First Road Trip Europe advice

[Drussell]

Evening,

A mate and I are planning a road trip to Europe this September (to avoid the summer holiday traffic). We've never done a Europe road trip and as we are now a few years into our graduate scheme we can (he says) afford to now. Both of us are 25.

With this being both our first road trips, our knowledge is pretty rusty so I have tried to read other posts within this forum and there was one particular forum we were inspired by which is now pretty popular on PH https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... But before we jump in and book everything, I'd love to hear from the experienced drivers for any pointers, hidden gems, or things to avoid!

Key points to note:

• I am based in the Northeast of England and my mate is based in Aberdeen (offshore).
• Plan to rent a car as we both drive banger graduate cars. Most likely Sixt for a higher quality/faster car however the prices differ quite considerably on location. Germany seems to have the best value bang for the buck.
• We plan to fly somewhere in Europe but are not fixed on airports. It's fine as long as it's fairly cheap and no connections. Lufthansa and KLM flights are more expensive than I would have guessed for such routes. I am not expecting them to be Ryanair-priced flights but also not £400+ just to Frankfurt.

Again, this route is very rough and we are more than happy to hear ideas/changes or scrap the route entirely as you have never read such tosh.

The (very) Provisional Route:

• Fly from Edinburgh to Mulhouse with Easyjet arrive 11 am.
• Fly into Mulhouse Basel Airport (BSL) - Pick up Sixt car
• Drive to Baden-Baden (Germany)-first night.
• Drive the B500 to Brienz (sleep the night)
• Drive the alpine passes

- Grimsel pass.
- Furka pass.
- Tremola pass
- Nuefenen pass

• Bellagio (Italy (for the night)
• Drive to Sirmione (Italy) - Exploring the lake and staying somewhere nearby.
• Drive to Bormio (Italy) - stay the night.
• Stelvio pass and then the long drive back to EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg. May stay in Zurich or Lucerne to break up the drive.

The Plan:

This is a 7-day trip (I can add another day if needed), so aiming for a good mix of driving adventures. Open to suggestions on how to best allocate time in each location - any must-sees or must-dos?

The Car:

Planning to rent a car at the airport - any recommendations on companies to consider (or avoid!) in the area? Thinking Sixt will be the best bet for a slightly interesting car. BMW 4 series working out at about £75 per day.

The Asks:

Any alternative routes or hidden gems I should consider adding?
Hotels to stay?
General advice for a first-time road trip in this region?

Appreciate any advice/help for us two on our first European road trip!

[Medic-one]

Have a look at my road trip from 2 years ago, lots of photo's, routes and hotels mentioned in the thread.

Routes included are the B500, the famous passes, Bormio, and the Italian Lakes.


https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...


Make sure you check your rented cars are allowed across the borders, as not all companies allow you to do that.

Edited by Medic-one on Tuesday 4th June 11:34

[Medic-one]

Doh, just realised you actually quoted my thread in the top of your post

There is a list of hotels in there, and as stated the one in Brienz and the Bormio one were our absolute favourites.

Also, the drive from the Brienz hotel to do the famous passes was actually almost more fun then some of the passes we went out there for, so if you're not use about a route, just use google maps and see what the roads look like, that's how I picked most of the routes we drove.

Tomtom got a web based route planner, so you can plan your routes on the computer, save them and then open them on our phone/sat nav with the Tomtom app.

[P675]

Check that you can actually take the car out of Germany without paying extra.

[mr pg]

I would include the Susten Pass whilst you're in the Andermatt Loop area, my favourite of the Loop, along with the Nufenen.
The Tremola isn't much of a drivers road, cobbles long the most of. New Gotthard Pass flows well, much quicker and has a great viewing area looking south.
Bellagio isn't great for taking a car into, really aimed at pedestrians.
Stelvio is a bit of a tick list pass. Spectacular to look at, rubbish to drive.

[Tiglon]

Be careful with your expectations of the car you'll be given. I once booked an Audi A5 quattro from Sixt for a road trip in Sweden, and was given a BMW 320d Gran Turismo.

Not quite what I wanted, and the heavily RWD biased x-drive failed to get me up a slightly muddy tarmac road, so I had to abandon the planned route.

[hiccy18]

Take plenty of pictures of the car, inside and out, including fuel levels, before you collect it and as you drop it off, particularly if you end up doing a one way hire. Take out the wheel and tyre insurance at least, you may have the option of full Collision Damage Waiver, take that. If you're naughty the rental company will charge you money to look up their computer to pass your details onto the authorities, which is a nasty top-up on your speeding ticket(s).

[Bodo]

Make sure you have a café 'espresso' at every opportunity in Italy - each village/piazza has their local where everyone goes in and out. Don't be seated, stand at the bar - one café is around €1.20 - that's a nice five-minute break and you'll get to watch the locals.

Restaurants and hotels significantly more expensive in Switzerland; you might want to look at that when you're on a budget.

Sixt charges an extra for driving abroad; you'll need to tick a box when reserving a car (26 EUR/week). Switzerland will need a Vignette for using their Autobahn (44 EUR or 40 CHF); Austria as well (8.60 EUR for 1 day; 11.50 for 10 days).

[dcb]

Bodo said:

Restaurants and hotels significantly more expensive in Switzerland; you might want to look at that when you're on a budget.

+1

Also, the Swiss are punitive about speeding.

I've been happily avoiding the place for years. Similar mountains
are available nearby much more cheaply.

No point spending any money in such an anti-car country.

Indeed, if you are making your first big foreign trip, can we safely
assume you've already driven all the best roads the UK has to offer ?

UK drivers tend to be the worst in Europe, so no point going there
until you've gained IMHO ten years NCB. You will just make a fool of
yourself and the locals won't be happy with yet another stupid UK driver
getting in the way.

[ColdZinc]

Drussell said:

Evening,

A mate and I are planning a road trip to Europe this September (to avoid the summer holiday traffic).

There will still be a lot of traffic in September, especially if the weather is good.

[mr pg]

dcb said:

+1

Also, the Swiss are punitive about speeding.

I've been happily avoiding the place for years. Similar mountains
are available nearby much more cheaply.

No point spending any money in such an anti-car country.

Indeed, if you are making your first big foreign trip, can we safely
assume you've already driven all the best roads the UK has to offer ?

UK drivers tend to be the worst in Europe, so no point going there
until you've gained IMHO ten years NCB. You will just make a fool of
yourself and the locals won't be happy with yet another stupid UK driver
getting in the way.

You don't need to take liberties to enjoy yourself on a Swiss mountain pass. Stunning place to drive. It is
is more expensive but a couple of days there will have you wanting to go back for more.

[johnpsanderson]

Have mainly driven in France so not sure if this applies more widely but the one thing I wish I’d known in advance was “the speeds are a bit higher but the motorway slip roads significantly shorter and turn off rather sharply…”

Second point - learn what the key words mean for the main traffic signs: exit /lane closed /etc. it does help.

[daqinggregg]

What are your graduate bangers, I did some fairly large road trips in my leggy old student bangers. I appreciate it may be nice to hoon about in nice car, but £500 pays for a lot of nice things.

[jonathan_roberts]

Do not speed in Switzerland. I am talking not more than 3km/h over the speed limit. So many Brits go there and seem to think its some free for all on the passes and then wonder why they get huge bills. They are extremely strict and the punishments are severe. You have to treat the passes there as sightseeing, not driving, which may or may not fit with your trip goals.

As others have said check you are allowed to take the car into Switzerland as its not in the EU. Across EU borders is usually ok but worth asking.

[Drussell]

Thanks for all the helpful tips and advice. Most car rental companies like Sixt, allow driving into other countries just as long as you pay the initial fee which to my surprise was not that huge of a fee approx £50. However, one optional extra which I did think was a bit of a joke is that Sixt wants to charge approx £20 per day to "Unlock Apple Carplay/Android Auto". I wonder how much this is enforced, but either way, I will take a phone holder.

I knew before how strict the Swiss are and the harsh penalties even slightly over the speed limit. I think that part of the trip will be more sightseeing than actual speed as we have never explored that part of the world. Thanks again

Edited by Drussell on Friday 7th June 14:26

[dcb]

mr pg said:

You don't need to take liberties to enjoy yourself on a Swiss mountain pass. Stunning place to drive. It is
is more expensive but a couple of days there will have you wanting to go back for more.

In my case, I was so impressed I went away never to return.
I visit the Austrian, Slovenian and Italian Alps instead.
I might get to the French Alps one day.
Very happy with my choice.

More detail on Swiss speeding fines here:

https://speedingeurope.com/switzerland/

For example, EUR 374 for 26-30 kmh over the 120 km limit on the motorways.
You have been warned.

[jonathan_roberts]

Drussell said:

Thanks for all the helpful tips and advice. Most car rental companies like Sixt, allow driving into other EU countries just as long as you pay the initial fee which to my surprise was not that huge of a fee approx £50. However, one optional extra which I did think was a bit of a joke is that Sixt wants to charge approx £20 per day to "Unlock Apple Carplay/Android Auto". I wonder how much this is enforced, but either way, I will take a phone holder.

I knew before how strict the Swiss are and the harsh penalties even slightly over the speed limit. I think that part of the trip will be more sightseeing than actual speed as we have never explored that part of the world. Thanks again

Switzerland not in the EU and so check if you are allowed to take the EU car into Switzerland.

[Martin315]

Before paying for the car hirer’s insurance, look at getting cover here. I am hiring a car in Italy this summer and the (very expensive) CDW policy from the car hire company only reduced the excess for theft to £2k (this is for a C class or equivalent so nothing fancy).

I managed to get cheaper cover from the RAC which cost less and brought the excess down to a more sensible level (can’t remember the amount off the top of my head but will update later).

[mr pg]

dcb said:

In my case, I was so impressed I went away never to return.
I visit the Austrian, Slovenian and Italian Alps instead.
I might get to the French Alps one day.
Very happy with my choice.

More detail on Swiss speeding fines here:

https://speedingeurope.com/switzerland/

For example, EUR 374 for 26-30 kmh over the 120 km limit on the motorways.
You have been warned.

Austrian Alps are good, but not the same amount of choice, and a number have tolls. Grossglockner is wonderful, worth paying the toll.
Dolomites are stunning, a must do.
French Alps are wonderful.
Stick the cruise on at 120-5kmh in Sw, no issues.