One-way rentals let you pick up in one place and drop off in another. The supplier has to get the car back to where it is needed, and the fee reflects that cost.
- Fees within one country and one supplier network are often modest and sometimes waived on popular routes.
- International one-ways are expensive where they are permitted at all.
- The drop-off location must be selected at booking — turning up at a different branch is treated as an unauthorised return.
- Returning to a location the supplier does not serve can trigger a recovery charge many times the rental price.
Worth pricing both ways
On some routes a one-way fee costs less than the extra days and fuel of driving back. On others the reverse is true by a wide margin. Compare the round trip against the one-way before committing.