When i travel, i always try to rent a VW Kombi as my "wheels".
In 1973, it was in Kenya to reach Lake Turkana to watch a solar eclipse.
We managed to find a self-drive (the rental agency actually foisted us off to Avis).
Discussion with Avis manager:
he: you want to go where?!?!
us: Lake Turkana (plus Amboseli, Mt Marsabit, crossing the Chalbi Desert, Lake Nakuru and other oddball spots)
he: take a Land Rover
us: will a Land Rover seat 7 people?
he: No.
us: can 7 people *lift* a Land Rover?
he: No.
us: we'll take the VW.
(adventures ensued... including helping rescue a stranded Land Rover)
((and a semi-test of the "7 people lift" issue (we did 6, with me as driver)))
a few weeks later we returned on the scheduled date.
he: You're back?
us: Yes.
he: where's the VW?
us: parked out front. Here are the keys.
he: You're back?? The VW is back????
us: Yes.
he: But
no one made it back. ALL of our cars broke down, even with professional drivers!
us: Well, one shock mount lost its bushing and the battery's split in half, but we drove it here.
---------------
That was an air-cooled (of course). I had taken along my extreme-minimal VW tool kit (6 inch Vice-grip, 17mm Allen wrench).
In 2013 we rented a VW Kombi for a
month-long tootle around South Africa. (adventures ensued)
It had the water-cooled Audi engine ... near the end of the trip the radiator split in half in Kruger National Park.
2 days later a piece of electrical conduit that had been used as an elbow in the coolant plumbing melted.
We still made it back on the scheduled date (2 days after the melt).
-------------
In 2014, we rented a VW California (never available in the US) for a
drive around the UK.
It's basically the same idea as the old Westie ... kitted out by VW at the factory.
--------------------
A neighbor has a (probably 72? It's air-cooled) Westie ... it's a fascinating collection of rust creeping (well, faster than that) up from the bottom. He'll go on hiking trips in it and have the return trip via tow truck. The engine is constantly requiring work (or rebuild).
--dick (who prefers air-cooled VWs, the California was just a bit too "deluxe")