Edinburgh is without doubt one of the most beautiful cities in the UK, and one of the best places to visit in Scotland.
The Scottish capital is known for its hills, beautiful architecture in the medieval Old Town and Georgian New Town, and of course the vibrant Fringe Festival in the summer.
With museums, coastline, and viewpoints there’s a whole host of things to do in this compact city.
And Scotland’s beauty doesn’t start and end with Edinburgh. There are so many stunning places in Scotland.
Edinburgh is the perfect place to start a Scotland road trip, as there’s plenty of facilities and convenience in the city, which you gradually lose the further north you head.
If you are travelling from other areas of the UK, Scotland is likely to be a long way to drive, so it can be easier to fly into Edinburgh and then hire a car once you arrive.
To help you on your way, we’ve found the 10 best car rentals in Edinburgh so you can get out and explore the beauty that Scotland and this city has to offer, in no time at all.
When it comes to making a start on your Edinburgh car rental search, we’ve found rental search firms like Discover Cars to be really useful in the past.
Discover Cars works with some of the best known car rental firms, and gives you the chance to compare amenities, vehicles, rates and packages.
Simply enter your destination and availability and see what firms and vehicles are available to you.
You can filter by things such as price, mileage and size to find the vehicle that is just right for your trip!
The award-winning Discover Cars was awarded with World’s Best Car Rental Booking Website in 2022, and offers lots more benefits including:
As the largest independent car retailer in Europe, Arnold Clarke is a great choice to kick off this list of the best car rental firms in Edinburgh.
If you’re renting from Edinburgh airport, a free shuttle service is available to take you from the terminal to the depot.
Prices of rentals from Arnold Clark are inclusive of insurance, just bare in mind there are certain vehicle restrictions for certain aged drivers.
For an additional fee you can benefit from Arnold Clark’s one way rentals. You can drop your vehicle off at any of their 200 branches throughout the country.
There’s various features included in Arnold Clark rental fees, including 250 miles per day. There’s also the option to pre-purchase a full tank of fuel at a reduced rate per litre.
The vehicles on offer at Arnold Clark are enough to please all different kinds of travellers.
There’s smaller vehicles like a Vauxhall Corsa, and large vehicles like the Peugeot 3008 and Skoda Octavia. There’s also electric vehicles available such as the Nissan Leaf.
All vehicles have capacity for 4 or 5 people, and you can choose between manual and automatic vehicles.
Enterprise have various pick up and drop off locations around the city so they’re a convenient choice for your Edinburgh car rental.
They’re also a good well established name. All UK rentals from Enterprise are inclusive of mileage so you are free to explore as far and wide as you like!
24/7 roadside assistance and a damage waiver are included in the hire too, so you don’t have to worry about extra fees.
However, there is a surcharge for additional drivers, which is slightly more expensive at airport locations.
Enterprise offers one of the biggest and most varied fleets in the world so there’s plenty of choice.
There’s different sized vehicles on the fleet suitable for between 4 and 7, with one people carrier that can carry 9.
With UK fleets manual cars are more common than automatic, but both are available, as well as fully electric vehicles.
The full range of vehicles is available to those over 30, whilst a reduced number of vehicles is available to those over 25. Renters aged between 19 and 25 must use the Enterprise Car Club.
Alamo stands out from the rest with their modern fleet, no hidden fees and inclusive rates, all at a super affordable price.
In fact, Alamo identifies themselves as the pioneers of both unlimited mileage rentals and online check-in, as well as offering some of the cheapest car rentals in Edinburgh.
They're one of the best car rental companies in Scotland as a whole, not just Edinburgh!
Vehicles on the Alamo fleet can seat from 4-9 people.
Some popular vehicles on the fleet include a Nissan Juke, Toyota Aygo, Ford Kuga, and Vauxhall Zafira. There’s also large Ford people carriers which seat 7 or 9 people.
Avis is a really well established name in the car rental game, now operating in 170 countries across over 10,000 locations.
They have an excellent, flexible cancellation policy. You receive a full refund up to 48 hours before the rental starts. If you do need to cancel less than 48 hours before the day of your rental, you will receive a refund minus either 2 days of your booking or £60 - whichever is lower.
They even have a free loyalty program with lots of benefits and discounts, as well as an Avis app which speeds up both the booking and collection processes.
Avis is also one of our top picks when it comes to car rentals from Edinburgh Airport.
Lots of Avis’ fleet come with unlimited mileage, with different sized vehicles for different sized groups. The largest vehicles seat up to 8, but most are 4 and 5 seaters.
Despite not being one of the huge car hire names out there, Drivalia is still one of the leading UK car hire companies, so are a great choice for Edinburgh car hire.
Drivalia provides a free shuttle service from the airport to the hire depot.
The Drivalia pick up location in Edinburgh City Centre operates a fully contactless collection where you collect your key and vehicle from a pick-up smart box in a Q Park car park in the city centre.
For future reference, Drivalia is also one of the best car rentals in London, which is another popular destination in the United Kingdom.
Drivalia is a really good choice for eco-friendly rental, with lots of low and zero emission rentals on the fleet.
Electric vehicles are also on the fleet, and these come with free unlimited charging.
There’s a good mix of both automatic and manual vehicles too. Most rentals come with 100 free miles per day.
Sixt is another well known brand on this list of Edinburgh car rental firms (it's also a great option for car rentals in the United Kingdom in general).
They now have branches in 105 countries worldwide, and have been going since 1912!
Sixt have some super flexible policies. You can choose to ‘pay later’ at the point of booking, which means you can cancel any time up to the day of the booking.
This company is also a great option for longer rentals with great deals and flexible policies on long-term car hire, making them one of the best car rentals in Edinburgh.
Sixt also rents to those under 25, though additional charges do apply. Drivers must be 21+ and have held a full UK driving licence for 1 year.
Sixt’s UK fleet is really varied. Of course, you’ve got the classic compact, SUVs, saloons and estates. It's roughly a 50/50 split between automatic and manual vehicles.
There’s different rates available based on the amount of mileage you want per day, whether that be 100 miles, or unlimited miles.
National has three convenient car rental locations in Edinburgh - at the airport, the train station and downtown.
To have the choice of all vehicles at National, you'll need to be over 30. Those aged over 25 can only rent cars and SUVs from mini, economy, compact, intermediate and standard categories.
All rentals include unlimited mileage.
Their Emerald Loyalty Program entitles you to priority services, the opportunity to earn free rental credits.
Like lots of other Edinburgh car rental firms there are compact, economy, intermediate, luxury, premium and SUVs on the National fleet.
The majority of vehicles are manual, however there are some electric/automatic vehicles available.
Green Motion is a brand leader when it comes to eco-friendly car rental. They now operate in over 600 locations across 60 countries.
And their eco-friendliness doesn’t stop with their cars! All of their branches use low energy sensor lighting, and operate on as much renewable energy as possible.
Every dept has low energy lighting with sensors, and aims to recycle and use renewable energy as much as possible.
Their new ‘Drive & Go’ contactless service means customers can book and collect their car without even having to talk to another person!
Simply download the Green Motion app to place your booking, then verify yourself and your device so your phone can be used as the key!
After the trip is over, the app can be used to end the reservation and lock the car.
From a small Fiat 500 to a VW people carrier, all vehicles from Green Motion have low CO2 emissions.
There are 4 different rental packages to choose from at Green Motion, offering you different benefits, features and policies. It’s easy to compare each package to see which one is best for your needs and your budget.
Keddy is run by Europcar so you can benefit from the same variety of pick up and drop off locations that you get with Europcar, not just in the UK but all over Europe.
Keddy aims to offer customers simplified car hire, at affordable and competitive rates.
So if you're looking to hire a car in Edinburgh, we'd certainly recommend checking out this company.
There’s lots of vehicles on offer at Keddy, as they benefit from Europcars huge fleet.
The smallest vehicles have capacity for 4, such as Kia picanto, Citroen C1 and Fiat 500
The largest vehicles are people carriers with capacity for 7 and 8 people. Some vehicles do have a minimum hire age.
Europcar is one of the best-known car rental firms in the world (offering rentals in Ireland, Italy, and France among other countries).
Europcar has a fantastic loyalty programme which offers 10% off rental rates, complimentary upgrades, and exclusive special offers.
Prices are generally inclusive of VAT, road tax, collision damage waiver, theft waiver, and unlimited miles.
Bare in mind that whilst most rentals do, not all rentals include unlimited mileage. Some rentals may have a mileage limit, which will be clearly stated at the point of booking.
The Europcar fleet is easy to navigate as you can filter by number of passengers, luggage, CO2 emission level and also by category.
As one of the biggest names out there, Europcar of course has a huge and varied fleet with SUVs, compact, full size, elite, premium and economy vehicles.
The price of car rental will depend on the size of vehicle you’re after. Economy cars average at around £18/day, whilst a full-size SUV can go up to £64/day.
Rates will also vary depending on the time of year you are travelling, the mileage and fuel policy, and also any extra features or amenities you require from your vehicle.
If you're after cheap car rental, then you're in luck, as many companies in this guide have special offers on throughout the year.
Whilst most UK rental companies have a minimum age of 21 years old, you must have held your driving licence for at least 1 year.
There are likely to be additional charges for drivers under 25, but some vehicles may only be available to those over 25 so check before you book.
When renting a car in Edinburgh it's best to shop around, especially if you're a young driver.
To explore the city itself you don’t need a car as it’s easy to access via public transport, or by foot. However, to explore the wider area and the rest of Scotland car rental is a must!
Public transport links in other, more remote areas of Scotland are much less reliable, and having the freedom of a car is perfect for exploring Scotland and all its hidden gems.
I’m sure this is very obvious! But you’ll need to have a full driving licence, which you’ll need to have held for at least a year.
Some companies may ask for additional proof of ID such as a passport or credit card.
There’s of course going to be plenty of places you’ll want to visit in Edinburgh before you hit the road. Some of our favourites are Calton Hill, Arthur’s Seat and Edinburgh Castle.
But once you head out of the city you’ll want a plan of where to go and what to see.
The city of Inverness is around 160 miles from Edinburgh. It’s known as the capital of the highlands and is one of our favourite places to visit in Scotland.
It also marks the starting point for the iconic NC500 road trip, which takes you 500 miles around the north coast of Scotland. This trip takes you all the way over to the West Coast, where you can hop over to the Isle of Skye with your vehicle on the car ferry or across the Skye Bridge.
Honestly, there are so many places you can visit on a road trip from Edinburgh, including the Glenfinnan Viaduct (which is a Harry Potter filming location), Ben Lomond, and Culzean Castle.
The great thing about Scotland is you can wild camp, which saves money on accommodation - just make sure you have a car which can fit all your gear in (or hire a campervan instead).
The best thing to do with a road trip though, is always just to go with the flow. The best thing about having your own vehicle is that you can pull over wherever you like, so you don’t have to miss out on any views and beauty spots along the way.
For more information on visiting Scotland, and road trips you could take from Edinburgh check out the following:
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