Zittau's railway station, sometimes referenced by the code ZIT, sits in the far southeastern corner of Saxony, Germany, at the point where the country's borders with Poland and the Czech Republic nearly touch, and it needs to be said plainly: this is a train station, not an airport, and it has no car rental desks. Zittau is a practical rail hub for this tri-border region, connecting local and regional lines rather than serving as any kind of airport terminal, and visitors searching for a car should not expect airport-style rental counters here.
For anyone who wants a rental car to explore this part of Saxony or cross into neighboring Poland or the Czech Republic, Dresden is the sensible pickup point, roughly an hour and a quarter away by road with full-service counters at both its airport and main train station. From Dresden, the drive into Zittau and the surrounding Zittau Mountains is straightforward on well-maintained German roads, passing through a quiet corner of the country that sees far less traffic than the cities further west.
Driving is on the right throughout Germany, and while the German autobahn network itself carries no general toll for cars, crossing into neighboring countries changes things quickly: the Czech Republic requires a vignette for its motorways, and Poland levies tolls on certain sections of its A-class roads, so anyone planning a loop through this tri-border area should budget for both before setting out. Rural roads around Zittau and into the nearby mountains are well maintained but can be narrow in the smaller villages, and normal seasonal caution applies in winter when snow is common in this part of Saxony. Most visitors treat Zittau itself as a rail-connected day-trip base rather than a car rental origin point, picking up any vehicle in Dresden instead. Local buses and regional trains cover short hops around the town well enough that a car only becomes useful once a longer cross-border loop is on the itinerary.