Fortunately I only rent a car approximately four times a year, as taking a city break, the beauty of such a trip is not having to drive, find your way about or park.

There are however times when my wife and I have to rent a car, although our recent experiences have just been in France and Ireland.

Renting a car in France has always proved very straightforward apart from one occasion in 2000 renting an easyCar Mercedes in the south of France. We normally book on line , pay and know that we won’t be paying any additional charges that could come out of the blue when we go to the check in desk of the car hire company.

Following on from the incident in 2000, when we heard about Larry Dale Ursich’s company insurance4carhire being publicised one Saturday a few years ago were quick to buy the annual excess insurance policy. Since then our company jml Property Services has become an introducer agent and through various web sits in the jml Group including www.insurance4carrental.com has generated over £87,000 worth of business for them. We therefore don’t buy the product from the car hire company as it is normally more expensive that way.

We quite often visit Dublin, Ireland and if we don’t make a long drive and sea crossing, take a short flight from the greater London area. Unfortunately the rental experience is never the same as it is in France.

The impression is that although you have made your booking, paid for it there will suddenly be little extras when you go to collect a car. One of these little extras is a €28 airport charge. We have discovered that some rental companies even make this charge if you collect the car from a city centre depot and go nowhere near the airport!

Another charge is a credit card charge, admittedly only €5.29, however it would nice to have these charges included in the “estimate price” and not added on for when you go to collect the car.

Airlines had the habit of offering very cheap flights that attracted you to fly and then when you went to book found the price had trebled because of all the fees and local taxes. We consumers like to know how we stand so we can budget accordingly. You would not be very pleased going to the local supermarket or petrol station and then just before you paid told you had to pay a compulsory charge.

In late August we made a mistake with a booking on a five day rental in Dublin. The booking was made on line and we did not accept the CDW Insurance. Collision damage waiver (CDW), sometimes confusingly also called loss damage waiver (LDW), is essentially a form of insurance that may or may not come included in the rental price of a hired car. It exists to provide cover for damage that occurs to the rented vehicle itself.

It appears that if you are paying with some American credit cards they may allow you to waive this charge. The actual daily rental quoted with the CDW was not much more than with, however going through at least three car hire providers websites for comparative pricing got somewhat confusing. We paid £167.39 on line for the five days rental .

When my wife went to collect the car, she was told as we had declined the CDW we would have to pay an additional amount of £14 a day which is more than the price would have been for an inclusive daily rate, but obviously the car hire company would want an admin fee.

She was asked to pay a further £191.39 that included a full tank of petrol. (In France we have always found that the car comes with a full tank of fuel, the car hire company swipes the credit card, but does not debit it and at the end of the rental, provided the car comes back full there is no further activity on the card) We have always been charged for fuel straightaway at Dublin.

After the car was returned full of fuel and the next credit card statement came in there was a refund of £68.80. This means that an additional amount of £122.59 was added to the rental price of £167.39 making the total rental for 5 days £289.98 ( or £57.99 per day) for the lowest price card. My wife was told she was given a free upgrade, but it looks like she had to pay for it!. When we emailed the car hire company about the charges they simply stated they were correct.

It is most important that whenever you book a car rental that you check thoroughly to see if the price is inclusive of collection, road tax, credit cards etc. Some car rental companies charge for additional drivers, some only charge for more than one additional driver. Most car hire companies charge for car hire excess insurance unless you have arranged this yourself and of course you could be paying more for roof racks and child seats.

The cheapest car rental price, may not in fact be the cheapest one by the time the add ons arrive.

There are airport fees at Dublin, it would be interesting to hear from other people if many other airports have these and which ones.

You could be sitting in a comfortable deck chair soaking in the sun and sipping a drink (perhaps champagne) as your private luxury cruiser takes you over the serene waters of the Great Barrier Reef on your Sydney Harbour cruise. Across the waters you see in the distance liners, ships, cruisers that cater to the holiday dreams of the ordinary and the rich.

If you board a cruiser and it has just a five or six-member crew, you can fulfill your heart’s desires—whether it means lolling on the deck or biting into a gelato or grilled fish or relaxing in a spa. All this holiday means for you is rest. And lots and lots of relaxation.

But that’s not all. Between all your rest and relaxation, you’re sure to do some sightseeing too—your captain will make sure you see Port Douglas, the Whitsunday Islands, Cairns, Lizard Island and Michaelmas Cay.

In summer in Sydney, you could go on a voyage through the Coral Sea with breathtaking sights for stopovers in New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, Torres Strait, the Solomon Islands and the Islands of Eastern New Guine and then return through the outer Great Barrier Reef from Cape York to Hamilton Island.

However, if you wake up early, you could savor a breakfast buffet and the five-star amenities of your state room and then go on to enjoy freshly baked pastries and more over a large brunch. Then, after fighting off much laziness, you’ll perhaps sit down on a deck chair with a pair of sun glasses and sunscreen and you’ll look far into the ocean length and enjoy the blueness of the waters.

But if you are sporty, you could go in for some windsurfing, snorkeling or scuba diving and enter the marine world. You could fish too and eat your catch for dinner. Or just go swimming—what could be better than that?

For lunch and dinner, enter the bar and dining rooms and while you watch the view of the water from there while you tuck into delicious Japanese, Moroccan and Indonesian cuisines—all under a star filled sky.

You’d be extra fortunate to board a cruiser around New Year’s Eve because of the fantastic fireworks display which begins at midnight for the

New year’s Eve Sydney Harbour. This usually begins at 9 p.m. and is followed by the Harbour Light parade. East and West of the Harbour Bridge you’ll find a fleet of vessels beautifully decorated with dazzling lights, sailing on a 15 km circuit, from Clarke Island to Cockatoo Island. This is undoubtedly the most sought-after sight here with people milling around to get a glimpse of the action. Once this parade is over, the fleet of vessels goes back to a viewing area from where they can see the fireworks.

And lastly, the piece de resistance—the 12 minutes of color and sound that transform the Harbour with light and sound. Millions of people—natives and tourists—throng to catch the sound and light show that will perhaps stay in their minds all through the year, until the next year rolls along.

So much for your few days on a Sydney Harbour cruise. Will you come aboard again? Who knows—perhaps yes.

Sightseeing in Dublin can be more enjoyable if you rent a car through Car Rentals Dublin. By hiring services of Car Rental Dublin you can move around conveniently in Dublin and visit various tourists attractions such as 6th century monastery remains, prehistoric sites etc.

You will have a numerous car rental options from which you can rent a car as there are numerous companies in Dublin. Before you apply you should consider few things:

•    License: You should have a valid driving EU or American license with you if you are to rent a car. Also, it is required that the applicant has clean driving record as well as a full license for past 12 months.

•    Age: It is required that the applicant must be at least 23 years of age and a maximum of 75 years. However, if the age of applicant lies between 23 and 25 years, he will be subjected insurance sub charge.

•    Car Insurance: The rental company will give you a compulsory car insurance which is included in car rental quotation.

•    Other document: You should also have with you are credit card and passport in addition to the driving license. For your identification passport is necessary.

As there are a number of companies in Dublin, renting a car is cheap. You will find a number of excellent deals so make sure for search for not only the companies but deals as well. You should also have proper knowledge about the driving rules before you start driving.