I Picked Up Hitch-Hiker, She Stole My Laptop

The worst of my nightmares – one I could not even comprehend became reality. I went to the Dominican Republic to just enjoy myself without doing anything for a week and became a victim of ugly theft. I rented a car and picked up a hitch-hiker who stole my laptop. This is the lowest form of low – you do someone a favor, you help them out because they are asking for help and they abuse the privilege and use it to steal from you. What a horrible experience. This is what happened:

My first trip to the Dominican Republic was in January of 2009. I had great time and thanks to smart timing, the trip was very inexpensive. That time I also rented a car – I picked it up at the Puerto Plata airport and spent my 7 nights stay along the Dominican Republic’s north coast. I started in Puerto Plata, went through Sosua, Cabarete, Cabrera, Rio San Juan all the way to Samana peninsula where I wanted to go whale watching as that’s where whales come to mate from January till March each year, making for a unique opportunity to see a mother whale with a newly born whale calf. I enjoyed my time in the Dominican Republic so much, I wanted to come back and this time explore other parts of the country, mostly along the south coast as well as the beautiful beaches on the east (Punta Cana and Bavaro).

I was purposefully waiting until January, because it’s a great time to travel to the Caribbean. Prices are sky high in December with Christmas season and New Year being popular times of year when many people travel. Then come January, prices drop right down to a level that’s ridiculous compared to December. So basically, instead of going in December, wait a couple of weeks and go in January. You get the same weather, same everything, but for a fraction of price. Plane tickets that cost $850 + fees and taxes at the end of December drop to the $85 + fees and taxes level at the beginning of January. This is the best time to take trips to popular “sun vacation” spots. I learned that trick in 2009 and wanted to take advantage of it again in 2010.

I have patiently waited until beginning of January and kept keen eye on plane ticket prices to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic since mid December. For some reason, unlike in 2009, the prices retained their December levels for near two weeks in January and then they dropped overnight to 1/10th of their previous level. The moment the return ticket was below $100 + fees and taxes (which happen to be quite high for the Dominican Republic – over $300 making it the most expensive destination as far as airport taxes are involved after London UK from what I have noticed), I have immediately purchased it and proceeded to make a reservation for a car rental with Avis as well.

It was a last minute purchase, I had three days until departure but that was fine with me. I’m ready when I need to be ready. Because on my 2009 trip I took over 3000 pictures (Dominican Republic was truly amazing that year), I have decided to take my laptop with me so I don’t have to compromise with storage space. I also thought I’d use time in the evenings to do some writing as there is not much to do and it gets dark shortly after 6pm (that’s how it goes close to the equator). I travelled across South East Asia with my laptop without problems and those were the countries much poorer than the Dominican republic, so I didn’t see it as a big deal.

Everything seemed to have gone wrong right from the beginning, though. I got to Punta Cana and waited at the conveyor belt for my luggage which never showed up. Frustrated and desperate, I went to file a lost luggage report but first had to wait an hour until they have found the Air Transat representative who somehow disappeared even though their flight have just arrived and should be available for the passengers.

So there I was, back in the Dominican Republic I was looking forward to whole year but things were not turning out the way I had hoped. I picked up my rental car and went on to have an adventure I could not do. I had an itinerary in mind but it was all put to halt because of lost luggage. I was still wearing clothes from Canada where it was cold, so I was in long pants, heavy boots and long sleeve shirt, yet I was in the tropical climate with scorching temperatures. I had no personal hygiene products on me, nothing to brush my teeth with or rub into my armpits to make them more fragrant. It was horrible.

Photo: White Suzuki Grand Vitara Rental Car I Was Driving When I Had My Laptop Stolen
Photo: White Suzuki Grand Vitara Rental Car I Was Driving When I Had My Laptop Stolen

I drove back to the Punta Cana airport the following day with hopes that my luggage would have showed up in the meantime. Air Transat representatives were half helpful, half not. They all seemed to blame everything on me. The lady I spoke to said I should go and do what I had planned without waiting around for my luggage. I told her she had no right to be telling me what I should or should not do as she doesn’t know what I can or cannot do without stuff I had in my missing bag. She proceeded by calling their central to find out that there was no trace of my luggage whatsoever. None. Nobody knows where it is, what happened to it, whether it went on a different plane or whether it’s still in Canada – no trace of it whatsoever. Like it doesn’t exist. And that’s 24 hours after it was lost. Great news.

So I’m in the Dominican Republic, sweating in the same heavy clothes from Canada, stinking, dirty, desperate and devastated over this bull$hit but the worse was yet to come. I could not take a grasp of it. I had just returned from Asia from a flight which took 3 transfers and more than 24 hours to complete, including a stop over in Seoul, South Korea, yet my luggage got to me at my terminal destination. And here I took a direct flight – no transfers, one single flight from point A to point B and they managed to lose my luggage to a point that they have no trace of it whatsoever.

Since this was not the first time my luggage was lost during my travels by plane (I also had it lost on my return flight from Cuba to Canada in December of 2008), I already knew that one should never check in valuables. Hence I had the bag with my camera equipment and my laptop with me. I was still in the same clothes from Canada, but had my camera and my laptop so even though excessively stressed out, my expensive possessions were still under my control.

Unfortunately, since there was no trace of my bag and no knowing when it would show up, I had no choice but to proceed with my trip in whatever state I was or spend it waiting around for an unknown length of time. I was distraught, stressed out, desperate, stinky and dirty, but what could I do? So I went back to my rented car, started it up and headed out to try to make the best of my time in the Dominican Republic despite this misfortune.

In this weak state of mind, as I was driving through San Pedro de Macoris, on the south coast of the Dominican Republic, headed towards nation’s capital Santo Domingo, I noticed a hitch-hiker on the side of the road desperately trying to stop a car to get a lift. It was at the beginning of the highway leading to Santo Domingo and it was already about 7.30 or 8 pm meaning it was dark so I stopped to pick this young woman up and give her the lift.

Photo: Artistic Structure at the Traffic Circle in San Pedro de Macoris Where I Picked Up the Hitch-Hiker Who Stole My Laptop
Photo: Artistic Structure at the Traffic Circle in San Pedro de Macoris Where I Picked Up the Hitch-Hiker Who Stole My Laptop

I was heading the same way anyway and had room in my car so giving a hitch-hiker a lift was no big deal. But most of all, back in a day when I was in the university and spent 6 consecutive summers travelling through Europe, I used hitch-hiking as my primary means of transportation. When you hitch-hike, sometimes you are stuck for a long time and sometimes you don’t even catch a ride so you have to stay the night and try again the following day. However once you catch a lift it’s fun times. You are always very appreciative of people who help you out with the lift so now that I was in a position of having a ride and saw a hitch-hiker in need of help, I did not hesitate to return the favor and stopped to pick her up.

There was a major issue with communication as she didn’t speak any English and I speak no Spanish. So we spent most of our time listening to awful Dominican Latino music on the radio (every station plays the same awful music, but CDs I brought with me to listen to on the road were in the bag that was lost by flight carrier). As a person who picked up a hitch-hiker, I had the foremost interest that she feels comfortable and enjoys her ride, so when she threw her bag on the rear seat, I didn’t make much of it, thinking that she just wants to have enough room for herself during the upcoming 45 minute long ride. It was the rear seat where I had my laptop rested.

During the ride, the hitch-hiker went to her bag a couple of time – to pick up her lipstick to do the things that girls do, so I didn’t make a big deal out of it again. Then as we approached Santo Domingo, she asked me to drop her off at first turn off from the highway so I obliged and wished her the best of luck. I have impulsively reached in the back seat to make sure my laptop was all right, not because I suspected a theft, but because I thought it may have slid during the course of driving so I wanted to make sure it was safe. I could not feel it anywhere on the seats so I figured it must have slipped and fallen under the seat. I tried to reach under the seat on which I was sitting, but could not feel anything either. I thought it was because I can’t reach very well from a position behind the wheel so I moved the vehicle up to the gas station on the corner, parked the car and walked out to get on the rear seat to take care of my laptop which surely must have slid in some hard to reach spot.

My heart was pumping like crazy as I was sneaking at every possible spot in the car where a laptop could have slipped but it was nowhere to be seen. I turned the car upside down while other cars were coming and going as they filled their gas tanks up and as security guards stared at me because of my frantic behavior yet there was no laptop. I slowly started to realize the unthinkable – I was robbed. I had my laptop stolen by that hitch-hiker. It was the most horrible feeling ever. Within seconds I realized what terrible loss this theft puts me through. I had many things stolen from me through the course of my life and my travels, but this laptop was hands down the most expensive piece and as if the price was not the only loss, the laptop had everything of value to me on it, including all of the pictures from my travels so far, meaning that I would not be able to continue with updates for my blog because I have no reminder of my adventures anymore. What an awful experience. How could someone do it? How could someone you offer help to abuse it to steal from you? What kind of world do we live in?

Photo: The Only Picture of My Stolen Laptop I Have. Taken at Bungalow Village in Sihanoukville, Cambodia
Photo: The Only Picture of My Stolen Laptop I Have. Taken at Bungalow Village in Sihanoukville, Cambodia

This laptop theft is the reason why I’m jumping five months ahead of myself and start writing about the Dominican Republic even though I have not yet finished writing about my adventures in Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. When you start living your life to the fullest and every day is an adventure, there are so many things happening every day that I was unable to keep up with written reports. Things were simply happening faster than I was able to keep track of them. As a result, I am five months behind with my journal, however I had pictures of my adventures which served as great reminder of everything that happened so I was able to write about it as though it happened yesterday. Pictures recall memories and serve as valuable reminder of time spent.

Unfortunately, my stolen laptop was the only place which had my pictures. With laptop gone, all of the pictures are gone but that’s not all. Stolen laptop also means that all of my emails and valuable contact information I have made during the course of my travels are gone. There was much more than I am willing to admit on that laptop and now it’s all gone because I was trying to be a Good Samaritan. One of the saddest and most devastating days of my life.

STOLEN LAPTOP SPECS:

Model: Samsung Q320
Color: White
Size: 13.4 Inch Screen
Serial Number: ZBBX93ES700101
Stolen On: Friday, January 15, 2010

Description of Laptop Thief:

Young female, approximately 25 year old. Good looking with average size breasts (not too big, but also not small), slender build without big gut, but booty type buttocks. She is on a taller side, perhaps as tall as me, which is 180 cm or 5’11” – on average taller than most girls, but not excessively tall. It was dark already and as a driver, I did not spend my time staring at the passanger, instead I focused on driving and the road, but I believe that her skin color was darker than average Dominicans have. Most Dominicans are dark or darkish, she was on the darker side. She also has very large lips. Noticeably big, plump lips that some women with very dark skin have. These lips stand out big time and are easily distinguishable. At the time of pick up, she was wearing one of those hair gels that give your hair wet look. She was also wearing dark jeans that only reached half way up her buttocks slightly uncovering top of her ass crack. Given that I picked her up at San Pedro de Macoris, she obviously has some kind of connection to the town – maybe she lives there or works there or has other reasons to go there. I believe she was only going to Santo Domingo for the weekend as she was leaving San Pedro on Friday night.

Donating Pet Supplies to Edmonton Humane Society

I knew that Edmonton Humane Society was a pet shelter that accepted stray animals in, but I wasn’t sure whether they would also accept donations in form of pet supplies. The only way to find out was to get in touch with them so I called and was told by surprised lady on the other end that they absolutely accepted merchandise donations but they never get anything because people automatically assume that all they accept are live animals. I was told that they would much appreciate any of the items I had mentioned because they were in dire need for fish tanks and always short of cat food.

I had most of my stuff stored at Dave’s and only had one more load to take on Thursday evening. I thought of combining it with a drop off of pet supplies since office of Edmonton Humane Society was on the way to Dave’s. Since I only had a few more items I needed take to Dave’s, most of my car was available for fish tanks and other pet supplies and I had no problem fitting it in. The only challenging thing was one of the fish tanks – it rather large and heavy so it was extremely difficult for one guy to move it out of the apartment and fit it in the car. Despite of all the difficulties, I’ve gone through the struggle and somehow got it all done without help the previous night. I was gonna drive in a car to work and take off immediately after so I get to the Edmonton Humane Society before they close at 5pm and then I’d have the rest of the evening to drop the rest of the stuff at Dave’s.

The day after my intended drop off was the day I had to return my rented car so I wouldn’t be able to get anything done. I had to be at work until 4pm and car had to be back at Hertz by 5pm otherwise I’d get charged for an extra day. Given crazy traffic that hits Edmonton at rush hour (4pm), not only would I not be able to do anything with my rented car on my last day, I would actually have to rush it to make sure I get all the way downtown by 5pm to avoid extra charges. It was gonna be tight, but I have previously done some overtimes so I had hoped my supervisor would let me leave 15 minutes early to get to Hertz before 5pm.

But this wasn’t until the day after. Today I still had one last drop off to do. First at Edmonton Humane Society where I was going to donate all of my pet supplies and then the rest of my items at Dave’s. I left work exactly at 4pm to make sure I get all the way to 50 Street and Yellowhead Trail where Edmonton Humane Society was located by 5pm so I don’t miss people at the shelter with whom I made arrangements anticipate me. I drove swiftly but roads were congested so it took a while. I got to 50 Street just minutes before 5pm and pulled over by the door only to find it shut locked with a sign on it that Edmonton Humane Society had moved.

Their new location was at the opposite end of town. It would take me an hour to get there from where I was. They must have moved just recently as I have been at their original location only a few months prior. I could not believe the lady I spoke with about donations on the phone has never hinted me that they were at a new location to make sure I don’t needlessly drive to the wrong spot which is too far away.

Needless to say, I would never make it to their new location from where I was before everybody is gone. Giving it a try never the less was making no sense especially since by the sound of it, it would take a while to find it (that area isn’t very easy to navigate through). Plus I had Dave expecting me with my last load and I really needed to get to him before it’s too late so I don’t needlessly keep him up.

I was in a pretty tight spot there. I struggled the night before to get all of the pet supplies, including that giant fish tank into the car all by myself. Now it looked like I was gonna have to get it out of the car all by myself because the following day I had to return the car right after work which wouldn’t give me enough time to drop the items off. I was definitely not happy that I wasn’t hinted about shelter’s new location. Afterall, I was doing them a favor – I was intending to donate, give them some of my possessions for free and cover the cost of driving to get it all to their location. Was it really that hard to let me know that they had just moved so I don’t drive to their old location which puts me at the opposite end of the city?

The premise of removing that massive fish tank from the car was not very appealing, but there was no chance I would make it to their new location from work and still make it to Hertz by 5pm. But I was having hard time simply dumping all the hassle I went through when I moved that fish tank into the car all by myself in the first place. Seeing how all that struggle would have been in vain if I gave up on donating was not an easy thing to accept. So I’ve decided to keep it in the car and see if I can pull off some magic.

I drove to work on Friday, my last day at work before the departure to Siem Reap with all of the pet supplies still in my car. It was a beautiful summer day. I spent my day at work committed to my duties but had asked my supervisor if he would dismiss me an hour early stating that I had an urgent matter to attend to. I have never asked for early dismissal before but have gladly stayed longer when we needed to catch up with things so I didn’t expect it to be an issue and in fact it wasn’t. I was allowed to leave early which gave me hope that I would eventually put my pet supplies to good use instead of just dumping them.

I phoned the Humane Society during the day explaining why they never saw me come the day before as I had promised and insisted that I was gonna give it one last try but they better be expecting me so unloading goes quickly because I had to rush from there through heavy traffic to get to Hertz downtown before 5pm. I was promised that someone would wait for me but as it goes with larger operations, it wasn’t the case.

I got to the new Edmonton Humane Society location, quickly walked in and told the receptionist who I was believing she would be aware of me and have staff ready to move the items from my car. She had no damn clue so I asked to point me at the office of a lady I spoke with over the phone but she wasn’t there. I started walking around aimlessly, desperately trying to find someone who would know what needs to be done but since there was no one and I was running out of time, I simply told the receptionist that I was gonna take the items I am meaning to donate and leave them right there on the street for them to pick up when they get a chance. When lady who spoke with me over the phone shows up, she can then take care of it but I needed to act.

This was overheard by an elderly gentleman who was sitting nearby. He followed me outside and offered a helping hand which was great because that big fish tank was a difficult task for one person to handle, but not a big deal for two. We moved everything out of the car and just as we were done, the lady I spoke with over the phone walked up to greet me. I told her I needed to go but all of the items I wished to donate were right there on the street so they could do whatever they wanted with it.

I sat in a car and only just about made it to Hertz in time. Luckily Hertz is a professional company that deals with their clients on a professional level so the return of my weekly rental went smoothly and without headache. This has concluded my necessary preparations for the big trip. I only needed to pack up and be ready to board a plane on Monday. However I still had my bicycle which was too big to fit in a Toyota Corolla but since days were beautiful (whole summer of 2009 was beautiful in Alberta), I had no fears. I knew I could easily ride to Dave’s on Saturday and catch a bus back home for my last two days in Edmonton.

Weekly Car Rental Deals

I only had a little more than a week until my ultimate departure which would take me away from my home country of Canada for an extended period of time, so I figured that perhaps I could rent a car one last time and go to the Rocky Mountains I loved so much. I didn’t have my car anymore and the weather was beautiful so I really thought I should take advantage of it and head to the mountains while I’m still here. Renting a car was the only option at this time so I started looking around for the best Weekly Car Rental Deals.

My primary thinking behind renting a car for a whole week was that I would be able to use it to go to the Rockies and after I had returned, I would still have an automobile to take care of the items I needed to find a storage solution for. I was still going to work and was going to stay employed until the last day of August – literally until my departure date.

Another thing that got me looking for Weekly Car Rental Deals was a billboard ad I saw by the Westmount Mall in Edmonton which advertised weekly rental of a compact sized car at Budget Canada for mere $99 a week. Considering that weekend rental would cost me half of that, I figured I might as well rent a car for a whole week and have myself set not only for the trip to the Rockies, but also to move all of my possessions to wherever I end up storing it.

I phoned Budget to find out about the deal advertised but it was as I suspected – restricted as to the kilometers you can put on the car and the deal only applied to very small cars. Plus the Budget Rent a Car office near me was not open during convenient hours. I kept it in mind as an option, but didn’t dwell on it too much. Instead, I’ve spread my search for better Weekly Car Rental Deals across other providers and it did prove to be a good strategy. Don’t follow the billboards.

I ended up renting a car from Hertz. Weekly rental of a mid size sedan with unlimited kilometers was less than $120 with all fees and taxes in. Considering that I didn’t need car insurance because my travel visa card had worldwide coverage, this was an amazing deal for a week long car rental of Toyota Corolla. Yes, I could have had a car for a week for $99 plus fees and taxes, but it would have been Chevrolet Aveo (a miniature car) and I wouldn’t be able to take it to the Rocky Mountains because I would go over allocated distance quota.

Photo: Silver Toyota Corolla I Rented for a Week from Hertz to Drive Through the Canadian Rockies
Photo: Silver Toyota Corolla I Rented for a Week from Hertz to Drive Through the Canadian Rockies

Hertz is usually one of the more expensive car rental companies but you get what you pay for. They clearly don’t focus on people who are cheap (aka myself), but will go out of their way for people who are willing to pay for the luxury of preferential treatment. Weekly rental of a mid size sedan through Hertz would normally cost around $250. I was able to push it down to its 50% level through the use of a time limited coupon code (it’s already expired). The use of it has not been questioned anytime by any Hertz representative, their car was superior to comparable models rented through other companies by having more options and paperwork necessary to rent a car through them was minimalistic. Hertz is clearly geared to get you behind the wheel of a car you desire without much hassle.

This was the very first time I have rented with Hertz and it was a pleasant experience. I had rented car many times before, including rentals at international locations but always with different companies to save money. This time timing was on my side so I was able to get a deal I would not get with any other provider, yet I still received Hertz treatment. It is likely I won’t be renting with Hertz anytime soon, if at all, but I’d definitely rank them as one of the finest car rental companies in existence. Saves you a lot of hassle not having to deal with crap when renting a car.

That being said – there were a few things I did not like about Hertz. First of all – they did not offer customer pick up. I had to take a bus all the way to downtown Edmonton (I did it because savings I was getting in this weekly special were worth it). I don’t know whether all Hertz offices do it this way, but that was a crappy part of their business. Second thing I did not like was not really their fault but it still made it a bit annoying. When I came to pick up my car, there were two people there before me, each occupying one of the available agents. Those people kept asking irrelevant questions and one of them didn’t even end up renting, but they kept me stuck there for an extra half an hour. I had my car pick up booked for 5pm but I didn’t get my car until 5.30pm. If I had something important to catch, I would have missed it. That would have spoiled it for me entirely. And even though I can’t really blame it on Hertz as a company, being a customer you still wish you got what you booked at the time you booked it for.

Photo: Beautiful Canadian Rocky Mountains
Photo: Beautiful Canadian Rocky Mountains

Other than that, everything about Hertz was perfect. Perhaps a little too perfect to be true. Either way, I had my car and was ready to hit the road from Edmonton to Jasper to enjoy my last weekend in the Rocky Mountains. The feeling was amazing especially since I knew that the weekend after that would be the weekend of my departure to South East Asia. Whoaaaa.

Alaska Roadtrip with Cruise to Vancouver

As I was doing my research on the best priced plane tickets to an interesting destination to start off my worldwide travel, I found out that due to new taxes imposed upon visitors to Alaska, cruise ships sailing that way will be forced to charge additional $50 per passenger, making this cruising option less attractive to travelers. Because of that, many of major cruise line companies made public statements that they will be discontinuing or limiting their Alaska cruises and will instead move their ships to the Mediterranean Sea where demand and income from have been continuously growing. This was supposed to take place at the beginning of 2010.

I’ve always wanted to visit Alaska so when I realized that many of the cruise ships that used to serve this area will not be there as of January 1st, 2010, it became clear that prices for Alaska cruises will go up. Those few ships that will still serve the arctic state will have little competition so they will be able to jack prices up plus there will still be that additional $50 per person fee imposed by the state of Alaska so if one were to take an Alaska cruise, they should do it before the end of 2009 or have to pay significantly higher price.

This prompted me to start looking into available options. I wanted to visit Alaska and take an Alaskan cruise before prices become too unaffordable. But at the same time I thought of combining it with other adventures to make it a roadtrip of a lifetime. I thought of doing the following:

  • Rent a car in Edmonton
  • Drive up the breathtaking Alaska Highway all the way to Anchorage – a 3,000 km long journey that would take about 4 days to complete
  • Enjoy the scenic views and make stops at interesting locations along the way, such as the Liard River Hot Springs
  • Enjoy the nature and scenery of Alaska for a day or two
  • Drop off car rental and board a southbound cruise ship sailing to Vancouver
  • Take a mesmerizing 7 day cruise exposing the beauty of Juneau, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan etc. while it’s still cheap
  • Spend a day or two in Vancouver, known as one of world’s most beautiful cities (which I have not visited in my life yet)
  • Rent a car to drive back to Edmonton
  • Drive across beautiful British Columbia enjoying the mountains
  • Make a stop at Frasier Canyon known as one of world’s most exciting white water rafting areas
  • Drive across Canadian Rockies
  • Drop off rented car in Edmonton and savor the road trip of a lifetime you have just finished

This seemed like the ultimate roadtrip, the ultimate adventure, the trip that combines some of the best and most coveted areas of the world in one go. And because time was against me, I could not put it off as prices for cruise ships were bound to rise significantly come 2010. So I started doing my research to make this roadtrip come true but hit a solid wall when I started phoning up car rental companies.

First of all, hardly any of the worldwide rent-a-car companies has an office anywhere in Alaska making it impossible to drop a car off there. Secondly, the few that do would charge an arm and a leg for drop off at a location that’s different from pick up location. I wasn’t quite aware of this fact prior to this research. I’ve rented a car many times before in different countries, but have always dropped off where I’d picked it up. But because many big car rental places have offices worldwide, I thought it was a no brainer that you could pick a car here and return it there. I was wrong. Unless it’s some kind of special, drop off at a different location will incur an extra cost – often multiplying your initial cost by a large factor. But if you intend to drive across the border and drop it off in another country, that’s when it starts getting ridiculous.

Alaska is a US state whereas I would be starting my roadtrip in Edmonton, Canada. That means I would be renting my car in one country, but dropping it off in another. Most of the time you can’t even do that. Rental terms and conditions restrict the use of a rented automobile to the same country. Crossing borders is not allowed, unless some special arrangements are made or it is a company that specializes in car rentals for people who need to drive internationally. Either way, after many phone calls and no luck finding a company with the office in Alaska, I was eventually able to trace some down, but dropping off a car registered in Canada in the United States state would make it an extremely costly venture. Similar extremes would apply to the car I would rent in Vancouver to drop it off in Edmonton. Vancouver is located in British Columbia, whereas Edmonton is in Alberta. Again – these are two different provinces, hence different license plates and registration cards. A lot of hassle involved so the cost of it would be very high.

The only other option I had was to rent a car for an extended period of time (3 weeks) in Edmonton, drive it up to Alaska, board the cruise ship and pay also for the car to get on board, then get off the ship in Vancouver and drive the same car back to Edmonton. This was an option that was priced a little better than the other one, because it eliminated high international drop off fees, but was still extremely expensive. Cruise ships are intended for vacationers. They specialize in sailing people, not cars. If you want to take a car with you, you’d be looking at a very high cost, which totally defeated the purpose of trying to get on the Alaska cruise ship before prices go up in 2010. And if I were to do it, I would have to shell out a big chunk of cash to have my rented car on board the cruise ship and while it is there, I wouldn’t even be able to drive it, but the cost of the rental for the time while I’m on a cruise ship would still count, hence I would be normally charged by a car rental company for those days whether I’m driving it or not.

In other words, while I’m on the cruise ship, I would not be able to use my rental car, but I’d be paying big bucks for each day of having it, plus I’d be paying super high cruise ship fee to have the car on board. All of that made the cost of my awesomely planned, but impossible to execute roadtrip sky high. The plan was top notch, but it was impossible to carry out unless your pockets are big.

Car Rental Reservations – Advantage of Booking in Advance

When I checked the car rental prices for a decent automobile in the Dominican Republic when I started looking for cheap plane tickets to embark on my worldwide travel, the prices were more than reasonable. I just wanted to get a hint on what to expect as far as prices for different classes of vehicles are concerned, but made no reservations. I did not have the plane ticket purchased yet and deemed it important to have the plane ticket first so I know the exact day and time of arrival in my destination. Without the plane ticket I wouldn’t know which date to book my car rental for so I merely checked prices and left it to deal with it after I have had my flight arrangements taken care of – BAD IDEA!

I went to check the Avis website the following day since plane ticket prices increased significantly overnight and I could not believe my eyes. Car rental prices, even with Avis coupon grew almost twice fold. If I made a reservation today, instead of the day before, I would pay more for Kia Rio than I would have for Suzuki Grand Vitara yesterday. In other words, had I made a reservation yesterday, I would pay less money and have myself a nice SUV, whereas today I would have to pay more but would get a small passenger car which is three classes down from SUV. SUV rental prices grew way beyond reasonable and were out of question.

If I was frustrated with unprecedented growth of plane ticket prices overnight, unexpected growth of car rental prices made it even worse. And then I realized what kind of stupid idea it was not making a reservation in advance, even though I didn’t have the exact day and time or arrival. See, unlike with plane tickets, car rental companies are very flexible with their reservations and making any changes to it, including cancellations is easy and costs you nothing (at least when dealing with companies like Avis). That means that one should make a reservation on the spot when they see a good price, because even if your dates change, you will be able to easily modify it. And if you are unable to make the trip, you can cancel the reservation and the life will go on. There are no cancellation fees.

Don’t be like me. If you see a good price for car rentals, make a reservation. If you put it off till tomorrow to think about it overnight or to find out exact dates – by the time you have returned to their website, the price could be different and you will have missed the opportunity to have a car rented on the cheap. You have nothing to lose if you book well in advance. Not doing it may result in overpaying later.

The way it works with car rental companies (for the most part), is that you don’t pay your rental fees until you have returned the car. Your credit card will not be charged until after the rental period (this is also in case you cause damage to the rented unit so they can charge you full amount, including the amount to cover for damage you have caused). As such, if you make a reservation online, they will just take your credentials (Avis doesn’t even collect credit card number, just name, email and phone number) and the car is booked for you. You come, pick it up, drive it, and when you are returning it, the representative will inspect it and you sign the papers so they can charge you what you have agreed upon when you were making reservation.

There is really no reason to hesitate with reservations. The fact that you can easily modify or cancel your reservation for no extra fee makes for the biggest advantage of booking your car in advance. I’ve learned my lesson here so from this point on, each time I was planning a trip to a country where I might be interested in car rentals, I’d check for the best prices and if I saw one I liked, I’d make reservations on the spot. Because if I changed my mind or something changes in my plans, I could easily pull back from it or modify it as needed, including change of countries. Take advantage of early booking because there really is nothing to lose. But do verify the fine print. I know for sure it works this way with Avis, but I’m not familiar with terms of service of every car rental company out there.

Best Way to Rent a Car with Avis Coupon

I found the best way to Rent a Car worldwide which I want to share with you. Not only is it the best way to rent a car, it’s also the cheapest. It’s just a simple Avis coupon code that works wonders when it comes to bumping the price of your car rental down. And given that Avis have offices worldwide – virtually in any country where car rentals are possible, this little trick can hook you up with well maintained vehicle for a great price.

I found out about it as I was looking for the ways to rent a car in Iceland but was not willing to pay $1,000+ for a ten day rental. Iceland is a very expensive country and it’s reflected in prices of their car rentals. I wanted to make the best out of my 10 day trip so in order not to waste time waiting around for buses and to be able to also access more remote places, I saw car rental as the best solution. But since it’s so extremely expensive to rent a car in Iceland, I had to work out some magic and find a solution that would hook me up with a car, but prevent me from spending more than a grand for it.

To make a long story short, my research has eventually lead me to the Avis coupon code which can cut the normal price down to near one half of it. It worked in Iceland, it worked in the Dominican Republic, it worked in Canada and will likely work in most destinations where Avis has their offices. How much discount you will get varies from one country to another but I have not found any better way to get less expensive, yet internationally backed up car rental since.

To get to the best way to rent a car, go to Avis.com and select your country of origin from the Country/Language drop down menu (or you can go directly to Avis.ca if you are Canadian). Choose your date and time for pick up and return and then choose your pick up location. This is all pretty standard stuff that will get regularly priced quotes. In order to get much better prices, you need to enter following code in the AWD (Avis Worldwide Discount code) field:

K444404

Screenshot from Avis.ca Website Shows Where to Paste the AWC Discount Code
PHOTO: Screenshot from Avis.ca Website Shows Where to Paste the AWC Discount Code

Previously normal car rental prices will now be slashed into much more attractive level. I have never seen car rentals for better price than when using Avis with this code. Good thing is, that after three different rentals in three different countries using Avis and this discount code, I have never been asked any questions. Nothing. You just paste it in the AWD field and make a reservation. Car will be waiting for you at your chosen location and when you return it, you will be given the receipt with the price you were quoted by the website and that price will be charged to the credit card you have provided the Avis representative with when you were picking your car up. It worked for me in Iceland, it worked for me in Canada and it worked for me in the Dominican Republic. No questions asked. None whatsoever.

Then again, given Avis’ international reputation, I would not expect anyone ever questioning the code or where you got it from. Avis are in it to be a worldwide leader in car rental services. They want your business and will be glad you have chosen them over a competitor. It’s none of employee’s business to question where you got which code from. But most of all, they are there to provide you with a reliable car and process your pick up and return in a courteous and professional manner. They are not booking agents so chances of anyone at the pick-up location questioning the code are virtually nonexistent. Based on my experience so far it is exactly like that but if you think about it, I don’t see how it could possibly create an issue at pick up location so I believe you can safely use the code and enjoy the benefits of great rental prices.

And remember – don’t worry about feeling guilty. Avis is a multimillion dollar company. You are bringing them business that’s profitable for them any way you spin it. The fact that you are not paying the normal price does not mean that you are ripping them off. Far from it. You are just being a smart renter and paying a price that’s fair, not a price that other’s who don’t do their homework have to pay. Each time I see people paying retail prices for travel and tourism related goods and services, I quietly laugh on the inside knowing that I saved myself from being overcharged.