Driving through Europe

krizzo17

So, this won't be our Honeymoon, but my husband and I are thinking of doing 3 weeks in Europe over our Christmas holiday. We want to visit Munich first, then Geneva, Barcelona and Valencia, and Paris (no particular order for the anything other than Germany first). We're leaning towards renting a car. I know it's expensive to pick it up in one country and leave it in another, but aside from that, does anyone have experience with this? Is it particularly scenic, or boring, or is there unbearable traffic? Just looking for any advice that's out there

Jells2dot0

I have done two driving trips through Europe. One starting in Munich, going through Switzerland and Northern Italy. The other was starting in Munich and going northwest through the Rhineland, France, Belgium, and ending in Amsterdam. Depending on where you go, the drive can be boring and riddled with traffic (near Brussels was terrible, driving in Italy is something I'll never do again!) and some of it was gorgeous (Switzerland).  notes of advice- you MUST pay for snow chain rental. Certain countries (and Germany is one of them) require you to have chains in your car during winter months. The roads can get bad there and you must be prepared to pull yourself out of a mess if you get stuck. Also, the drive through Switzerland (Zurich) to Lake Como Italy took us all day- like 8 hours all day. With three weeks you may be fine, but bear in mind the driving times when planning your itinerary. You'll also want to make sure you have an international driver's license. You can get them at AAA and they are relatively inexpensive. Some countries require them.

A good point of reference is the BMW European Delivery program website. That is how I did my driving trips (I picked up my own car, drove it around, and had it shipped back):

http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/Explore/Experience/EuropeanDelivery/Default.aspx

there are sample itineraries on there (though they are mostly for week long trips) and the FAQ page talks about license requirements and tolls. We had to stop and buy toll stickers in a fe countries.

 

Hope that helps!

davisse3

I did something similar, though it was only about a week long. We started in Germany and drove through Austria, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia. It was beautiful and a lot of fun! We definitely hit traffic in some places (stand still for awhile when there was construction), but it wasn't too bad.

Do either of you drive stick shift? It can be a lot harder to find an automatic with some car rental companies in Europe. 

Have plenty of change and small bills for toll roads and keep your passport somewhere easily accessible for any border crossings. If you stay within the EU, you may not ever have to show it, though.

If you are looking for anything Christmas-y, consider going to Nuremberg. It's only a few hours from Munich and have big Christmas markets every year. 

 

[Deleted User]

It can be beautiful, but the roads aren't like here in the states. In the very rural areas the roads are still narrow & they don't use salt (at least not in Germany at least not off autobahn) because it's not environmentally friendly. Be prepared to have to pay for parking everywhere & gas is on average $7.00 a gallon or more, yes $7.00 a gallon. Check the rules of international license, in Germany you won't have to have one, but other countries required it. You can get those cheap at local AAA offices.

Book early as it is over the holidays and all the Christmas markets, the bigger towns will be crowded.

I would recommend checking into train tickets. More relaxing and gets you from one major town to another, unless you plan to visit a lot of rural towns, then the train might be harder. But then you don't have to worry about directions & weather & traffic.

 

Jells2dot0

Erikan73 said:

It can be beautiful, but the roads aren't like here in the states. In the very rural areas the roads are still narrow & they don't use salt (at least not in Germany at least not off autobahn) because it's not environmentally friendly. Be prepared to have to pay for parking everywhere & gas is on average $7.00 a gallon or more, yes $7.00 a gallon. Check the rules of international license, in Germany you won't have to have one, but other countries required it. You can get those cheap at local AAA offices.

Book early as it is over the holidays and all the Christmas markets, the bigger towns will be crowded.

I would recommend checking into train tickets. More relaxing and gets you from one major town to another, unless you plan to visit a lot of rural towns, then the train might be harder. But then you don't have to worry about directions & weather & traffic.

 

Totally agree with this! I was originally going to do a Xmas Market trip this December and we were going to move between cities via train to make things more relaxing. Instead, I'm going to Tahiti, so no transportation woes there

I also agree with the gas. When I filled up my tank over there, it was about $100. Granted, my car takes premium gas, so we bought the more expensive stuff, but it's still WAY more than driving at home.

krizzo17

Thanks guys! Follow up question: any idea how hard it would be to rent a car, spur of the moment, for just a day or two? I don't mind traveling by train, but I would like to be able to get the flexibility that a car would provide. Could I just get an international license before I left, and then be able to rent a car for a day trip at any point? Or do you definitely need to reserve those in advance?

JoanE2012

Jells2dot0 said:

I have done two driving trips through Europe. One starting in Munich, going through Switzerland and Northern Italy. The other was starting in Munich and going northwest through the Rhineland, France, Belgium, and ending in Amsterdam. Depending on where you go, the drive can be boring and riddled with traffic (near Brussels was terrible, driving in Italy is something I'll never do again!) and some of it was gorgeous (Switzerland).  notes of advice- you MUST pay for snow chain rental. Certain countries (and Germany is one of them) require you to have chains in your car during winter months. The roads can get bad there and you must be prepared to pull yourself out of a mess if you get stuck. Also, the drive through Switzerland (Zurich) to Lake Como Italy took us all day- like 8 hours all day. With three weeks you may be fine, but bear in mind the driving times when planning your itinerary. You'll also want to make sure you have an international driver's license. You can get them at AAA and they are relatively inexpensive. Some countries require them.

A good point of reference is the BMW European Delivery program website. That is how I did my driving trips (I picked up my own car, drove it around, and had it shipped back):

http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/Explore/Experience/EuropeanDelivery/Default.aspx

there are sample itineraries on there (though they are mostly for week long trips) and the FAQ page talks about license requirements and tolls. We had to stop and buy toll stickers in a fe countries.

 

Hope that helps!

@Jells2dot0 - I clicked on the website and am curious.....did you actually buy a brand new car, take it around Europe and then have it shipped home to the US?  

allispain

krizzo17 said:

Thanks guys! Follow up question: any idea how hard it would be to rent a car, spur of the moment, for just a day or two? I don't mind traveling by train, but I would like to be able to get the flexibility that a car would provide. Could I just get an international license before I left, and then be able to rent a car for a day trip at any point? Or do you definitely need to reserve those in advance?

I have friends that have done this before on trips to Spain, but it may be tougher to do around the holidays, especially if you need an automatic since the large majority of their cars are stick shift.

Traveling by train is actually my favorite way to get around Europe (I've done it on 5 different trips - several of which took me to 6+ countries). If you're planning on going this route instead, I would look into rail passes that are available for the countries you're planning to visit.

Jells2dot0

JoanE2012 said:

Jells2dot0 said:

I have done two driving trips through Europe. One starting in Munich, going through Switzerland and Northern Italy. The other was starting in Munich and going northwest through the Rhineland, France, Belgium, and ending in Amsterdam. Depending on where you go, the drive can be boring and riddled with traffic (near Brussels was terrible, driving in Italy is something I'll never do again!) and some of it was gorgeous (Switzerland).  notes of advice- you MUST pay for snow chain rental. Certain countries (and Germany is one of them) require you to have chains in your car during winter months. The roads can get bad there and you must be prepared to pull yourself out of a mess if you get stuck. Also, the drive through Switzerland (Zurich) to Lake Como Italy took us all day- like 8 hours all day. With three weeks you may be fine, but bear in mind the driving times when planning your itinerary. You'll also want to make sure you have an international driver's license. You can get them at AAA and they are relatively inexpensive. Some countries require them.

A good point of reference is the BMW European Delivery program website. That is how I did my driving trips (I picked up my own car, drove it around, and had it shipped back):

http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/Explore/Experience/EuropeanDelivery/Default.aspx

there are sample itineraries on there (though they are mostly for week long trips) and the FAQ page talks about license requirements and tolls. We had to stop and buy toll stickers in a fe countries.

 

Hope that helps!

@Jells2dot0 - I clicked on the website and am curious.....did you actually buy a brand new car, take it around Europe and then have it shipped home to the US?  

I did- twice! LOL I was actually in the market for a car, so it's not like I just did it for the trip. They actually discount the MSRP of the car (discount amount depends on the model), so it essentially pays for part of the trip. I would do it again for sure, though the last car I got over there was in 2009 and only has 28K miles on it, so I'm not really in the market for anything any time soon. It's really easy though- just go to the dealer, tell them you want a Euro Delivery, they set it up (you have to order a few months in advance), you go over there and pick it up in their delivery center, drive it around, then drop it off at one of their drop off centers. It takes 1-2 months to get back, depending on the drop off location.

krizzo17

Jells2dot0 said:

JoanE2012 said:

Jells2dot0 said:

I have done two driving trips through Europe. One starting in Munich, going through Switzerland and Northern Italy. The other was starting in Munich and going northwest through the Rhineland, France, Belgium, and ending in Amsterdam. Depending on where you go, the drive can be boring and riddled with traffic (near Brussels was terrible, driving in Italy is something I'll never do again!) and some of it was gorgeous (Switzerland).  notes of advice- you MUST pay for snow chain rental. Certain countries (and Germany is one of them) require you to have chains in your car during winter months. The roads can get bad there and you must be prepared to pull yourself out of a mess if you get stuck. Also, the drive through Switzerland (Zurich) to Lake Como Italy took us all day- like 8 hours all day. With three weeks you may be fine, but bear in mind the driving times when planning your itinerary. You'll also want to make sure you have an international driver's license. You can get them at AAA and they are relatively inexpensive. Some countries require them.

A good point of reference is the BMW European Delivery program website. That is how I did my driving trips (I picked up my own car, drove it around, and had it shipped back):

http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/Explore/Experience/EuropeanDelivery/Default.aspx

there are sample itineraries on there (though they are mostly for week long trips) and the FAQ page talks about license requirements and tolls. We had to stop and buy toll stickers in a fe countries.

 

Hope that helps!

@Jells2dot0 - I clicked on the website and am curious.....did you actually buy a brand new car, take it around Europe and then have it shipped home to the US?  

I did- twice! LOL I was actually in the market for a car, so it's not like I just did it for the trip. They actually discount the MSRP of the car (discount amount depends on the model), so it essentially pays for part of the trip. I would do it again for sure, though the last car I got over there was in 2009 and only has 28K miles on it, so I'm not really in the market for anything any time soon. It's really easy though- just go to the dealer, tell them you want a Euro Delivery, they set it up (you have to order a few months in advance), you go over there and pick it up in their delivery center, drive it around, then drop it off at one of their drop off centers. It takes 1-2 months to get back, depending on the drop off location.

Is it sad that I'm more jealous of the bolded part than your awesome European vacations, or the fact that you drive a BMW? I miss living in a short-commute area, lol. I put about 20k on my car each year!

Jells2dot0

My commute is relatively short (~15 mi each way) but I spent a lot of time traveling for work from 2009-2011. I put all of my miles on cars that belong to Avis! Plus, my DH and I work for the same company, so we usually drive into work together in his car.

Pepper6

H and I already decided that if we ever bought a new BMW, we'd do the Euro Delivery.  H drives an M3 now, but we bought it when it was 3 years old...and they aren't making the M3 anymore :-(  I'd love to pick up an M3, then take it on the Autobahn! 

Jells2dot0

Driving in my own car on the autobahns was FUN!!!! I got my 335 coupe up to 130mph and my 535 sedan up to 140mph, which isn't even that fast on there. I'm hoping next time I can have the guts to go faster. I was passed by many Porsches, 7 series Bimmers, and larger Benzes.

I was on their website to pull off that link and still saw M3s on there. I wasn't aware they were planning on stopping production on them.

loca4pook

We drove through France and it went really well. It was beautiful and we rarely saw traffic We rented a car that came with GPS and we were able to make it speak to us in English, so it was handy. We had no issues whatsoever.

 

Learn the signs int he country though. They can be quite different 

loca4pook

krizzo17 said:

Thanks guys! Follow up question: any idea how hard it would be to rent a car, spur of the moment, for just a day or two? I don't mind traveling by train, but I would like to be able to get the flexibility that a car would provide. Could I just get an international license before I left, and then be able to rent a car for a day trip at any point? Or do you definitely need to reserve those in advance?

1) We rented ahead of time to be safe. I know when we were in car rental place in Paris, someone tried to rent on the spot, and they had no cars left. If you know definitely are gonna do it, you should book ahead so you can choose the car, as well.

2) We didn't need an international license. At least, not in france.

3) European cars are tiny. Make sure it is big enough that your luggage can be stored in the trunk OUT OF SIGHT so they don't break your car for your valuables.