Rental Car in Europe?
Mar 3, 2015, 4:09 pm
#16
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For more discussion, please follow the thread on its move to the Europe forum. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.
Mar 8, 2015, 8:50 am
#17
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I just posted somewhere else about this, but I feel it's such a worthwhile trip to rent and drive around Europe I'm going to post again.
A few months back a buddy and I rented and drove from Zurich-Munich (Oktoberfest)-Stuttgart (Porsche Factory) - Paris (Paris Auto Show) -Monaco - Milan - Zurich.
Everyone - including every single person in my extended family, whom have all traveled extensively in Europe, told us to take the trains. Naturally, I ignored all that (and like to drive) and rented a BMW M4 convertible from SIXT. Turned on "avoid toll roads" on the GPS, and we had our own Top Gear worthy road trip for two weeks. Got to see so much more, and drive some amazing roads.
To touch on the expenses - yes it's extremely expensive, even with avoiding toll roads we probably spent about $500 on tolls, and racked up another $750-$1,000 in speeding tickets with all the speed cameras in Europe. Add on fuel, and city parking, it adds up for sure. But I will tell you what, I've never been a big fan of traveling to/around Europe, but after this trip I think it changed that.
I rented with SIXT they have the best selection in Europe, cars you can't usually get in the US. My Amex covered insurance which saved us, even when we were rear ended on the Autobahn but a drunk from Turkey. Called SIXT, randomly drove out to the most middle of the nowhere airport in Germany around 11pm, swapped out the BMW for the exact same one, and continued on our way.
We were able to see so much, and meet so many locals and veer off and do our own thing whenever we wanted.
Some of my favorites for what it's worth - driving the Swiss Alps, taking the new 911 on the autobahn - Porsche is great, they have the quickest no speed limit segment programmed into the GPS for you when you leave the factory, driving the winding roads of the Black Forrest at dusk in Germany, French countryside for half a day, Monte Blanc Tunnel, and the Italian Lakes and taking the car on the ferry.
One of these days I'll be sorting through the 2 weeks worth of GoPro footage we took and will post it up on FlyerTalk. Every border crossing we got stopped because we had two GoPro's suction cupped to the windshield, but all the border agents were having a good time asking if we came just from America to drive fast.
A few months back a buddy and I rented and drove from Zurich-Munich (Oktoberfest)-Stuttgart (Porsche Factory) - Paris (Paris Auto Show) -Monaco - Milan - Zurich.
Everyone - including every single person in my extended family, whom have all traveled extensively in Europe, told us to take the trains. Naturally, I ignored all that (and like to drive) and rented a BMW M4 convertible from SIXT. Turned on "avoid toll roads" on the GPS, and we had our own Top Gear worthy road trip for two weeks. Got to see so much more, and drive some amazing roads.
To touch on the expenses - yes it's extremely expensive, even with avoiding toll roads we probably spent about $500 on tolls, and racked up another $750-$1,000 in speeding tickets with all the speed cameras in Europe. Add on fuel, and city parking, it adds up for sure. But I will tell you what, I've never been a big fan of traveling to/around Europe, but after this trip I think it changed that.
I rented with SIXT they have the best selection in Europe, cars you can't usually get in the US. My Amex covered insurance which saved us, even when we were rear ended on the Autobahn but a drunk from Turkey. Called SIXT, randomly drove out to the most middle of the nowhere airport in Germany around 11pm, swapped out the BMW for the exact same one, and continued on our way.
We were able to see so much, and meet so many locals and veer off and do our own thing whenever we wanted.
Some of my favorites for what it's worth - driving the Swiss Alps, taking the new 911 on the autobahn - Porsche is great, they have the quickest no speed limit segment programmed into the GPS for you when you leave the factory, driving the winding roads of the Black Forrest at dusk in Germany, French countryside for half a day, Monte Blanc Tunnel, and the Italian Lakes and taking the car on the ferry.
One of these days I'll be sorting through the 2 weeks worth of GoPro footage we took and will post it up on FlyerTalk. Every border crossing we got stopped because we had two GoPro's suction cupped to the windshield, but all the border agents were having a good time asking if we came just from America to drive fast.