Driving in Europe
 

I am thinking about doing a trip this summer in Europe. I am looking at flying in to Prague and driving to Krakow, Dresden and Vienna. I am a US citizen. I have a couple of questions:

As an American citizen, how easy is it to rent a car and drive across borders?

and

Can you return a car to a different country?

rent a car is very easy. but most european cars have stickshift. gas is alot more expensive than in the US - that must be taken into consideration as well :) some cars cannot be taken into every country. Poland and other eastern european countries haves some restrictions due to high level of car theft.

you can leave your car in a different country, but its very very high fees. I would never ever do that.

crossing border shouldn't be a problem at all.

Why are thinking of driving, as opposed to taking the train?

If you want to stop off in rural areas along your route then driving makes sense. If you just want to visit these cities then travelling between them by train would make a lot more sense.

(I'm aware that Americans don't necessarily think of trains as you don't have a good train system in the USA, and because your roads - outside urban areas - are a lot less crowded than ours. For an itinerary like yours I would always choose the train)

Every car can be taken into Poland - but most car rental companies do not allow having their premium cars taken into Poland for the reasons mentioned.

I wasn't sure for Poland. but for example, Hertz France does not allow any car into Slovenia or Croatia while Sixt France does :rolleyes:

These things are very specific. I rented a Hertz car in Italy (Treviso Airport) and was allowed to take it into Croatia and Bosnia. If the car is far apart (let's say Paris), they would be more restrictive then Northern Italy where people are more likely to take it to Slovenia, Croatia, and other countries.

I don't think it's a problem driving in Europe if you consider yourself an alert driver and drive a stick. Opposite lane passing and such in smaller and more rural areas is a must. Europeans are more aggressive, but at the same time more attentitve drivers then Americans (generalize).

As far as gas prices goes, it is anywhere between 2 and 4 times the current US prices, however European cars get much better fuel economy especially the diesels. I, for example, rented a Ford Fiesta 1.4D and drove the entire lenght of the Croatian coast for about 30 euros worth of gas. That's 500 miles almost, and 13 hours of driving. Smaller engines (but fast nonetheless), smaller tanks, but much better consumption.

Theft - of course it's an issue, but I don't think for at the places and for the reasons the people mentioned above. There are three or four countries in Europe where I would not leave a car unattended unless at a major hotel - Kosovo, Albania, Bulgaria, and maybe Romania. Actually, probably Ukraine and Belarus too. I have driven and left a car with foreign plates in Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Slovenia, and other Western European countries with no problem. On the street, no problem.

As far as insurance goes, I don't think they do not insure against these countries because they believe the theft rates are high, but because it is not worth for them to do so. For every country added on the green card (a document that verifies international insurance and coverage when crossing boarders, something that the rent a car company must and should give you if you do want to cross a boarder that is manned - like Italy to Slovenia) it costs the rent a car more money. There is little sense insuring a car from London or Paris for Bosnia, when, how many of the travelers are going to drive that far and back (it's like renting a car in Boston and driving to Florida).

As far as insurance goes, most European rent a car companies (including the Americans big ones, Hertz, Avis, etc) include in the price the CDW insurance. This is different then renting a car in the US. I strongly suggest you take the CDW and do not rely on 3rd party insurance such as your car insurance company in the US (which you probably use when renting a car in the US for work or whatever), or your credit card.

When doing the rent-a-car contract with CDW in Europe you should know three things:
1) What is your liability in case you get into an accident and you are not at fault?
2) What is your liability you get in accident and it is your fault
3) What is your liability in case the car gets stolen

For 1 and 3, it should be zero for best practice. For number two, there is usually a deductible. When I crashed a rent a car in Europe by skidding of the road, the maximum deductible was 250 euros. That is a ballpark (it should not be something ridicilous like 5000 euros or the value of the car).

Parts of Europe are beautiful for a drive. Europe is much more hilly and scenic then the US in my opinion, plus driving is a lot more engaging. Given time, money, and all other factors, I do recommend it.

It is very easy to rent a car in Europe (although I haven't done it in Poland, I doubt it is very different from France or Switzerland in terms of renting).

However, IMHO, it is best to use an agency rather than going through the car rental companies direct.

One that I have had good luck with is:

WWW.RENTALCARGROUP.COM
USA (Toll Free): TEL: 1 866 735 1715
SPAIN: TEL: (++34) 952 883 220
NETHERLANDS: TEL: (++31)(0) 800 020 0459
UNITED KINGDOM: TEL: (++1)(0) 800 078 9054

Using an agency is MUCH cheaper than reserving direct. And, you should get full insurance coverage included. At least I did. And, you will almost certainly get a car from one of the big rental companies.

Let us know how things work out and what you decide to do. :)

You may also want to check out Autoeurope www.autoeurope.com

On most Autoeurope rates you pre-pay a USD rate, which can give a savings over the local EUR rates.

Some people prefer to rent from a company with an American name on it, e.g. Hertz or Avis because even though you may in fact be renting from a completely separate European company, nevertheless there exists a business here to whom you can complain.

Automatic transmission is indeed available.

I think it is worth noting on this thread that driving in certain European areas presents certain, shall we say, "challenges." :)

When you drive in Austria or Switzerland DO NOT FAIL TO GET A HIGHWAY TAX STICKER.

Seek it out - buy it at the first gas station or a border crossing. To do otherwise is an expensive mistake.

Drive whatever you want; make sure it has a tax sticker.

Jim

For cheap fares I would recommend www.easycar.com. The website is owned by EasyJet, a very popular low-fare airline in Europe. Even though you book through easycar, in most cases you end up at a place like Avis or Hertz, just with the EASY rates as they call it.

I think that getting quotes through major US websites such as travelocity, or direct through AVIS.com is often more than if calling and getting the direct rate.

I used a number of local rent a car agencies, as long as their documentation is straight (have Green Card International Insurance) and the car is fully insured, there is a little you should worry about.

And one last thing besides the tools. You must, have a green card document if going across borders. When at a border with rent a car, they almost always ask for this document. If you get pulled over, it's just like the insurance document back in the US. Make sure the green card covers the countries you will be traveling through.

You can also get an automatic, like in the UK it is common at most places, but in some countries (like Italy) the auto only comes with premium prices. If you are comfortable with stick, I would recommend that - it also gives you a higher flexibility when passing, breaking on steep gradient, etc.

Those generalizations are so sweeping as to be worthless and betray more bias than experience.

I've used SIXT a few times and I've liked their service overall over
Hertz, Avis or the dreaded Thrifty/Dollar

But it might be convenient and economical to rent a car for the
days you wish to travel ourside the metro area.

Parking is often difficult to find and its expensive.

Local transportation and trains are frequent and inexpensive.

Hi

if you do rent, this is a great site to use to map out your routes

http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichel...MaHomePage.htm

I don't necessarily agree. Having lived in on both continents, and of course driven here and there I think that overall they are very fitting.

Let's start with basic process of getting a license. Most European countries have much tougher procedures for obtaining a drivers license, including theory and practice. My mates that got their European licenses had to pass month or two long classroom courses, then do a number of hours with an instructor, and in some cases had to take polygon (stimulated course) driving.

In the US, getting a drivers license is an easy, hands-on experience. It might have changed since 1997, but going in and getting 20 out of 25 questions on a multi-choice computerized exam, where questions such as "It's raining and you are driving, what do you" are non-trivial. With a permit, you really are not required to have any theoretical training, and you basically sit with your parents. The hardest part for most teenagers is learning how to parallel park.

In some Scandinavian countries, you are required to take special "winter" driving education as well.

Secondly, in the US most cars are automatic (90%), which makes it a lot easier for beginners to learn to drive, versus in most European countries you must pass the instruction on a manual. I don't want to generalize my driving test, but basically it was a 7 minute venture where a 3-way turn and a parallel park were the most challenging parts.

Thirdly, in the US driving has been quiet simplified. There are far and few opposite lane passing situations, most roads are in excellent condition and are straight. The feature of "cruise control" is almost exclusive to the American car market (besides a few luxury German sedans in Europe) and there are reasons for which so.

Yes, there are challenging drives in the US, but given US is mostly flat, US has an excellent (albeit slow) highway system where someone can pick a lane and drive for 12 hours with very little interface is just a property of the US. Europe is much more hilly, the highways are almost never more than 2 lanes, and a lot more interaction is necessary.

Of course, you can find exceptions on both sides, but in my overall general experience, I would say that European driving is a lot more engaging. The challange of driving in America is traffic and the sheer number of vehicles which is higher than in Europe. Driving around places such as NYC is itself a challange, but in a complete different matter then driving around Switzerland.

That being said, I bet US is a lot safer place to drive, given on average newer, larger, and better equipped vehicles, slower pace of driving, and reduction of road hazards. The biggest danger in the US, of course, is alcohol and drunk drivers.