Basel

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DRAFT

 

Basel is perhaps served by the most multinational airport in the world — not only can you arrive in either Switzerland or France (Mulhouse) the airport also markets itself as serving the city of Freiburg in Germany. This makes it tricky to offer advice about whether or not to pick up a hire car, as you might be driving in any one of these three countries, or indeed in a combination of them.

 

Naturally for the city of Basel itself, it goes without saying that as with any other Swiss city, public transport is excellent, although unlike Geneva or Zürich, there is no direct rail link from Basel airport to the Central Station. The city of Freiburg has a long-standing reputation as being one of Germany’s greenest cities, and again the public transport is excellent. Public transport is also perfectly reasonable in the French city of Mulhouse.

 

Once outside the cities, what are your best options?

 

Why rent a car at Basel airport?

 

  • Variable public transport — Basel is a very important hub on the Swiss rail network, and there are three routes going into south-west Germany. However, only one of the German routes is a mainline, and there is only one line going into France, although this is the line to Mulhouse, which is served by the French TGV.
  • Cost — unless booked in advance (but you can only do this up to 15 days before the date of travel), Swiss trains are expensive, so booking a seemingly cheap flight to Basel instead of Zürich, and then taking the train into eastern Switzerland might be a false economy. Although car hire in Switzerland isn’t a cheap either, for a group of three or four, picking up a rental car at Basel airport might be cheaper than taking the train.
  • Not that great — it is easy to justify the high cost of train travel in Switzerland when the views are so superb, but apart from the route to Neuchâtel mentioned below, the train route around Basel are nothing like as special as they are heading south from Zürich or Bern. If it is cheaper to drive, then you might as well do so.
  • Vosges – go for a drive in the Ballons des Vosges Natural Park, just beyond Mulhouse.

 

Why not?

 

  • Cost — even if you have a choice of arriving in two countries, neither France nor Switzerland are good value for car hire all stopped
  • Swiss rail passes — a number of different rail passes are available in Switzerland, usually giving unlimited travel on a set number of days. If you take advantage of this option, it doesn’t matter that Basel is further away from some alpine destinations than Zürich.
  • Swiss transfer ticket — another option for long-distance train travel within Switzerland is to take advantage of the Swiss transfer ticket, which gives halfprice travel to anywhere in Switzerland on the same day that your flight arrives (or departs on the way out). Basel is a good airport to use for the Bernese Oberland, or for continuing through the Lotchberg Base Tunnel and on to the world-famous resort of Zermatt, which sits under the iconic Matterhorn.
  • Swiss trains — Swiss trains are famous for good reason, and this needs no introduction — see our Zürich and Bern pages for more information.
  • Neuchâtel — the lake and city of Neuchâtel are one of the most underrated places to visit in the Swiss Lowlands — the view from the city across the lake with the Alps behind is superb. Take the train from Basel to Moutier, then to the bilingual city of biel / Bienne via Sonceboz, and then towards Geneva via Neuchâtel, and you can enjoy outstanding scenery for virtue the whole journey.
  • Vitra — whether you are appreciative of good design or great architecture, the Vitra design Museum, designed by deconstructivist architect Zaha Hadid, is in nearby Weil-am-Rhein (Germany).
  • Dornach? Goethaneum?

 

Verdict — if you started with the natural assumption that there would be no point in hiring a car in Basel, then there are plenty of reasons to think again. Whereas it should be categorically clear that a hire car in either Zürich or Bern is a bad idea, it is much less clear-cut in Basel. Therefore, relative to expectations, a hire car is certainly worth looking at.

 

Verdict — yes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note — Basel airport has one terminal building with separate arrivals areas for France on the left and Switzerland on the right. The airport is surrounded by French territory, except for the access road from the Swiss side which goes straight into the city of Basel. You can pick up a hire car or on either side, and should usually expect to pay around 15% more to pick up a Swiss hire car and drive it in to Basel.

 

Do hire cars in French Basel, or even in Milan have the Swiss vignette? Is that just for motorways? How is it enforced?

Bern

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 DRAFT

 

the Swiss capital is often overlooked by people who just want to change trains and head for the ski resorts, but this is a great shame as this tightly packed UNESCO world Heritage city has so much to offer. Having said that, this is of course the capital or Switzerland, so public transport is naturally outstanding, even if it is unlikely you will need it. What about the surrounding area?

 

Why hire a car in Bern?

 

  • There are very few reasons to hire a car in Bern, unless you on a business trip or visiting family, and sticking to the Swiss Lowlands.
  • Swiss bank account — when you see the prices of the train up to the world-famous Jungfraujoch top of Europe, you may well wish that you had your own Swiss bank account, because this is the most expensive railway in the world on a mile for mile basis. However, even if you wanted to drive, you just can’t — this, and many other places in the Bernese Oberland is simply unreachable on four wheels.

 

Why not?

 

  • Double Bond Heaven – James Bond fans will want to head straight to the Piz Gloria revolving restaurant, immortalised in On her Majesty’s Secret Service. However, this is just one side of the absolutely stunning way Swiss engineers have tamed the mountains in the Jungfrau region. Nearby is the Jungfraujoch Top of Europe experience, which features a spiralling rack and pinion railway which has been blasted through the mountain. You arrive in a huge cavernous space which very much resembles a Bond villain’s lair, before being lifted up to an open-air view platform, which offers a stunning vista of the Altech glacier. To reach these attractions, take the train to Interlaken Ost (East) first. Heading to Piz Gloria will take you through Lauterbrunnen, and then up a steep cliff to the car free village of Murren, from where the cable car continues to the top of a mountain. To reach Jungfraujoch, you can also head via Lauterbrunnen, from where you can take a train via another carfree village of Wengen; or you can go via Grindelwald. Either way, this is one particular part of Bond’s world where the Aston stays in the garage.
  • Zermatt — with the newly built Lotchberg Base Tunnel, Bern is the ideal gateway to Zermatt and the imposing Matterhorn which sits behind, with one simple change at Visp. Although you can drive to Zermatt, why would you want to, when the trains are so good? Also, what is the point in picking up a hire car and then paying again to take it on the alter train through the Lotchberg tunnel?
  • Crans-Montana — the famous resort of Crans-Montana can also be reached by changing Visp and then again Sierre.
  • Leukerbad
  • Beautenbucht
  • Paddle Steamers?
  • Climb — the Alps offer a breathtaking backdrop to any part of the city, but for the most spectacular advantage point, climb up the tower in Bern’s Munster, and enjoy not just great views of the mountains behind, but also a stunning view of the historic city itself.
  • Look the other way — it is easy to lavish attention on the Bernese Oberland, and other resorts in the Alps, but it is also worth an excursion to the bilingual city of Biel / Bienne, and continuing along the lake to Neuchâtel and Yverdon (see Basel page).
  • Art Museum? Paul Klee?

 

 

Verdict – Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

 

 

 

Bern conclusions

 

Mentioned Gore McGrath?

 

  • Still good for driving — even if some of the results in the Jungfrau region are off-limits for cars, there are still plenty of great places to go driving, especially during summer. Drive to resorts such as Gstaad, or continue to Les Diablerets, so while it is much easier to get to by car, compared to the very circuitous train ride from Bern.

 

  • Cost — Switzerland is already an expensive location for car hire, but you can expect to pay even more for the privilege of picking one up at Bern’s tiny airport.
  • Integrated walking and cycling — as you would expect, there are numerous walking and cycling trails all over central Switzerland, and these are always clearly signposted with estimated times. These paths always start and finish near some sort of public transport stop, and many of them will take you over to the next valley, so it is much easier to coordinate with public transport, than to drive somewhere and restrict yourself to having to return to the same spot.
  • Interlaken — Switzerland’s answer to New Zealand’s Queenstown offers any number of high adrenaline activities, or alternatively you can take it easy on one of the lake steamers on either Lake Thun (board at Interlaken West station) or Lake Brienz (Interlaken Ost).
  • Beatenbucht — this lovely village on the northern side of Lake Thun has what must surely be the most scenic swimming pool in Europe, with the trio of Jungfrau, Monch and Eiger as a backdrop. Even a location such as this is easily reachable by bus from Interlaken.
  • Leukerbad — another personal favourite.
  • Summer downhill — in Switzerland, the fun doesn’t stop when the snow melts, in fact it is even easier to appreciate downhill runs, either on a mountain bike or by picking up one of the scooters (trottibikes), which are available for hire at various cable car or mountain railway base stations. Either way, let the cable or train take the strain, and enjoy the downhill run. Note — Beatenbucht and Grindewald are personal favourites.

 

Verdict — of all the cities featured in Carornocar.com, Bern stands out as by far and away the strongest recommendation not to get one. This should be pretty obvious, considering that this is where you come for the best of the best of mountain railways, cable cars and lake cruisers, all integrated into one system. Considering the sheer expense of hiring a car in Bern, together with the fact that some of the most exciting places to visit are off-limits to vehicle traffic anyway, this really should be a no-brainer. The only other places where we could recommend not getting a car in even stronger terms would be destinations like Hong Kong, whose airport has no car rental facilities (Avis have an office downtown if you really insist), or Bermuda, where local regulations do not permit tourists to hire a car.

 

Verdict — absolute no! (-9)

 

Personal note — I usually like to visit new destinations, but having first visited Interlaken in 2001, I have been back many times since. I have never even considered getting a hire car to visit this part of Switzerland.

 

 

+ how did you get there?

Alicante

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Alicante, together with Malaga on the Costa Del Sol and Faro in Portugal’s Algarve is one of the cheapest places in the world to hire a car. So is there really any reason not to get one?

Why hire a car in Alicante?

  • Cheap car hire — car hire in Alicante is about as cheap as it gets, making public transport very unattractive, except for the solo or non-driving traveller.
  • Poor public transport — even when compared to Malaga, which is connected to the AVE high-speed train network, and which is the gateway to several great inland Andalusian cities, public transport in Alicante is poor. Whereas Malaga airport has train links to many nearby resorts, Alicante offers no such facility, nor does it offer a direct train link to Valencia.

Why not?

  • Resort transfers — plenty of easy resort transfers are available from Alicante airport to all of the nearby holiday resort locations.
  • Coastal tram — Alicante does at least offer one novelty, a tram which runs along the coastline, but this is not enough to tempt anyone away from their car.

Verdict: unlike Malaga, Alicante is a strong yes.

Note — this advice is for picking up a hire car in conjunction with flight into Alicante airport. The advice would be similar for Murcia, although the transport networks around Valencia, where we do not recommend getting a hire car, are vastly different.

Washington D.C.

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The US capital plays a strong hand in terms of its public transit, and places to visit in excursions by car from the city. What would you decide?

Why rent a car in Washington DC?

  • History – most people visiting Washington DC on leisure trips do so because of a strong sense of history – and if that means Gettysburg, Mount Vernon and Monticello, you are much better off with a rental car.
  • Scenic drives – even within the city, take a scenic drive like on the Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway. This kind of wide, scenic, driving road is not common in Europe.

Why not?

  • Metro – Washington has one of the most extensive (after New York), and most pleasant metro systems in the USA – we would rate it second only to BART in San Francisco.
  • Capital Bike Share (CaBi) – Like London, Washington has a communal bike sharing system, known as CaBi. This is ideal for exploring the many green spaces the city has to offer.
  • Walk – The huge amount of green space in Washington makes it a pleasure to walk around (less so at night).
  • Union Station – without doubt the finest station in the Americas, Union Station is a destination in its own right, both because of its splendid architecture (based on, but an enhancement of, Milan Centrale), and because of the huge range of shops and restaurants inside.
  • Rail trips – or, alternatively, you might want to use the station for the original purpose it was designed for – and take a train north to Baltimore, Philadelphia or even New York.

Summary – unlike many cities in North America, there is certainly no need to hire a car in Washington. However, that only really applies if you want to restrict yourself to the area in and around D.C. – including Arlington and Alexandria; or if you want to zip up the northeast corridor towards New York. For the many historic sites around D.C., a car will be needed, hence our suggestion being that a hire car is highly recommended for at least some of your stay.

Note – we looked at car hire prices at Washington Dulles airport, the main gateway to the capital metro area. Flights to Washington Dulles are available from various airports in Europe, aswell as from throughout the USA and Canada. Regular shuttle buses are available into central DC from Dulles. However, Reagan National Airport is much closer to the city centre, and directly connected to the metro system. It also offers superb views of the city if you approach from the north. You can also fly to BWI Airport from London, and from a variety of cities in the USA. A shuttle bus provides a quick link to BWI Amtrak station, from where Washington Union station is a short ride away.

Barcelona

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Barcelona was one of the original reasons for setting up Carornocar.com, when I heard from a friend who had picked up a hire car at Barcelona airport, driven it to the hotel, kept it in the garage for a week, and then driven it back to the airport. Now this isn’t just a waste of money on car hire fees, it also means paying needless parking charges. Now, chances are, most people who get a hire car in Barcelona will actually drive it somewhere, but before doing so, we suggest reading our pros and cons:

Why hire a car in Barcelona?

  • Green Catalonia — once you get beyond the dismal Barcelona suburbs, you are out into the verdant landscape of Catalonia, and as with anywhere, the car will give you much more freedom to explore.
  • Skiing — Barcelona is a major gateway to the Pyrenees. However, resort transfers can be split between the three Barcelona area airports, and also Perpignan and Toulouse in France, massively watering down their frequency. A hire car will give you much more flexibility.
  • Andorra — the tiny principality of Andorra isn’t just a cheap ski resort or a duty-free haven, the scenery is superb in summer too, but the transport links are not. A hire car will give you the flexibility to drive around Andorra, choosing a different route in and out.
  • Full Dali experience — to get the most out of a visit to Dali’s homeland (the Dali triangle), you can also visit the fishing port of Cadaques and the casrtle at Pubol. This is much, much easier to do with a car.
  • Beaches — although there are excellent beaches in the city of Barcelona itself, a car will give you much more access to beaches on both the Costa Daurada (west) and the Costa Brava (east).

Why not?

  • Barcelona has it all — the city of Barcelona really is Europe’s great all-rounder, with something for everyone, whether your interest lies in food, football, music, art, architecture, or all of the above.
  • Spend as long as you want: There is simply so much to see and do, that you can spend several days, or even a week here, without wanting to leave town — a boast a few other European cities can make.
  • Excellent public transport — Barcelona has one of Spain’s best metro systems, rivalled only by the capital Madrid. This is supplemented by trams, frequent bus services on the main arterial routes, and a good network of suburban train services. All that is missing is a good central train station — Barcelona Sants, from where AVE trains depart from Madrid, is dingy — a Spanish version of Birmingham new Street! (On the other hand, Barcelona Franca station is delightful, but chances are that you won’t find any trains going from there to places worth visiting. by late 2012, Sants should have brightened up, and the new Sagrera station in the northwest will also serve the AVE).
  • Cable cars and funiculars — Barcelona has a variety of cable cars and funicular railways which supplement exploration on foot, especially if you want to hitch a ride to the top and walk down.
  • Barcelona’s answer to Cape Town – Montserrat: An excellent day (repeat – make a full day of it) excursion to make from Barcelona is the monastery community of Montserrat. This is easily done by train, combined with a cable car to the top and funicular railways around the site / back down again – so there was little point in driving there.
  • Figueras — Salvador Dali’s hometown of Figueras can easily be visited by train from Barcelona, and the city of Girona can also be included on the same trip. The other two sites as part of the ‘Dali triangle’ are not as impressive as the Dali Theatre-Museum in Figueras, but can still be reached by bus with a bit of planning.
  • City bikes — Barcelona was one of the first cities in Europe to have a public bike hire scheme, making it easy to get around on two wheels.
  • City of Beaches — in Barcelona, you are never far from the beach, and there are several metro stops which will take you straight there.
  • Architecture — virtually everywhere you look within the city of Barcelona itself (this doesn’t apply to the dreadful suburbs), you will see stunning architecture, especially in the Eixample district, best known for its Gaudi houses. Barcelona also has plenty of examples of modern architecture including prominent buildings by leading architects such as Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, Santiago Calatrava and Frank Gehry. Just don’t get as absorbed in it as Gaudi did, or you will end up being hit by a tram!
  • Two city tour — a trip to Barcelona can easily be combined with a visit to one of Spain’s other great cities, especially Madrid or Valencia, which can both be reached by train in under three hours. It should be reasonably easy to book an outward flight to Barcelona and a return through Madrid or Valencia from many parts of Europe. However, there is more than enough in and around Barcelona without needing to venture to other places.
  • Nuria Valley — the railway line to Nuria is recognised as one of the most scenic in Spain, and it is certainly an easy way to explore the great scenery outside Barcelona itself without needing to bother with a hire car.
  • Parking costs — if you bring a rental car into the city of Barcelona itself, you’re likely to get hit with hefty parking charges (upto €30 per night), whether at your hotel, or in public car parks. Hotels on the edge of the city may have free parking, but they won’t provide such easy access to the city centre. On-street parking is expensive and puts you at a higher risk of car crime.
  • Easy airport rail link — trains are available directly from Barcelona airport into a number of different stations in the centre of Barcelona. If these are not within easy walking distance of your hotel, you can transfer by metro to a stop that is – or take the bus.
  • Car hire cost – if you are used to cheap car hire in places like Malaga, expect to pay a little more in Barcelona. Expect to pay more to pick up a hire car in Barcelona city centre, or to pick up a hire car at Barcelona airport and return in the city or vice-versa. However, Barcelona is only expensive by Spanish costa standards, not compared to most places in Europe.

Summary — there is more than enough to see in and near to Barcelona itself to make it possible to get around without needing a car. Many of the excursions which can be done from Barcelona can also be done by train, so a car is only really useful if you intend to base yourself outside the city of Barcelona, and to travel around to different places during your stay. Even those with itchy feet can still make three excellent excursions by train in different directions – to Montserrat, Figueres and Nuria, without needing to think about hiring a car.

Verdict — strong no

Note — this advice is based on picking up a hire car in conjunction with flights to Barcelona International airport. Girona and, to a lesser extent, Reus are sometimes marketed as alternative airports to Barcelona, although the budget airline Ryanair has recently started offering flights to Barcelona International. Coach services are available from both Girona and Reus into the centre of Barcelona, although it may be more tempting to pick up a hire car at these locations. That is fine if you aren’t going to spend much time in the city of Barcelona – otherwise it is best to endure the bus (or take local links to nearby stations in Girona and Tarragona respectively).

Dundee

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See in conjunction with Aberdeen and Edinburgh Car Hire Advice.

Dundee has relatively few flights from the rest of the UK, and no international flights. Therefore, many visitors to Dundee, Tayside and beyond are more likely to arrive at Edinburgh airport instead. However you get here, should you pick up a hire car, or can you get around by public transport?

 Why rent a car in Dundee?

  • Cairngorms National Park — Dundee is the closest airport to the southern reaches of the Cairngorms National Park, and you will not find any bus services in this area without going up to Aberdeen first (and then out to Braemar).
  • Perth and west — although public transport links to Perth itself are perfectly adequate, the car will give you much more flexibility to head further west, including to Loch Earn and Loch Tay, or for heading west at Pitlochry towards Loch Rannoch. Note that points further west of here, including Rannoch Station and the northern reaches of Loch Lomond can be reached by train from Glasgow Queen Street on the superb West Highland line — see our Glasgow car hire guide for more information here.
  • Beaches — Dundee is close to some superb stretches of beach, including Buddon Ness directly to the east of the city and Tentsmuir Point just south of the Tay.
  • Toll free — the SNP led Scottish government has abolished tolls on both the Forth Road Bridge and the Tay Bridge, making it easy and (relatively) cheap to drive up to Dundee from Edinburgh airport or other points south.
  • Brechin has a castle and is the start of the Caledonian Railway, which is good for steam train lovers, except that it offers no connection to the mainline at nearby Montrose, so even this rail-based attraction is still much easier to get to by car.
  • No bus – Dundee airport has relatively little traffic, so there is no bus link to the city centre. If you don’t want to walk, you will have to use a taxi, or get a hire car to go beyond.

Why not?

  • Car Hire Cost! Typically, Dundee Airport Car Hire can be £50 or more on top of comparable Scottish airports for a week’s rental. This is on top of the flights also usually being more expensive, as Dundee is a small STOL airport (short runway, small aircraft). It is cheaper to find flights into Edinburgh Airport and drive up from there.
  • Walk it! Dundee is one of the few airports in the world from which you can quite easily walk to the city centre, and if you choose to do so you will enjoy fantastic views across the Firth of Tay, including the famous Tay Rail Bridge in the process. Allow around 45 minutes – or a good hour if you are enjoying the view.
  • Discovery — the main attractions Dundee has to offer, including Discovery Point, the frigate Unicorn and the North Carr Lightship are all within a short walk of each other.
  • Scenic train ride — if you fly into Edinburgh, you can continue up to Dundee, taking in fantastic views both from and of the Forth Rail Bridge before hugging the coast through Burntisland and Kirkaldy and then heading inland through Fife, and then across the Tay to reach Dundee.
  • Gateway to Perth — Historic Perth is only a short bus or train ride away from Dundee. From here you can continue by rail on the fantastic Highland line to Inverness, or down to Stirling.
  • St Andrews — the world-famous home of golf is also just a short bus ride from Dundee (just under 30 minutes). Rail passengers from the south can alight at Leuchars for St Andrews.
  • Carnoustie – The famous golfing centre at Carnoustie is just a short bus or train ride to the east of Dundee.
  • Botanic Gardens – Start your visit to Dundee with a trip to the University Botanic Garden – right opposite the airport!

Summary — Dundee airport is very much a niche car hire market, but you will certainly be much better off to explore the Dundee hinterland with one, whether you pick it up from Dundee or from one of the more major airports on the Scottish central belt.

 Verdict – YES

Inverness

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 Inverness maybe capital of the Highlands, but is that status enough to make it a major public transport hub as well?

Why hire a car Inverness?

  • Flexibility — for all the obvious reasons, a hire car will give you far more flexibility than go by train or bus will.
  • Timing — however scenic the train lines out of Inverness may be, most services only operate a few times each day, so it is difficult to get off en route to take photos and then jump back on again.
  • Go West — a car will give much more flexibility for exploring the West of Scotland, especially if you head towards Ullapool and beyond, where there are no trains, and buses are extremely rare, except when operating in conjunction with ferry services.
  • Skye — although it is possible to explore the Isle of Skye using buses, they only operate on an infrequent basis. To make the best use of the fantastic scenery Skye has to offer, including the famous Cuillin Hills, a car is essential.
  • Eilean Donan Castle — again, this is somewhere that with good planning can be reached by coach or a combination of bus and train. The village of Dornie sits on the A87 about 10 miles east of Kyle of Lochalsh. Driving gives you the flexibility of following a similar route to the Kyle line through Glenn Carron (A890), and then returning along the A87 through Glen Shiel.

Why not?

  • Loch Ness — if you drive there, you really will just see a large body of water. To capture the spirit of Scotland’s most famous monster, you’ll be much better off on a cruise or organised tour (and we don’t recommend guided tours very often). These can easily be arranged from the centre of Inverness.
  • The Kyle line. This line alone is a good enough reason not to hire a car for a visit to Inverness. Often rated as one of the most scenic rail lines in the world, together with the West Highland line out of Glasgow Queen Street, it really is one of Scotland’s must see railway routes.
  • Plockton. This lovely fishing village, originall set up as a planned community to help stem the flow of emmigration, has been immortalised in the Hamish Macbeth TV series, and is an ideal excursion on the Kyle line.
  • Compass covered — unlike nearby Aberdeen, which sits out on the corner of the rail network, train routes from Inverness head out in the direction of all the major compass points — north on the Far North Line towards Wick and Thurso, east towards Aberdeen, south on the Highland Line to Perth, continuing to Edinburgh and Glasgow, and west on the Kyle line to Kyle of Localsh. Out of these four major routes, at least three are scenic for a substantial length of their journey — the line to Aberdeen in our opinion is less impressive.
  • Bike it! If you drive on the A9, chances are that you will see many cyclists taking part in the gruelling John O’Groats to Land’s End cycling challenge. If this gives you inspiration, why not hire a bike in Inverness, and take one of the many scenic circuits which can be explored from the Highland capital — just make sure you take a good map to avoid getting caught out on a long dead-end road.
  • Great Glen Way – The Caledonian Canal to the head of Loch Ness is a good place to start your Inverness bike tour – but the more adventurous can continue all the way down to Fort William on the Great Glen Way – and it is even possible to book one way bike rental for this route!
  • Whisky tours — there are numerous distilleries within range of Inverness, and taking a coach tour of any of these locations means you don’t have to worry about sampling the product on the way.
  • Limited road routes — despite Inverness being remote relative to the rest of the UK, it still offers an excellent selection of rail routes, which roughly match the range of routes which are available by road. The main exception to this is the A82, which heads south west to Fort William, and beyond Glasgow, although scheduled coach services are available on this route. Therefore the relative advantage of having a car is much less than it might be at other locations. Is it worth the cost?
  • Combine train and bus – e.g. to Eilean Donan Castle, by tain, allow a good 3 hours, using the Kyle Line and a coach to Dornie. Alternatively, the direct coach journey from Inverness to Dornie takes just under 2 hours. Note – mixing one-way coach and railway journeys can be more expensive than making return trips by the same route, but if you book in advance you can get good deals, and you will see more this way.
  • The superb Dunrobin Castle even has its own station (Dunrobin), but the castle is only open during the summer months. It takes just over 2 hours to get there by train – or 90 minutes by bus, but the train is more scenic, especially as it heads inland up Dornoch Firth (the detour explaining the additional journey time).
  • Take the train up. Although recent years have seen huge improvements in the range of flights to Inverness, there is still a much wider choice of flights to either Edinburgh or Glasgow. Why not take the train in at least one direction, and enjoy the scenic Highland Line – the good stuff starts north of Perth, so it doesn’t matter whether you fly into Edinburgh or Glasgow. There is also one direct train each day from London King’s Cross to Inverness, the Highland Chieftan, taking around 8 hours.

Verdict — Inverness is one of those places where it is easy to automatically think a hire car is the best option, but there are plenty of reasons to think again. The Kyle Line on its own is one of them, and because there are so many other options for enjoying this part of the world without needing a hire car, our recommendation is to try and do without one.

Recommendation: No

Aberdeen

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The Granite city sits in a geographically remote corner of the UK, but once you get there, can you get around easily using public transport, or is a car essential?

Why rent a car in Aberdeen?

  • Remoteness — although you will have no problem getting around the city itself, public transport routes starts to thin out massively once beyond the central city area.
  • Limited train routes — Aberdeen is right at the end of the East Coast route from London via Edinburgh, and the only other train service is a limited frequency (one train every two hours) route to Inverness. Whereas even Inverness by comparison is a rail hub, with routes fanning out on each of the major compass points, Aberdeen really isn’t a great base for exploration by train.
  • Limited attractions — there are relatively few points of interest in Aberdeen itself, whereas the surrounding countryside offers plenty of places to visit, including the famous Balmoral Castle. Without a car, these places are difficult to get to.
  • Not so scenic: Even if you are intending on heading towards Inverness by train, this route is much less scenic than any of the other rail links in and out of Inverness.

Why not?

  • There are very few reasons not to hire a car for a visit to Aberdeen, unless you’re making a very brief stay in the city itself, and aren’t planning on venturing very far beyond city limits.
  • Balmoral by bus: Hardy public transport users can go by bus to Balmoral Castle, which is just next to the village of Crathie on the A93 – allow around 2 hours, upto 8 buses each way per day.
  • Orkney and Shetland — Aberdeen offers both onward flights and ferry services to the Orkney and Shetland Islands. You can take a hire car onto the ferry services, but is much cheaper to go as a foot passenger, and take advantage of local bus services, where you are also likely to pick up a good deal of local knowledge from fellow passengers.
  • Scenic coastal rail route — the train route from Edinburgh up to Aberdeen has a number of particularly scenic stretches, especially as it hugs the coast for much of the route. Flying into Aberdeen and out through Edinburgh would be one way to enjoy this route, although the availability of flights there is generally much better than it is to Aberdeen anyway, so another option is just to pick return flights to Edinburgh and take the train in both directions. If you are flying in and out of Aberdeen, then this train route is still worth exploring at least down to Stonehaven, where it goes inland.
  • Start at Dyce: A shuttle bus is available from Aberdeen Airport to nearby Dyce station, from where most trains heading south start. Dyce is also the best place to board trains heading to Inverness, as this avoids going into Aberdeen city centre and back out again.

Verdict

As Scottish cities go, when it comes to train networks, Aberdeen is certainly the weakest link, so to get to other places you would almost certainly end up needing to go by bus. This is not our view of travel enjoyment — buses should be there to supplement train journeys, not as a preferred method of transport in their own right. For this reason, Aberdeen gets our strongest verdict of all Scottish cities that a car is necessary to get the best out of your trip.

YES (very strong yes)

Milan

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Our next focus city will be Milan – maybe north Italy is famous for flashy cars, but there are some fantastic train rides too, especially if you dip into southern Switzerland.

Would you rent a car for a visit to Milan, yes or no?

Why rent a car in Milan?

  • Europe’s great lakes district – especially Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore, are all within an easy drive of Milan.
  • Great northern cities – with a hire car, you have the flexibility to explore at your own pace, and northern Italy has many great cities within a short drive of each other. Milan is the natural base from which to explore Turin and Genoa to the west, or Venice and Verona to the east.
  • Alps.
  • Public transport is disjointed. However good some train routes may be (see below), the rail system in and around Milan is still not well connected. Whereas Rome and most other major cities in Italy have one central terminus, Milan has several. Although Centrale is by far and away the biggest, the Malpensa Airport shuttle is split between here and Cadorna.
  • High speed rail links direct from the Malpensa airport terminal look tempting – for example, services reach Florence is just over 2 1/2 hours. Except that this service only runs twice each day. So the chances are that you will have to change twice in Milan to reach other destinations. Also, if you fly into Terminal 1 with easyJet, you will also have to wait for a transfer shuttle to get to the Malpensa Airport railway station – this is the Italian plod!

Why not?

 

Bergen

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(Provisional verdict – no)

It is a while since I actually visited Bergen, but oddly enough, the scenery hasn’t changed much, and nor has the infrastructure.

Back then, you could take your own car on the DFDS ferry between Newcastle and Bergen. This is no longer an option (DFDS canned the route in 2008), so assuming you arrive on flights to Bergen instead, what’s the best way to get around?

So, the obvious suggestion would be that a rental car is the best way to explore this very scenic, but sparsely populated part of the world. But the costs are astronomical – Bergen tops the list of cities I’ve looked at, with car hire prices starting at over £300 per week.

For this reason, I think it is worth thinking again:

Reasons not to hire a car in Bergen:

  • Stunning rail trips: The Bergen to Oslo railway is rare amongst inter-city lines in that it is rated as scenic for virtually its entire length.
  • Flåm Railway – this route is one of the most famous scenic routes in Europe. The line branches off the Bergen to Oslo line, but is much closer to Bergen.
  • Boats: Whether you take advantage of organised trips, or use the ferries (combined with buses), the fjords are at their most impressive when reflected in all their glory from the water. Taking your car onto the ferries is an additional expense on top of already exorbitant Bergen car hire prices!
  • Walk it: The other ‘classic’ view of the fjords is from the top, but the best spots are rarely accessible directly by car, so you will have to plan to do some walking. Whereas many other scenic parts of the world can be visited by a ‘road trip’, the car in this part of the world is only going to take you to and from the start of a walk. Whereas this wouldn’t be an issue in your own car, or in a hire car from Malaga costing less than £50 per week, this is an issue with a hire car in Norway! It might take a bit more research, and you might have to wait for a bit, but getting around by bus will be substantially cheaper.
  • Activities – there are many excellent opportunities for guided outdoor activities, and these may well come with transport provided, in which case a car won’t be needed.

Why get a hire car in Bergen?

  • Explore: For all the obvious reasons – this is a land of stunning scenery, and the only way to do it justice is in a hire car.
  • Hardanger Fjord – not only this this perhaps the most famous of Norway’s fjords, but it might have been one to reach by rail, had the Granvin line been kept open. Note: Google maps shows Granvin station as being open, when this is not the case.

What about Haugesund or Stavanger?

  • Bergen is more of a gateway to the fjords, although it may be tempting to look at Ryanair’s ‘cheap’ flights to Haugesund. This may be a false economy – investigations by our sister site flightmapping.com have shown that Fly Norwegian’s flights to Bergen can end up as better value, once extras are considered anyway, but Haugesund is nowhere near a station, so it is harder to get around without a car, and there are no scenic rail routes to enjoy. If it is a case of enjoying the area around Bergen without a car, or flying into Haugesund and renting, one, then those ‘cheap’ flights could end up being very expensive indeed!