If you're aged under 25 and have been looking to hire a car, you may have hit several brick walls. Unfortunately, the car rental industry perceives younger drivers to be of a higher risk. You'll face a Younger Driver Surcharge when hiring a car with certain suppliers to cover the additional risk. This is usually charged on a per day basis and can range in price up to £50 per day. What looks like cheap car rental when you make your booking may in fact triple in cost on collection of the vehicle.
You'll also have to meet the supplier's driving licence requirements. In some cases you may need to have held your licence for 3 years.
The minimum age limits imposed by suppliers are also influenced by regional and national driving regulations so these will vary between country.
Don't forget that you'll need a credit card in your name with a credit limit suitable to cover the security deposit to collect the car.
These different factors can make it difficult for you to hire a car.
Hiring through Zest
Here at Zest, we want to make it as easy as possible for you to find out whether you're able to hire a car or not with one of the suppliers that we work with.
No Younger Driver Surcharges
We don't think the Younger Driver Surcharges are fair so you won't ever be subject to these with a Zest booking. When running a quote through our website, we'll only show you results from suppliers that will hire to you without this charge.
If you find that there are no suppliers in your intended destination that will hire to you and you're happy to discuss paying a Younger Driver Surcharge, get in touch with our Reservations Team and they'll be happy to provide a quote for you.
Insurance products
All bookings through Zest include Collision Damage and Theft Waiver (CDW) with either no insurance excess or Excess Reimbursement Insurance (ERI). Where ERI has been negotiated, we can only hire to those aged between 21-84 years of age as long as they meet all the other conditions in place from the supplier.
Check the licence requirements
When looking at quote results, always read the terms and conditions of hire to ensure you're able to meet the driving licence requirements. Some may require you to have held your licence for 1 year, some may say 3 years. Just because you don't meet the requirements of one supplier, this doesn't mean none of them will hire to you. Always read the terms to make sure you get the right deal.
Plan your trip away
If you're 21 or older, you can relax on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria, take a Game of Thrones tour in Croatia, or explore the Mayan ruins in Mexico, all with the assistance of a hire car.
Here are some other examples of countries you could visit along with their minimum hire ages*:
| Australia | 25 | Greek Islands | 21 |
| Canada | 25 | Ireland | 25 |
| Cyprus | 23 | Italy | 23 |
| Northern Cyprus | 25 | New Zealand | 25 |
| Canary Islands | 21 | Malta | 21 |
| France | 25 | USA | 25 |
| Greece | 21 |
*subject to change
If you run a quote but find no results, get in touch with us to discuss your requirements either by email or telephone. Our friendly Reservations Team will be more than happy to assist you to make your next dream trip away become a reality.
