Easter is creeping up fast and if a family road trip abroad is on the cards, there's a decent chance a hire car is part of the plan. It should be the easy bit — book the car, pick it up, off you go. Except anyone who's stood at a rental desk with tired kids behind them and a long list of optional extras being read out at speed knows it rarely feels that simple.
The team at CarHireExcess.ie, one of Ireland's leading providers of car hire excess insurance, have been keeping a close eye on what rental companies are charging for all those add-ons — sat navs, child seats, extra drivers, damage cover — and the numbers have gone up since last year. But there are ways to keep costs down, and some of them are genuinely straightforward once you know where to look.
Spokesman Christian Bennett has been through the latest research and pulled together the tips that could make a real difference to your budget before you even leave the airport terminal.
Book with free cancellation, then keep watching
This one costs nothing and could save you a surprising amount. When you book your hire car, make sure the agreement includes free cancellation — then keep an eye on the price as your travel dates get closer. Rental prices can drop in the lead-up to travel, and if yours does, you can simply re-book at the lower rate. It takes five minutes and requires no particular skill, just a bit of patience.
Skip the sat nav and the daily excess cover at the desk
The average additional cost for a rental company's sat nav came in at just over €91 for a week in the latest research. That's a significant chunk of change for something your phone can handle — provided you've got a compatible charger lead, a decent hands-free holder and you've checked your data roaming situation before you fly. Worth looking into local laws around device use in the car too, as they vary across European countries.
The bigger saving, though, is on excess cover. Rental companies typically offer a super damage waiver and tyre and windscreen protection — and the average combined cost of those has jumped from €220 last year to over €270 in this year's study. That's not a small increase.
Purchasing a standalone car hire excess policy from a specialist provider is where the real saving sits. CarHireExcess.ie's daily cover starts from €24.75 for a week's protection (or from €48.99 for an annual European policy, which makes sense if you're planning more than one trip). Unlike the waivers sold at the rental desk, these prices haven't crept up year on year — and based on the current research, you could be looking at a saving of over €240. The standalone policies also cover misfuelling, vehicle lockout and key recovery, which is worth knowing if you're navigating an unfamiliar car on unfamiliar roads.
"Hiring a car is like any other major part of your holiday — it pays to do your research and find out how you can get what you need for the best price," says Christian Bennett. "The greatest savings on the list can be made through a specialist provider like CarHireExcess.ie. Our all-in-one reimbursement policies offer amazing value compared to the cost of the waivers you could face at the car rental desk — providing the reassurance you need to fully enjoy your well-deserved break."
Second driver and car seats — think before you add
A second driver is averaging around €72 for the week in this year's survey. Before you tick that box, it's worth having an honest conversation about whether the second driver is actually going to drive. Many families add it by default and then one person ends up behind the wheel the whole time anyway. Have that chat before you travel.
As for child seats, rental companies are charging an average of €78 for one seat for the week. If your child is at the booster cushion stage, it may well fit in a suitcase — and some parents find it easier to source a seat near the airport at their destination rather than paying the rental company rate. Whatever you decide, just make sure you have a solid plan for getting the kids safely from A to B before you land.
None of this requires spreadsheets or hours of research. A bit of forward planning before Easter — checking your car hire booking, sorting excess cover separately and thinking through what you actually need rather than what's being offered — can take a fair amount of stress out of the trip before it even begins.
For more information on car hire excess insurance, visit CarHireExcess.ie.
CarHireExcess.ie surveyed costs for a week's car hire and extras from April 4th–11th 2026 across nine European destinations (Barcelona, Crete, Dubrovnik, Faro, Larnaca, Nice, Dalaman, Milan and Tenerife) and six rental companies (Avis, Budget, Enterprise, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt). €24.75 based on an 8-day European Daily Cover. €48.99 based on Annual European Cover. Cover-More Blue Insurance Services Limited trading as CarHireExcess.ie is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
