used to and as a result we got pulled over for speeding in Costa Rica. Fortunately, we got a nice police officer and in my broken Spanish, I did my best to explain how sorry we were. After checking all of our papers we were told to stay safe and waved goodbye. Who knows how this would have turned out if we couldn’t communicate at all!

Side streets, shortcuts and cut throughs are not always what you expect:

When in unknown territory we often have to rely on maps and GPS devices to get around. There’s been more than a few times when following the directions given doesn’t necessarily seem right, but we go ahead and and hope for the best.

While driving on the Amalfi Coast in Italy our GPS diverted us on some side roads to cut through to the next main road. Before we knew it, the road became more of what looked like a dirt hiking trail and we were driving in the middle of what seemed to be someone’s farm. Suddenly, we had a pack of dogs barking at us and running behind the car! No one approached us and we did finally start to see some road signs. The dogs eventually turned around and we did get to our expected destination. It was definitely an entertaining cut through!

In Aruba we were making our way to visit caves known as the “Tunnel of Love” when suddenly the roads became coral and we were surrounded by signs telling us we were entering a live firing range with landmines. We double checked directions and low and behold we did see some signs for the caves, but it was a bit unsettling driving through a shooting range to get to the tunnel of love. Guess most relationships have similar paths. We unfortunately also managed to damage one of the tire rims on our rental car. A small Toyota was definitely not an appropriate vehicle for the terrain we were driving on!

An encounter with corrupt police:

We’ve been on a few cruise ships that stop in Cozumel, Mexico. Since it’s such a small island with basically one main road we’ve found renting a jeep is definitely the best way to spend the day. Having a car gives you the opportunity to explore the island and find some neat hidden gems. We’ve discovered multiple beautiful private beaches, a blow hole and delicious authentic restaurants for lunch. I strongly recommended renting a car and going out to explore. 

Cozumel is a fairly small island and easy to navigate once you get out of town just beware, as we learned the police are a bit corrupt. On our last trip we got pulled over for the bogus reason that we “zigged and zagged” and the officer accused my husband of drinking (he watched us pull out of a restaurant 2min before). He then told us we could give him $100 if we didn’t want to go with him to the police station. We ended up paying some money but not the total amount – fortunately, our money was in separate places so he didn’t know what we really had. He pocketed our cash and that was the end of it. We didn’t do anything wrong and as frustrating as it was we unfortunately had no choice but to pay. As we pulled away we watched him return to his same spot and take off after another rental car.This was our third time renting a car on Cozumel and even though we had heard similar stories, this is the only issue we ever had so don’t let it scare you. Just know it can happen no matter where you are.

Watch out for roaming farm animals:

When renting cars in the Caribbean we’ve often encountered cows, goats and various other animals in and on the side of the road. We even came across a peacock once! When driving down a side street on one island we were surprised to come across and almost hit a cow! Another time, we were driving through a neighborhood in Aruba and a chicken actually flew out of someone’s yard and into our car! We were in a fairly poor area and were so torn whether we should let the owners know their potential dinner was laying in the road! We do occasionally see animals on the sides of the road at home but large farm animals are almost always fenced in and it’s definitely rare to see animals just in the streets. It’s definitely something we’ve learned to watch for when driving in the Caribbean.

Gaining memories and experiences to last a lifetime:

Please don’t let any of the stories above scare you from renting a car. All those experiences taught us something new, gave us a good laugh, created memories to last a lifetime and left us with great stories to tell! If we hadn’t rented a car we never would have experienced all the beauty of Iceland, driving through volcanic land, mountains and waterfalls during our 4 hour ride to the Vatnajökull glacier, the largest glacier mass in Europe. Renting a car also allowed us to drive from Naples, Italy to the Amalfi Coast and really get to experience the feel and beauty of zig zagging our way along the cliffs while taking in the stunning scene before us – this was definitely one of my husband’s favorite driving moments ever! While in our rental cars we’ve discovered and enjoyed countless gorgeous beaches that we’ve had all to ourselves and amazing restaurants that we never would have come across staying in the busy tourist areas.

If you do plan to rent a car make sure you do your research before leaving home as there are different rules depending on where you’re traveling. For example, an international driving permit (IDP) is recommended or required for multiple countries. It costs about $20 and needs to be acquired while in the United States. Most countries also require drivers to hold some type of automobile insurance. It’s possible that your domestic insurance plan offers overseas coverage, but you should confirm whether your specific destination is covered and what coverage is actually provided. Since driving laws differ across countries, it’s also a good idea to research some of the basic rules and traffic signs in the country you plan to visit. 

I strongly suggest having your rental car reserved before leaving. Not only is it less stressful to have everything in place but it allows you the opportunities to compare available vehicles and find the best price. Keep in mind, when driving in a foreign country, it’s important to choose a vehicle that is both well suited for the environment you’re in and comfortable for you to drive. If the weather and terrain are different to what you’re used to, you might want to factor this in when making your choice. For example, when driving in areas where roads are particularly icy, hilly, or unpaved, renting a car with all-wheel drive could make your trip much safer and easier. I should note also that there are several countries where it’s more expensive or even impossible to rent a car with automatic transmission. If you’re not competent at driving a manual car, while on vacation is not the time to try.

If you think you might not have sufficient phone service while traveling, consider purchasing a separate handheld GPS system or choosing a rental car with navigation included. If traveling to an area with limited navigation data or satellite service be prepared to ask for directions, pack a paper map of the area, or download a map beforehand so that you can navigate offline.

In conclusion, although we’ve had our share of mishaps and interesting encounters we truly enjoy renting a car when we travel. I believe it’s the best way to get to experience a new place and see the things that interest you. Yes, you can see things from the backseat of a tour van or taxi but it’s not the same as driving yourself and having the freedom to pull over to check out an amazing view or stop because somewhere looks like a great place to grab a drink or meal.