My advice to all the female solo travelers these things are must
Hello travelers,
I'm writing this post as advice to all of you, especially solo female travelers. I've been renting cars pretty much everywhere I'm going. I've been traveling a lot this year and renting cars, mainly across Europe. One thing I learnt is rental car disputes are way more common and expensive than you can imagine. I had one encounter while my car was parked that made me realize how important small investment is that will save tons of money.
Last time, I was in Dusseldorf while my car was parked in the parking area and there was a small scratch on the side panel. I was confused for a while, was it a rental fault or was its my fault? These were the few questions that I had in my mind, before handing over the keys of the car, it clicked in my mind about the dashcam that I've installed. I checked my dashcam footage and mobile video, as I keep the record of the car's situation while taking keys from the rental showrooms. The rental company was quick to blame me for it, but I gave them both the footage which saved me that day. Normally that’s just a pay and move on situation, but I had footage from the day before showing the exact condition of the car when I parked it.
Since then, I don’t even think twice. I just mount the camera and go. Specially girls in case you are travelling solo and you don't want any hassle any paper work I would recommend you a few things have become essentials for me when renting cars:
A compact dashcam
A high-capacity power bank for longer parking situations
A dual USB car charger (since rentals rarely have enough ports)
A quick phone mount for navigation in unfamiliar cities
For me, these are the travel essentials, right next to a passport and power bank.