About Estonia

Estonia is one of the less popular destinations in Europe but still pulls in millions of tourists a year. Estonia has plenty to do, with a large national park, many historic buildings and even a 314m which you ascend and see the views of the surrounding area. There are a few ski resorts in Estonia and despite it not been the most popular location with skiers, that does not mean you can’t have a great time.

If you are visiting Estonia in the Winter months, it is important you are aware of any laws in Estonia at this time of year. We have collated all the information you will need to know when hiring a car in the winter in Estonia.

Do I Need Winter Tyres By Law In Estonia?

Yes, between 1st December and 1st March it is a legal requirement to have your car equipped with winter tyres. Due to this being a legal requirement, when you hire a car, it will already come with winter tyres fit as standard in the months stated above. The full price of your rental will automatically include the extra cost of winter tyres.

Do I need snow chains in Estonia?

No, in Estonia, as long as you have winter tyres, which you will do, there is no requirement for snow chains. For this reason, our suppliers do not offer snow chains available to hire from this location.

What else should I consider?

If you are planning to take your skis with you, you will need to consider how you are going to transport your skis. The easiest way to do this is to add a ski rack when booking, this will cost an extra £35 for the duration of the hire. The ski racks can only hold 2 sets of skis, if you wish to take more than 2 sets of skis it might be worth hiring a larger car to accommodate your skis.

If you are going to travel to another country with our cross border car hire offer, you must make sure you know the laws in any country you visit. If you fail to meet the laws of any country, you are responsible and could be issued a fine and your insurance may be void. To avoid this, make sure you add anything you need to your booking or make alternative arrangements before you reach the country.

As always, we recommend that you call us if you would like to hire a car, even more so if you have exact requirements. Our expert team are always happy to help with any questions or concerns that you may have to make sure your car hire is stress free. Get in contact with our team today!

Guaranteed Model 4×4 Vehicles available for hire

Whilst you’ve always had the option of hiring large SUV’s before in the UK, it was always impossible to know for sure whether you would get a guaranteed 4×4 on arrival or not. It was basically all up to whether the supplier had one when you got there.

This is obviously not ideal, especially if you’re going using the vehicle off-road or perhaps looking for a safer vehicle to drive during winter when a 4×4 makes life much easier! We have managed to team up with one of our suppliers to offer you guaranteed 4×4 SUV hire across the UK, available at all major airports and cities.

4×4 Rental Locations

What 4×4 Vehicles Can I Hire

Here is a small list with a few examples we stock, but this is not at all exhaustive:

• Jeep Cherokee
• Toyota Rav4
• Nissan X-Trail
• Volvo XC60
• Range Rover
• Ford Kuga

These all fit into the three different ranges that we offer – Small, Large and Executive SUV’s.

Can I hire a 4×4 with points / convictions on my licence?

Yes – as long as you only have one major conviction (e.g. DR10 etc.) then this won’t be a problem at all, even if the conviction is less than a year old. Feel free to look at our page here for more info on hiring with points also.

Do I have to leave a huge deposit on my card?

Not at all – on the 4×4’s the deposit ranges between £200.00 and £500.00 as the maximum, depending on the size of car and location you are hiring from. Most other suppliers would require upwards of a £1000 deposit hold on your card for the hire – even more so on premium SUV’s / 4×4’s!

I’ve just received my licence, am I still able to hire a 4×4?

Yes – providing you have actually received the physical photocard this is fine, even if you’ve only had it for a couple of days! The only restriction is that you must be over 25 for this option (30 for the larger SUV’s). There’s no extra charge for this either – just take a look at our blog post here for more info.

To top it all off as well, we have a special offer available where you can get a free additional driver on any 4×4 hire in the UK. Just make sure you call / email us before booking online so that you can take advantage of this.

Every year we update our content on winter driving to keep it relevant with today’s motoring and the products available to help us. Snow Socks are a relatively new idea and something we haven’t covered before. Essentially they do what it says on the tin, they are a kevlar cover (Sock) that you can place on your drive wheels to improve grip when driving on snow and ice at speeds of up to 25/30 mph.

There are a few different ones on the market at the moment and a quick google search will show you the options available to you. They all tend to do a similar job performance wise but from what I can see the higher end big-brand ones look a little easier to fit.

Do Snow Socks Work?

All of the research I have seen online suggests that yes they do, they can improve grip when travelling in snowy conditions and are a light weight and mostly cheaper alternative to heavy snow chains.

Take a look at this video from Which? that shows a real life review of the AutoSock.

What Are The Benefits When Hiring A Car?

I can see these being useful for rental car drivers in a few ways.

Firstly they are lightweight and do not take up a lot of space, so if you are travelling abroad and are limited on space and weight then these are ideal.

Secondly is the cost, those that have hired a car in winter before will know that costs can inflate quite a lot, not just because suppliers like increasing prices but because of the additional products you may need. Snow chains and winter tyres can set you back between £50 and £120 per week on top of your rental, you may want to avoid paying these by hiring a car that is fit for the conditions but renting a 4×4 isn’t cheap and even a 4 wheel drive vehicle can come unstuck in wintry weather if they do not have the correct winter tyres fitted. By purchasing a set of snow socks, you can keep the cost down and they are yours to reuse as many times as you like.

Lastly is their practicality, if you are not heading to a destination with a huge chance of snow and maybe just hiring a car in the UK with winter tyres just because we may get some snow could be seen as overkill, especially when the weatherman has a 50/50 shot at getting his prediction right. So by having a pair of these tucked away in the boot could be the best answer, just in case snowmageddon does arrive.

What Are The Draw Backs Of Snow Socks?

From what I have seen in the above video and other research they are not as straight forward to fit in real life as the manufacturers make out. By design they fit snug to the wheel so are quite tight and hard to pull and push into place. If you are caught out by a snow shower then you may find yourself on your knees in the cold and wet trying to fit them while getting pretty dirty.

They are designed to work when driving on snow and ice alone and will be damaged if used on defrosted, gritted roads. So once you have freed yourself from the side streets and hit the clear main road, you need to jump back out and take them off, otherwise you may be back to buy some more sooner than you thought.

Lastly, they come in different sizes because wheels and tyres come in different sizes. So if your sole use for them is when you are travelling and driving a hire car then you would need to consider which size to buy. Most suppliers we deal with have varied fleets of vehicles but would do what they can to find a car for you to suit your needs but there is always that chance that when you arrive you end up with a car that your snow socks just wont fit.

Would I Buy Snow Socks?

I think they are a good option for your own car, if you know the size of the drive wheels you can buy a set to chuck in the boot safe in the knowledge they are there when needed. The practicality of these for a hire car however isn’t great. I can see they have a use and are a low cost alternative to winter tyres but where you gain in cost saving you lose in time, effort and dry cleaning bills.

If you have any questions regarding car hire in winter, snow socks, chains or winter tyres then please get in touch. Our team are on hand to take you through all options available to you.