The Joys and Travails of a Self-Drive Vacation

By Srinivasa Shenoy Experience 0 Comments

A preferred option for my travels is a self-drive itinerary – always! Though: a self-drive may not be feasible in all the places e.g. in South East Asia – where it might simply be too risky and economically not justifiable or in places where the main destination is the city itself e.g. Singapore.

There is no mistaking the value of having a knowledgeable driver guide to navigate through unknown roads and paths, update you on interesting facts about the destination/country/people and to ensure that you do not waste any time ‘getting lost’ in an already packed itinerary (which happens to be the norm in today’s ‘speed holidays’ – driven by leave entitlements).

Furthermore, the naysayers would say that adjusting to the Traffic rules of the destination country – mainly the shift to a Left / Right hand drive would increase the risks of driving in a foreign country. I demur – yes, initially on the first day it might be difficult to drive with some very anxious moments. However, a confident driver would soon adjust and in fact, it would take some reverse ‘adjustment’ to your reflexes, when you come back home!

Nevertheless, the sense of freedom of navigating your own route, stopping wherever you like, pleasant discoveries of unknown nooks & corners, and not being bound by someone else’s priorities makes a strong case for a self-drive. And in places of scenic beauty where the drive itself is an integral part of the journey – a self-drive is, in my opinion, inevitable!

An additional bonus for a self-drive would be the cost – especially in the European / developed countries, where the cost of labour (driver) would be very high; to the extent that a self-drive rental could be as much as 30-50% of a chauffeur driven option. Of course, this is not in comparison to travelling by Train / public transport – which has its own charm; but I would rather prefer the trains option only for very long distances.

A few tips / suggestions on a self-drive vacation

1. Expect to get lost!

Expecting a smooth ride in a foreign country is a fancy expectation! When you realize that things WILL go wrong – you can manage the situation better!

I clearly remember the harrowing experience (s), we had in navigating the narrow lanes of the small city of Al-Kerak in Jordan and more horrifying – getting lost in the deserts of Wadi Rum late in the evening. But then all ends well for the brave!

2. Be prepared for tyre flats/ break-downs

When things can go wrong; they will! And how!! A particular incident I will always remember: while I was driving in the beautiful Jordan Valley – the border between Israel and Jordan. After realizing that the car was not behaving well for more than a while, I found to my horror that I had a severe flat tyre in the middle of nowhere and that too with the evening skies darkening rapidly! However, as I said earlier, luck favours the brave! An anxious survey of the place brought out a car tyre shop just about 50 metres behind the car!

And of course, it did not end here! After the tyre was repaired – a casual inspection of the other tyres produced the revelation that I had, in fact, two flats!

So, after a forced break of about an hour, with broken conversations with the car mechanic (with the helpful assistance of my hotel staff on the phone) – we started off later in the night; with an unexpected bonus of a clear car – the shop was happy for the business and threw in a car shower!

The learning: Be prepared! Always keep your hotel or your operator / car rental company numbers ready on hand.

3. Do NOT always follow Google Maps – explore!

Google map is indispensable in our life today. But following it blindly will take you through the ‘usual’ routes. Put in the extra effort to figure out (intuitively) alternate and better (more scenic, more en-route locations) routes.

E.g. I would advise this approach for a drive in the Cape region of South Africa. If had taken the Google maps route – I would have never discovered two beautiful and isolated beaches – Pearly beach and Die Dam in the South Cape region. I also had a memorable drive (albeit on bad roads) through farms and vineyards adjoining the Cape Agulhas National park! Managed to spot a Mole snake as well!

Off the beaten track – refusing to follow google maps – an unexpected discovery of a beautiful and lonely beach – Die Dam. En-route to Cape Agulhas in South Africa.

The Roads may not always be the best – off the Google maps track is always risky. But then wow! – the views compensate!

4. Keep ‘flexible’ time targets (if at all) to reach your destination; plan to stop at every whim!

No point in hurrying through to get to your destination. Sometimes, the drive itself is the destination. A case in point: I took a route advised by my homestay host (and got the lady from google maps completely frustrated) from Cape Agulhas to Simon’s town. Going by Kleinmond, Pringle’s Bay, Betty’s Bay and Gordons Bay – I realized that I had chanced upon the Whale Coast route – which, as per some accounts, is much more scenic than the famous Garden Route of South Africa!

Here, the authorities have been pragmatic enough to recognize that drivers would go crazy and stop at every location to catch ‘moments’ of the beautiful scenery – which changes (always for the better) at every bend. There are provisions for ‘waiting’ spaces at every 500 mtrs – 1 km – all along the route!

With all these stops – it was but inevitable that I reached a delightful 3 hours later than predicted by the lady in Google maps!

5. Documents

Of course, the most important! It would not be advisable to take a risk on documents in a foreign country. While some countries would be okay with the Indian Driving Licence e.g. South Africa – whose rules are content with driving licences in English and a photo of the driver displayed on the licence; in cases of ambiguity – it would always be better to take an International Driving Permit. Refer our separate discussion on the same.

Other factors

Which car to take? – Normally a personal decision; however, for 2-3 persons, a small car is the best in normal circumstances – from a maneuverability and handling ease in a foreign environment. The cost differential is also quite attractive. However, in case you are driving in mountainous regions, do check on whether you would want a 4 X 4 (rather than a hatchback or a sedan). In such cases, for 4X4s, I would recommend a manual transmission rather than an automatic.
Car Terms – Look at the Terms and conditions carefully. A small discussion on some of them:
Insurance – I would always recommend taking full insurance (with no sub-limits) on your car insurance. It may cost you slightly more – but the peace of mind compensates.
Drop off fees – You have to remember that in case the drop off location is different from the pick-up location, there will be additional ‘Drop-off’ charges – which will vary depending on the drop off location. Can be substantial in certain cases.
Credit card blocking – The Car Rental company would block off a certain amount on your credit card when you take delivery of the card – this is to protect the car rental company from damages, petrol etc..
Fuel: Full to full tank – This is the normal policy – they will give you the car on a full tank and when you return the car, the rental company will top up and charge your card for the fuel short. I would advise filling up the fuel tank just before handing over the car.
Other terms – Check on whether you prefer the Limited vs. Unlimited mileage. In case of limited mileage, the rental company would charge you a certain rate / km for driving beyond the limited mileage set.