How to Plan for a Leiebil in Gardermoen
Travelling to a city such as Oslo, Norway, will inevitably take a lot of preparation beforehand. Maybe you’re visiting for business reasons, or maybe it’s for a personal vacation or one with your family. Either way, you’ll need some way to get around once you arrive, right?
When you do arrive, there’s a good chance you’ll land at Gardermoen airport, since that’s where most folks end up. Thankfully, there are plenty of options in terms of rental vehicles there, so long as you know where to look. That’s the hard part, of course – honestly, preparing for a trip is stressful pretty much all of the time, but the question of actual transportation might be the worst aspect.
“Worst” being relative, of course – many people love the planning part of vacationing just as much as the rest of it. However, if you don’t feel that way, then you’re probably glad for any help that you can get when it comes to this sort of stuff. Sure, there are travel agents and websites out there that can give you some recommendations, but if you’re not looking at local sources, it can be kind of hard to know who to trust.
So, if you’re planning on arriving at the Oslo Gardermoen airport, or you’re travelling to Norway at all, you might find this article helpful. For the most part, the key to it is preparation. That’s what we’ll be going over, of course.
What to Know for Travel in General
One of the first steps that you’ll want to take into account here is that no matter what reason you’re travelling to Norway, there’s a lot to prep for. It’s well worth taking the time before you depart to create a game plan of sorts to help keep your trip focused and to get everything you want accomplished done!
Now, that’s not to suggest that you have to completely cram every single minute with activities to do. Relaxation is a huge part of vacationing, and everyone deserves a chance to enjoy the moment. Stop to smell the roses sometimes. However, if you land in the airport with zero idea of what you want to do and you wander around aimlessly for a week…well, that might be a bit of waste.
Avoiding that isn’t too hard, though. Most travel blogs will include something similar to what we’re about to explain, but we’ll go into a bit more detail to give you a proper head start. The first thing that you’ll want to do is think about some specific goals you want to achieve during your travel.
For example, perhaps you want to visit the Royal Palace in Oslo, or the Storting, or any of the popular destinations. Make note of that for yourself so that as you consider what you’ll do on each day, you’ll be certain to include those visits even if you get sidetracked along the way. Part of the beauty of travel is that even when we do plan everything out, often we’ll make new discoveries once we arrive.
Taking that into account, that’s why it doesn’t hurt to create the specific list of destinations that you definitely want to go to. From there, you’ll be able to fit everything into one trip! From there, though, there’s a few other things to keep in the back of your mind.
As you’re packing, try to bring as many things that can be multi-purpose as possible. If you are going with a rental vehicle, then it doesn’t hurt to bring things like a seatbelt cover or padding or a steering wheel cover! Obviously, don’t do that if it’s against the contract or something, but these small details can help you feel more comfortable in the car you end up driving during your stay.
When you land in the Oslo lufthavn, you’ll of course have to go through the usual bag checks and such to ensure that you aren’t bringing anything prohibited along with you. Think about that sort of thing as you’re prepping so that nothing will go wrong. You may want to check out Norway’s travel laws to see what might not be allowed, as each country has different restrictions.
Car Rentals: What’s the Deal?
Now that we’ve gone over the more generalized stuff for travel, let’s examine how car rentals worth and why they’re so worthwhile when travelling abroad. Thinking about it for a moment, it’s not really practical to bring your car with you when you’re flying (or taking a cruise, or any other form of transportation). Naturally, that means that we’ve got to figure something else out when we’re on a trip.
Sometimes for business trips, our companies will handle the rental car situation. However, that isn’t an overly common practice anymore. Nowadays, it’s left to us to handle the arrangements on our own.
Naturally, the first thing to do will be to figure out where you want to rent from. Airports like the ones in Oslo often have options right there for convenience, so you don’t necessarily have to schedule ahead. However, if you work with them beforehand, you’ll be able to skip some of the annoying wait time once you arrive.
As you look at the various options, budgeting will be something to take into account of course. The cost of a rental car can change between the rental depots, as well as depending on what sort of make and model you go for and the amenities included in it. The more high-tech and recent the car you rent, the more it’ll cost per day.
Knowing that going in can at least save you the disappointment, of course, so that’s a good thing. That being said, manually comparing all of that data can be a bit of pain. That’s why there are websites that allow you to compare your options right there, and they’ll often provide some additional advice or insights as well as to who would be the best choice to suit your needs.
If you’re going that route, you may want to try to find a local blog or website that goes over it, sort of like the resource provided above. Why go through a third party at all, though? Well, there are a few reasons, and they’re similar to why you might ask a travel agent for assistance in scheduling a vacation.
Customer service is a big part of it. Oftentime, the car rentals themselves won’t have the most amazing service. However, when you work with an organization that’s dedicated to helping travelers find the right services for them, you’re a lot less likely to encounter that sort of problem.
Beyond that, though, there’s also the fact that a lot of the time, these rental depots are going to be super busy. That’s especially true when you’re planning on picking your rental up right at the airport. The lines alone can give someone a headache, and that’s without even getting to the part where you have to talk to the clerk and try to sort things out. An advisor can help you out with that to ensure that you’ll have the smoothest experience possible.
Plan Around the Contract
What a lot of folks forget about renting a car is that there’s going to be a contract, and you won’t be allowed to do certain things. Driving around a bunch of unpaved roads is typically a big no-no for a rented vehicle, for one thing, as well as being reckless or speeding. Basically, you’ll want to be at the top of your driving game the entire time.
That’s something to plan around. Look into the destinations you want to visit and see what sorts of roads there are to get there. If it’s pretty far off the beaten path, you may want to check into public transportation or a taxi service. That way, you won’t end up causing any damage to the rental unit.
Additionally, consider some of the restrictions that you might encounter. Folks younger than twenty-five may have a hard time finding a renter that will work with them, as just one example of that. You’ll also want to have a clean driving record to show that you can be trusted, of course. A good financial history helps as well.
Essentially, you’ll probably want to prioritize the safety of the vehicle if you’re ever in a situation that calls for that sort of thing. Now, most of the time you’ll have to get a form of insurance to even be able to rent it (sometimes insurance companies cover it, and sometimes you’ll have to buy a policy from the rental company itself). Still, though, it’s better not to have to worry about that sort of thing at all.
At the end of the day, though, the most important thing is that you’ll be able to enjoy your vacation without needing to stress out the whole time about a strict schedule because of public transportation or taxis. When you rent a car, you’ll be able to set your own deadlines and departure times. That’s pretty convenient, to say the least.
All in all, traveling to Oslo and the rest of Norway is an awesome opportunity to relax and enjoy some local sights and sounds. There are plenty of tourist spots and more unique experiences that you can go and explore. Preparing for it properly and planning out how you’ll get around can make things go a whole lot smoother and reduce the stress for you and anyone that you’re travelling with!