Car Rentals in Russia

Renting a car in Russia is not guaranteeing the most pleasant experience in seeing the country. There are lots of obstacles to renting a car in Russia. The first is that roads are often not marked well, and there are traffic inspectors who tend to seek bribes. Besides that, the conditions of the roads themselves that you must drive on can be outright hazardous. Even the roads on main highways are in a state of disarray.

Furthermore, crime involving automobiles is on the high side, leaving locals to remove even windshields when parking their cars for the night. You would be advised to do the same, as well as leaving nothing in your car if possible.

Beyond that, to explore the parts of the country off the beaten path, an automobile is needed. Plan to put money into such an endeavor, however, because car rentals do not come cheap in Russia.

The best idea is to plan a group travel or trip, where you can go on organized tours with more convenient and better ways to get around a large part of the country in better time and with a better sense of safety.

If you are still determined to rent a car in Russia, however, the following agencies are quite useful:

Avis (Telephone: 1-800-331-1084)

Budget (Telephone: 1-800-527-0700)

Hertz (Telephone: 1-800-654-3001)

It should also be noted that your own driver's license is not acceptable in Russia. You will need to obtain an International Driver's Permit if you are to rent a car and drive in Russia.

Also note that driving rules are strict, yet often broke by local drivers. So be very cautious and careful on the road, as well as not stopping to help cars that appear to be broken down since that is an often-used ploy to rob tourists. Be alert, and be careful when driving a rental car.