Hello,
I need some help with a Austria/German trip we had planned about a year ago. This trip is planned for next week, and we had made hotel and car reservations some time back, but I am getting into the details and was hoping folks here could help me.

We are flying into FRA and flying out of VIE. Details of the plan:

Bacharach and the Rhine valley (2 days)
Berlin (3 days)
Prague (1 day - more of a stopover on the way)
Vienna (3 days)


Originally this was going to be a family of 4 (kids 10 and 7), but my 70-something parents really wanted to see Berlin, so they will be joining us. Hence the car reservation - they don't want to do trains due to recent knee surgery, and though my husband really hates the idea of driving a minivan on the autobahn - thats the way we are going.

There is a hotch-potch of nationalities among us - 2 US, 2 Canadians, 2 Indians with Schengen visa.

So the questions.

1. Are we likely to run into problems with the rental cars because we are going to Prague? I did not see anything in the guide books, but there are some reports online about being asked to sign something specific about not taking the rental car to the Czech Republic. Is this something we should follow up on?

2. The guidebooks said something about getting a sticker to take your car to the city center - but there were very little detail on this. Would the rental company give us these stickers? do we keep them on the dashboard?

3. How likely is the migrant crisis to affect us? We are brown-skinned, but do have legal papers (ha ha), and will likely only do touristy things. In particular, I am worried about getting stuck in border crossings between Germany/Prague/Vienna. I can't get a straight answer on if there is a border patrol stop now or not (but am guessing yes), and how long the likely wait is.

Everyone from my boss at work to most of our State-side family has advised us to cancel the trip (due to the State-dept warnings), or drive the other way to Munich and then Vienna.

Any help or advise will be most appreciated!
Thanks,
DG

1. You must ask your car dealer if it�s allowed to use your rental car in Czech.
I just know that it�s illegal to use some special brands in Czech when you rent your car by SIXT in Germany.

3. Not many refugees using a rental car to drive around europe.
Don�t worry about anything.
As long as you have legal papers with you what should happen?
Maybe they check your passport, that�s all.

Both Austria and the Czech Republic require toll stickers for using the highways in these countries. The Austrian ones are sold at rest stops before reaching the border. Not familiar with the process for the Czech ones.

Where do you plan to return the car? One way car rentals in Europe are still ridiculously expensive.
Do you know how to drive a manual? Automatics are also ridiculously expensive.

1. Taking a car into CZ is not normally a problem. Be sure to get a cross border card that will let you take it across the border there and to Austria to ensure that your insurance is valid in all of those countries.
2. In some German cities there are environmental zones. As mentioned above, you also need a toll sticker for Austrian and Czech motorways (can be bought on the border)
3. Unlikely to affect you as long as your paperwork is in order.

When visiting cities be sure you have a place to park.

Thank you all for your quick replies!

I have sent out an email to Europcar about taking the car to the 2 other countries, a border card, environment zone stickers and insurance effectivity.

I have tried to book hotels which have parking, and have emailed and let them know that we will have a VW minivan... waiting to hear back from them.

Yes, the one way rental was incredibly expensive - almost x4 the same trip using trains! And that is not even counting tolls, gas and parking! I am trying to take the Mastercard attitude... the experience will be priceless.

Fortunately we have 2.5 drivers with stick shift knowledge (the .5 is me - I am guessing driving a stick minivan at my age is substantially different than cruising on a twenty year old saab at 19 )

Does anyone know if there are substantial wait times in the Germany-to-Czech border, or especially in the Czech-to-Austria border?

Thanks again!
DG

Not that I'm aware of. The wait time crossing from Austia into Germany can sometimes be up to two hours, but you will be travelling against the migrant route and therefore likely not experience border checks.

Austria has border checks at the Slovenian border and is considering them at the Italian border.

Normally not, but didn�t cross for a while.

No worry about the city-sticker, it�s automaticly on your car. Toll-sticker you must buy by yourself. Czech Republik with a Minivan on Europcar is normally not possible, it�s only possible with cars up to "Mittelklasse". Will be interesting if they have another option for you.

It�s not allowed to drive with a "Fullsize car" to Czech.

You really should contact Europcar to ask which car is allowed to travel to Czech.

Consider driving the car back to Germany from Vienna (e.g. Passau) or changing cars on the border. That will save you a considerable amount.

Don't assume that the Czech Republic is the only problem with a rental car. I've had Hertz vehicles at CDG where the standard contract is that they cannot be taken out of France.

IMO it's better to stay in small towns and rural areas or enjoy scenic drives when you have a rental car, taking advantage of the flexibility to visit such places conveniently, and conversely to visit big cities on other trips when you don't have the car. I try to avoid mixing the two on one trip or at least to do the two different types sequentially rather than mixed together.

Can you do the rental car for only part of the journey, such as the Rhein area, returning it back to the same place (FRA), and then either fly or use (fancy express) trains for other portions? I guess I don't see the point of going into Prague just to stay overnight.

If elderly people have mobility issues, most trains (which typically don't require steps to board and exit at major stations in Western Europe) would be better than getting in and out of a van. Plus, the train has lavatories on board, so there's no need to find a good place to stop for bathroom breaks when driving.

You will need to be very specific with Europcar about what vehicles you'll be allowed to take into Czech. I doubt very much that you will be allowed to take a minivan (or any vehicle able to fit all of you) into Czech, based on the Conditions of Rental (for Germany), part of which I have reproduced here for you:

You may find a rental agency that allows this, or revisit your issues with trains.

No worries, I was in the same boat but it's like riding a bicycle a skill that never gets lost, and the modern manual transmissions are very smooth and forgiving. I just find the amount of traffic, lanes, and signs in Europe/Germany a bit daunting coming from Canada. So on the first day and drive from airport I take it VERY slow, and try to plan a route that is not popular. Also try to avoid rush hour traffic.

It will depend on when you go there and what route you take. On the autobahn Muenchen-Salzburg there can be huge jams that last for hours, in particular during summer school holiday weeks. But there are plenty of country roads that cross the border, and there are many advantages to taking the scenic route and have less stress. Navigation systems can be set to avoid autobahn ...

In Czech republic be aware that there is zero tolerance to drinking an driving ... also all European countries have different rules for various pieces of safety equipment (e.g. reflective vests), and the rental company will only provide what is required for where you pick it up. So I tend to supply some items myself when I cross various countries.

This last advice is superfluous since the OP almost certainly won't be allowed to take the vehicle into Czech.

Europcar will allow you to drive to CZ, you just have to notify them (at the counter during checkin) and make sure the rental contract has a note that you intend to CZ. They basically jack up your liability to a higher rate or make you pay more insurance.

Your Indian friends will be checked at the border, but usually once they see the passport with the schengen visa you are free to go.

The checks at the border is mainly to detect so called 'schlepper' who are people who make it their business to transport immigrants/refugees etc across the border undetected for a fee. If you are a family of Caucasians they don't even stop you, if they think there is something they ask for passports, but you are waved thru after a quick check.

Last time I went to Czech I had Prius rented at ZRH from Hertz and they had no problem with it.