We are very fortunate that football often takes us to new places around the globe. However, traveling to each location presents its own challenges (ex. cultural, geographic, political, financial, etc.) and pre-departure research is a must to make the trip a success. No complains, each trip leave us with lessons learned and anecdotes to share and a higher sense of appreciation for our home.

A few days ago, I returned home from visiting Johan with the US Olympic team in Marseille, France. We learned a few things that we hope you find useful for your next trip abroad (France and Spain specifically)

In the past, we had rented a car in Spain and Germany exclusively using our US driver’s license; however, we had never rented a car in France nor had the need to drive across to a different country (Spain) which called for additional requirements.

Some websites list an International Driving Permit (IDP) -which is a translation of your US driver’s license- as a requirement to rent and drive a car in Spain yet we never needed one but we have heard some stories… Based on our research, we found that we needed the IDP in France. The IDP (pictured below) can be obtained in the United States at selected AARP locations (and online) and best of all, it can be issued the same day. It costs about $20 (plus cost of 2 passport pictures that can be purchased at Walgreens/CVS).

While in France, I needed to drive up north to Donostia, Spain to visit Jogo. Thus, if one plans to travel outside of France, additional insurance coverage is needed. It is probably best to pay for this insurance upon physically acquiring the car at the counter. For Hertz, I was able to secure international insurance for an additional $20 for my entire trip (about 10 days) for the car above.

As it turned out, when I reached the counter at the Hertz office in Marseille, they informed me that the IDP was “nice to have” but not really a requirement. Therefore, if you plan to rent a car in France, do what you deem necessary. In this case, we ended up erring on the side of caution. Either way, check the rules/guidelines before your trip abroad.

Once I rented the car, it’s worth noting the number of toll roads across France. It’s convenient to carry cash to pay these tolls (about 100 euros from Marseille to Donostia). In any case, the trip was a succes in France and Spain and we’ll be returning soon.

I hope this information helps somebody. Until next time #theGomezway