Many tourists rent a car for the entire period of their holiday in the Emirates or for several days to move around the city or go on excursions. It also happens that you rent a car for one day – to get from the airport to the hotel and the car will be at your personal disposal for the whole day. It turns out to be profitable, especially if the hotel is not so close to the airport. And you can still have time to go to the most interesting places and see them on your own, without spending money on an official excursion or travel with transfers.
Rent a Car
The price of renting a car depends on the company, the class of the car, and how many days you plan to rent the car. According to many travelers, the rental price is not that high if you choose a budget option. There are a lot of car rental companies in the UAE, especially in Dubai. They offer cars – both budget and luxury – for example, they can Rent Mercedes V250 if they want to feel the luxurious atmosphere of Dubai. You can order online by selecting the car you like and pick it up at the designated location upon arrival. The company can also deliver to the specified location. Or, upon arrival, you can register a car at one of the organizations at the airport. Some tourists find it convenient to agree to rent a car directly at the hotel – they say that the car will then be quickly picked up, there are never any problems with documents, and you can leave it in the hotel parking lot. To rent a car in the Emirates, a tourist must have the following documents:
- passport;
- international driving license;
- credit card.
The deposit is blocked from the credit card, the cost of the deposit starts from 1000 dirhams (from $272.24). The blocking amount varies from company to company and can be 1,300 dirhams ($353.91) or higher.
In some companies, the deposit can also be left in cash. Then all travel on toll roads and bridges is subtracted from it, and a printout is made almost instantly. If there are fines, they will be deducted too. The remainder of the deposit will be returned immediately. On the roads, you need to be very careful about changing lanes, speed, etc., although the Arabs themselves love to drive. Moreover, there are lots of beautiful and luxury cars – tourists like to Rent Porsche 718 Boxster or some similar models because these cars deliver fantastic emotions. But there are cameras everywhere, and the fines for violations are very high.
Important nuances
When a car is handed over, experienced tourists, just in case, immediately take photographs of all scratches and chips, if any, so that there are no problems and unexpected surprises when returning the car.
Many resorts in the UAE have parking (almost all good hotels have free parking for their guests). Parking at shopping centers is mostly free, but there are also paid ones – for example, at SC Mall of the Emirates you can park for free only for 4 hours. If you are on holiday in Sharjah, there are many free spaces in local parking lots. But in Dubai, near shopping centers, sometimes you have to circle around to find a free space. In many places, parking is free for a certain time, but at other times there is a fee. To pay for parking, you must have cash with you – on the street, payment can be made through a parking meter, which only accepts coins; you cannot pay with paper bills. The price for an hour of parking starts from 2 dirhams ($0.54). The parking meter also contains payment instructions, and if the tourist has a local SIM card, he can pay using it. After payment, the coupon must be left in the car on the front panel so that it is visible to the inspector. Besides the fact that everyone mostly drives fast, the driving style on the roads is different – many foreigners live in the UAE. An important nuance is that there are many toll roads in Dubai; you enter them through a gate with the red inscription SALIK. Upon entry, 4 dirhams ($1.09) are deducted from a sticker attached to the windshield of the car for each toll road. When the car is returned, trips on toll roads are added to the rental bill.
All these nuances are important when renting cars. But after reading this article, you can find a suitable rental salon and choose the best car for traveling around the UAE.
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