Self Driving in Europe
Driving in Europe is delightful, with amazing scenery to accompany all along the way. Driving in summer especially in Switzerland is mesmerizing with Alps, meadows and lakes coming together to create the magic.
Our Europe self drive itinerary included Czech, Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
For the best self drive holidays in Europe, pick a comfortable vehicle and pack well.
Directions:
English is more or less absent in most of the places in Europe (outside of UK of course). In Czech, none of the signboards or notice boards has any English. A lot of people in places like Czech don’t know English either. Germany and Austria are a little better, although most of the road signs ae in german.
Navigation: Google maps works perfectly fine in all of Europe. All you need to ensure if you have a charger in your car and a data in your phone. Our Europe self drive itinerary passed through many quaint towns and places and thus having data and battery life is important.
Get a local sim with data that would work in all of EU. If you are visiting countries outside of EU (like Switzerland which although has porous land borders with the EU countries surrounding it doesn’t share the currency or the telecom network), do check how much data coverage will this give you.
License:
Everywhere we checked online it said we needed an IDP (International Driving Permit) to be able to drive in Europe. However, the car we took (Budget car) didn’t even ask for our IDP. Additionally, if you and your spouse both drive, you can add both of you as drivers. You only need your residence country license.
Car Insurance:
The car company will ask you which all countries you are visiting and that’s because some car rental companies like Budget doesn’t cover insurance in some countries like Lichtenstein. For the best self drive holidays in Europe, make sure to check these small things.
Restrooms and Amenities:
Most of the gas stations have good restrooms. Many of them may charge you something like 1 euro or 1 CHF. Most of them also have a small cafe and a mini grocery store for any of the essentials or picking up the packet of chips or chocolates. Our Europe self drive itinerary always included buffer time for suck pit stops and I highly recommend you to do that too.
