During October 2018, we had the opportunity to do a roadtrip in Europe. Starting in Berlin, we drove for almost three weeks and visited 7 countries. We have some tips worth sharing, and some stories you may find interesting.
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Renting a car in Germany
Due to our Australian driving licences (DL) being restricted to Automatic cars, and our International DL (which they asked for) being based on the Australian DL, we needed an Automatic car. Problem is that these are not so common in Europe, as they are in the US or Australia. Most rental companies (we checked the big one such as Hertz, Avis, etc) only have automatic option for the deluxe ones (Mercedes, BMW, Audi), and we only wanted a small, cheap car for the two of us.
Another problem was that for some reason, the deluxe cars such as those listed above, as per the fine print in the website can’t be driven to Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia or Hungary (among others), countries that we wanted to visit. With those restrictions (automatic car that can be driven to those countries), we found an option that was a Volvo V40 automatic, rented by Hertz. In order to be sure we would be able to get an automatic, we called before booking, and we also called the rental office the day we arrived in Berlin (3 days before picking the car up) and they confirmed everything would be OK.
Then, very early on a Friday, once our visit to Berlin was over, we went to the Schönefeld Airport (SXF). We had booked our car in the Hertz office there as it was southeast of the city so we could drive directly Prague. Upon arriving, we saw that the keys for our car were ready and… it was a Mercedes Benz B-Class. Great, huge, automatic, diesel, and with the fare we had, but as per the fine print mentioned above, we could not take it to those Central Europe countries. We asked the employee, he went into the office, talked to someone and came back saying that he had asked the manager and it was OK for us to use the Mercedes in all the countries we wanted to visit. We asked him if he could put that in writing, and he said that as we paid the extra fee for driving abroad, that was enough. Just for extra safety, considering we were driving a Mercedes, we took the full comprehensive insurance, specially for any damage made to the car in parkings, etc.
So, we went to the car, and noticed that the plates were from Spain. Looked like somebody rented the car in Spain and returned it in Berlin. Maybe Mercedes cars from Spain can be driven into Central Europe countries. As we were returning it in Cologne, I guess we were somehow helping on the taking the car back to Spain.
One important detail is to check how is the process to return the car, specially if returning in a different place. In Cologne Main Train station, where we returned the car, the place to leave the car is not the same place where the office is, and not knowing that in advance made us drive a few unnecessary kilometres in the hectic downtown area of the city.
The vignettes and the borders – that Central Europe toll system
In our entire itinerary, which you can see below, we only saw toll boxes in Croatia. For the rest of the countries we had to buy what they call Vignettes, except for Germany. Vignettes are prepayment for the use of the roads for a standard amount of days. Minimum is normally for 10 days, and you either get a sticker that have to put on your front windshield (i.e. Austria or Czech Republic) , or your plate gets registered in the system automatically (i.e. Slovakia). You can normally get the vignette either on gas stations close to the border (before crossing it) or directly in an office at the border.
Besides Croatia, the only other place we got charged in a toll box was in Austria, where in addition to the vignette, you need to pay for the use of a tunnel, on the way from Bled (Slovenia) to Salzburg.
As per the borders, except for Croatia, all the rest of the Countries we visited were within Schengen zone, so no border control is required. We were asked for the car documents in the border between Slovakia and Hungary (when buying the vignette). Then, when entering Croatia from Hungary, and then when getting into Slovenia from Croatia were the only two borders where our passports were required.
We have heard that Austria had started to have some controls in the south borders, and when comming from Slovenia we saw the police control but they just made us slow down and then allowed us to pass, without stopping.
Leaving the car when flying is required
One of the spots we wanted to visit was Dubrovnik, in south Croatia. However, driving all the way from Zagreb (over 6 hours each way) didn’t seem reasonable, so we decided to leave our car in Zagreb close to the airport and fly there.
We found a very nice hotel called Dream Hotel in Velica Gorica, which offers a closed parking option. We arrived, left our car, they took us to the airport (5 minute drive) and, when we came back, they picked us up. We slept in the hotel (nice facilities, comfortable room, good dinner and breakfast), and our car was ready for us to continue the journey.
The Itinerary
This was our intinerary during the roadtrip. Before picking up the car in Berlin, we stayed in the city for 3 full days, which were amazing, and we will write about that soon.
Day 1 – picked up the car in Berlin Schönefeld Airport and drove to Prague (Czech Republic). Driving time: 4 hours. Night in Prague.
Day 2 – Prague
Day 3 – Drive to Vienna (Austria). Driving time: 4 hours.
Day 4 – Vienna
Day 5 – Drive to Bratislava (Slovakia). Driving time: 1.30 hours. Day in Bratislava. Drive to Budapest (Hungary). Driving time: 3 hours.
Day 6 – Budapest
Day 7 – Budapest in the morning. Drive to Croatia, stopover in Lake Balaton (Hungary). Clear Customs in Croatia. Afternoon and night in Varazdin. Total driving time, with stopovers: 5 hours
Day 8 – Drive to Zagreb. Driving time: 1.30 hrs. Morning in Zagreb. Left car in Zagreb Airport Hotel. Flight to Dubrovnik.
Day 9 – Dubrovnik
Day 10 – Dubrovnik. Flight to Zagreb. Night in Zagreb Airport Hotel.
Day 11 – Drive from Zagreb to Slovenia. Clear Customs. Stopover in Slovenian towns. Predjama Castle. Ljubliana. Afternoon and night in Ljubliana. Total driving time: 4.30 hours
Day 12 – Drive through Slovenian mountain towns. Skofja Loka. Jamnik. Kropa. Bled. Night in Bled.
Day 13 – Bled. Vintgar Gorge. Triglav National Park. Night in Bled.
Day 14 – Drive to Hallstatt (Austria). Driving time: 3 hours, partially mountain road. Hallstatt. Drive to Salzburg. Driving time: 1.30 hours.
Day 15 – Salzburg.
Day 16 – Drive to Munich. Driving time: 2.30 hours. Afternoon and evening in Munich.
Day 17 – Munich. Drive to Fussen. Driving time: 2 hours. Night in Fussen
Day 18 – Neuschwanstein Castle. Drive to Pillig. Driving time: 7 hours.
Day 19 – Burg Eltz. Cochem. Drive to Cologne. Total driving time: 3 hours. Returned car in Railway Station. Took train to Belgium.
Accomodation when renting a car in Europe
Yes, one of the big problems you face in Europe when renting a car is where to park when you are in a city. Driving in the picturesque city centers is caotic when not forbidden, and also finding a hotel where you can park you car is also something to consider. When planning the visit to big cities, we normally booked for hotels outside of the city center, with free (if possible) or available parking, but good connection via public transport. If staying in small towns, as soon as off street parking was possible and free, we just took that option. Below you can see a list of the hotels we stayed in, and a comment on where we parked the car.
Prague: We slept in the Best Western City Hotel. Ok, this one we didn’t pick much as it was paid with points we had from a previous trip, but there was a private parking 100 meters away, so we left the car there. Approximately 10 Euros per day.
Vienna: We stayed at Geblergasse hotel. A little outside the city center, but private parking at only 9 Euro per day, on a first come first served basis. Metro station was only 5 minutes walk away.
Bratislava: We spent the day between Vienna and Budapest in the capital of Slovakia. As we were leaving all our luggage in the car, we parked in a private parking within the Aupark shopping center. Only 20 minutes walk to the city, and also a supermarket inside so we bought a few supplies. It was less than 6 Euros for half a day.
Budapest: We booked the Maple Tree Apartments, with parking within the building at 15 Euro per day.
Varazdin, Croatia: We stayed at the Bed and Bike Hostel, very nice, recommended, and with off street parking for free.
Zagreb: When visiting downtown Zagreb, we parked at Langov Trg Garage, a huge parking lot just outside the city center. As mentioned above, when flying to Dubrovnik the car stayed at the Dream Hotel, close to the airport.
Ljubljana: In the capital of Slovenia, we stayed at the Celica Art hostel. A former prision, very cool, and with free parking right outside the door.
Bled: in the famous city by the lake, we stayed at possibly the best homestay in the world, the Rooms Stojanovic. Besides the free parking by the front door, the owner is a marvelous lady, and the room is huge and spotless.
Salzburg: We stayed at the Turnerwirt Hotel. A little outside the city center, but perfect location as it had parking for free and it was possible to walk from there.
Munich: We picked a hotel a little outside the city, but well connected via public transport. Name of the hotel is Super 8 Munich City North, which is an american chain, and parking was free at street level.
Fussen (close to Neuschwaistein): here we stayed at the Old Kings Design Hostel, that we didnt like, and there was no parking close to the premises, so we left the car in a private parking approximately at 10 minutes walk.
Pillig (close to Burg Eltz): We stayed at the Pastis hotel, that we loved, and parked our car in the street, for free.
Conclusions
As a brief conclusion, our Central Europe roadtrip was certainly a different way to see a lot, as we were able to stop and discover incredible towns that would have been unreachable otherwise, but it also required planning, specially regarding location and when selecting a car, but totally worth it.
Have you travelled through Europe by car? do you have any recommendations?