Exploring New Places: Renting a Car vs. Public Transportation

While most tourists bring their own vehicle across the border with the appropriate documents and licence to use it or rent a car to explore a new city or town during vacation time, the public transport system is also worthwhile to consider. It offers a host of transportation benefits and ease of movement, particularly in cities that have a regular, strong, and well-maintained one.

Public Transport System

The public transportation system is a good means of getting into and around a new city or town with your family, as it is always available throughout the day. They usually work late into the night and start early in the morning. They take you to key locations in the city, but you spend very little to get there.

Check out the list of local tourist attractions and pick the bus or local metro routes that help you get to these locations easily. You will find using point-to-point buses or metro trains to be easy, and since they follow a timetable, you are always on time at the desired spot. Those who are older are better off exploring a city using public transportation rather than a car. It is also good when you are travelling in a group and want to sightsee key attractions in a city for just a couple of days.

people on public transport, some standing up, some sitting down

Why Rent A Car Over Using The Public Transport System?

However, you might not find the public transport system to be convenient at all times. It may not reach locations that locals usually visit for sightseeing and entertainment. In such cases, it is best to rent a car. Look into deals for a weekly car rental so that you can get one at the lowest price. Here is a look at the many reasons for renting a car over using the public transportation system.

1) Renting a car is best when you don’t know much about the city in which you are holidaying. They help you easily get to locations of your choice without worrying about how to find your way to the exact spot. You can complete trips to popular shops or tourist attractions quickly, on time, and very conveniently.

2) When you are on vacation with your family, travelling to key spots is easier than renting a car. Suppose you want to visit the beach or another popular recreation spot with your spouse and three kids. What better way of doing it than through a rental car?

3) If you want a customised travelling experience, one where you decide on a particular spot to visit, renting a car is best. Renting a car helps to reach the best tourist spots that are not covered by public transport, as they only take you to the key attractions.

4) If you are planning to sightsee or discover many locations in a single day with your family, spending just an hour or so at each spot, renting a car for the entire day is best. You can sightsee a couple of places first, eat and shop, and then move on to other locations.

5) If you are going to be exploring a lot of places, some well-known and others that you pick out from a magazine or the internet, it’s better to take a rental car. It gives you the freedom to visit any location you choose.

6) Car rentals give you the flexibility of moving to the location of your choice, be it for just a day, a  couple of days, over the weekend, the entire week, or even a month or a couple of months in your chosen destination. You can rent a car from one agency or go in for something else later in the vacation period. There are various types of vehicles available based on size and features, and you can opt for one that’s most suitable for your needs.

a man with a white car parked in the highway with a large desert behind him

7) Opting to rent a car is definitely better than the public transportation system when you are in a new city or town. A rental car helps you easily move about and reach spots in time, leaving out the problem of missed connections or transfers.

8) If you are planning to explore a city in the evening and later into the night, a rental car is best, as you have assured privacy. You can be flexible on the time spent in a location; you can move around the palaces you want to see slowly or quickly, depending on your convenience.

9) When driving to various locations, you are bound to shop. A rental car enables you to store such items neatly at the back as and when required. You might be buying a host of items to take back home, and nothing offers more convenience in managing them than a rental car.

10) In case it starts to rain, you can close the windows and drive around slowly, wait until the rain stops, and then move about at your usual pace. If the weather is hot, put on the air conditioner so that you can drive comfortably. It’s this type of weather protection that makes commuting by car all the easier than using the public transport system.

11) When you rent a car with a driver, it will pick you up at your location and drop you off at the required destination. You can hold the car for as long as you want with prior notice to the rental agency. It can stay for a couple of hours in a spot like a beach, pub, or park, and then just for a short period of time like half an hour or forty-five minutes in another place. It’s this flexibility that makes it so easy to opt for it over the timetabled public transport system.

A weekly car rental is the best option when you want to move quickly about a city at your own pace. Look into car rental agencies that offer discounts or special rates so that you can bring down the cost of travel.