Going to Europe - Rent a car or buy a rail pass?

[thamlin000]

Thinking about going to Europe for a week at the end of July. The girlfriend is already going for two weeks to see some friends in the UK. We are throwing around the idea of me meeting up with her - if I can get away from work. We'd like to rent a car or get a rail pass and see some of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and maybe Italy.

We really want to fly by the seat of our pants and avoid a planned-out out a vacation. I don't want to follow a schedule of set deadlines for seeing the sites. Of course the Porsche factory is my only must-see. Her's is the Cinderella castle in Germany.

What are the advantages of getting a rail pass vs renting a car for one week. I'd really like to rent a car but I'm naive to the costs. Doing a little internet seaching I found that economy car rentals for 5-6 days would run around $200 USD. Seems reasonable. Whatabout other factor like gas? US drivers license? Traffic laws? Language barriers?

Thanks for any advise.

[Joeaksa]

If you get a rental car, do it from here and pay for it before you go. Become a member of AAA and go and get their International drivers license.

Personally I usually take the railroads unless I am staying a long time or need to haul anything. Their rail system is light years ahead of ours and a very easy way to get around. Fuel is around $6 a gallon, so that helps with the decision.

[Neilk]

Gas will be at least $6/gallon, the good thing is that most cars you rent will get at least 30+ mpg. Germany doesn't have any toll roads, so you won't have to worry about that. I am not sure if you need to buy a highway pass for Switzerland if you are in a rental, otherwise count on spending at least $30. Italy and France are full of toll roads. US driver's license is fine. Remember on small roads in Europe, most of the time if there is no stop, the driver on the right has priority. I would look into LCC flights like Easy Jet if you are going more than 400 km.

Have fun.

[Dottore]

You will be in the Alps in some of the finest driving country in the world. You would be quite mad not to rent a "pocket rocket" and explore some of these roads. There are lots of fun rental cars available in Europe for relatively little money.

[Don Plumley]

Depends upon what you want to see/go. I'm going with my Son to Germany/Belgium/Switz/Austria in the middle of July. We are going to eurail it because of the distances we are covering. I've rented before in Bavaria/Austria and it is a lot of fun to drive. But parking in cities can be a PITA, so that's another vote for the train.

You need advance reservations to get into the Porsche factory tour. Only two groups of 10-15 per day and there are lots of folks hanging around Germany after the world cup.

[thamlin000]

Thanks for the responses. It looks like the rail pass may be the way to go. Driving the Alps does seem pretty tempting though.

I'll look into the getting reservations for the Porsche factory tour.

[jyl]

Depends if you want to see big cities or smaller towns/rural areas.

If big cities, then take the train. Navigating, traffic, and parking a car is a hassle. You could easily burn up half a day driving in circles, looking for a particular hotel, then trying to find a parking lot, etc. With the train you simply step off, carrying your (lightly packed!) bag and saunter to a cab, metro, etc.

But if smaller towns and rural areas, consider a rental car. That way you can meander from the Porsche factory to the castle to the whatever, looking for inns along the way.

However, July is high season so if you're going to go without reservations, be prepared that you might have to try a few times before finding a hotel room in whatever town you've wandered to.

And travel is never fun when you're trying to pack too much in, forget trying to see some of four countries in a week, think less ambitious and more relaxed. Otherwise all you end up seeing is the autoroute which sucks.

Driving in the countries you mentioned is pretty logical. I've always just gone w/ my California license, not sure if that was wrong but have never been questioned. Take it easy until you figure out the signage and road markings. Watch for trolleys and trams when you're in a town - basically whenever you see tracks, be wary.

Exercise strict lane discipline! On the autoroutes, if you are doing 100kph in the slow lane, people will blow by you at 140kph trusting that you won't suddenly change lanes. If you are doing 100kph in the fast lane, people will come flying up behind you at 140kph expecting you to get the hell out of the way. Passing on the right is really bad too, it suggests you're an American - or a Frenchman.

[Aurel]

I would do both: use the railroad for travel, and rent a car for a day trip in a nice area for fun.

Aurel

[Rick Lee]

Austria requires a toll decal you can buy at the border. It's called a vignette. Porsche factory tours have to be arranged well in advance. Get on it now. They won't take walk-ins and summer time in Germany is vacation time with a LOT of places closed. There's also a Porsche museum in Gmuend, Austria, where the very first ones were built. It's a breathtakingly gorgeous drive and about 2 hrs. southeast of Munich. The "cinderella castle" is called Neuschwanstein and is in Fuessen, I think 1-2 hrs. due south of Munich. There are far better and more historically significant castles in that part of Germany. Ludwig II, who had Neuschwanstein built, I believe committed suicide the day it was completed. I don't consider it a real castle. If you drive to Gmuend, you will see the castle where they filmed "Where Eagles Dare" with Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton. THAT'S a real castle.

Renting a car is probably cheaper than train tix for two, would give you more freedom of movement and save some time too. Their trains are very good, but they ain't cheap and they ain't always fast with all those stops. Don't miss Austria.

[fastpat]

Rent a car for crissakes, don't use the socialist transport methods.

Geez, you're an American, get a grip.

[Rick Lee]

Pat, if he does that, he'll be paying the socialist gas taxes. Don't forget, there's a 16% additional tax in Germany on rental cars that are picked up at airports or train stations. I usually grab a train into town and pick up a car from a separate rental agency. It can save big bucks.

[fastpat]

Originally posted by Rick Lee
Pat, if he does that, he'll be paying the socialist gas taxes. Don't forget, there's a 16% additional tax in Germany on rental cars that are picked up at airports or train stations. I usually grab a train into town and pick up a car from a separate rental agency. It can save big bucks.

I didn't say eliminating government was going to be a picnic.

[W Scott Shores]

Rent a 911 for a day. Avis rented me one last time I was in Germany.

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

I hitchiked across Europe

[cantdrv55]

Get a railpass and enjoy the countryside. It's all part of the adventure. We did the rail thing last year from Paris to Lourdes to Cannes to Rome. Can't wait to go back next year.

[HardDrive]

I got a railpass years ago. It was fine, but I remember being a bit irritated, because they can still charge you 'reservation' fees to get into certain coaches. I don't remember exactly what the deal was.....there was a lot of booze being consumed

[herman maire]

RENT A CAR. No questions asked.

Everytime my brother and I rented the freaking smallest econo car...
Renault clio or peugot 106 all small turbo TDI motors and they were a blast

I have been there a bunch of times on ski trips with my bro. First year I did the
public transport thing I was 17.....And it was not fun at all.

I love to see something and cruise over to see it . Everytime I go its for
6-9 weeks and with a car in that time frame I clock up 12-13000 miles . Every mile a blast, no joke. Cruising through the mountian farm roads , burning down to italy for the lady's , cruising to Monaco ect..

A car = freedom.... I dont care how much the fuel is.

[Rick Lee]

I was last there in Sept. 05. I reserved the cheapest, smallest economy car they had. When I got there they gave me (for the same price) and brand spanking new Audi A4 TD wagon. It only had 20km on the clock. That car was a blast and far better than any train.

[livi]

Being a (kind of) European, I thought I should speak up. Spending A LOT of time in most countries in Western Europe over the years.

Then I read the post by John L. (jyl) and there it is. Pretty much what I was going to say.

Can´t see Sweden on your planning list. What the f¤%& !

[thamlin000]

You all have me torn. It appears that either the car and the single rail pass will cost me approx $600 for one week (assuming I stay in the Germany/Switz/Austria area) from the little research I've done.

Car:
pros=freedom to go anywhere at anytime, out of the way stuff, may even be a bit cheaper even with the $6 gas factor (I figure 1,200 miles of travel max) over 6 days.
cons=traffic laws and customs, big city parking

Train:
pros=more relaxing travel, more scenic?, ability to sleep between destinations, town center to town center
cons=(see car pros)

Livi-Hopefully Sweden will be on the next trip, or the Mediterranean. I've went to Ireland three years ago and as a kid, I lived in Germany 22-25 years ago. This shouldn't be my last Euro trip, if I actually even go.....