Although traveling by train is usually the fastest and easiest way to get around, many places are only accessible by car.  Renting a car in Europe is easy and you only need a valid US drivers license.  The best way to reserve your car ahead of time is on-line for your designated pick-up location.  When renting a car, you should consider the cost, size, transmission type and insurance.  You should also familiarize yourself with Europen road signs to avoid tickets.

Take some time to plan your routes ahead of time and save the web address links in your Mobile Trip Profile allowing you to easily navigate to each destination using your smart phone.

Smaller Cars & Manual Transmissions

When driving in Europe and exploring small towns, you will often run into steep narrow streets having sharp turns and sometimes allowing only a single car to pass through at a time.  Driving a large car can present a problem so our recommendation is to go with the smallest car possible that will accommodate your needs.

You will find that car rental agencies offer a variety of cars to choose from.  Typical cars will be smaller and more than likely have manual transmissions.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

Insurance

When reserving your car online, you will have the option to purchase additional insurance.  If you are unsure, you may always decline it as you will have another chance to purchase it when you pick up the car.

Car agencies should offer different levels of insurance packages.  Purchasing full coverage will ensure you are not responsible for payment should you be involved in an accident or should anything happen to your car.  This will give you piece of mind, but it does not come cheap.

For example, renting a car may cost less than 100 Euros for an entire week, but adding full coverage insurance can add an additional 100 Euros/day.  Now your inexpensive rental car is costing you 800 Euros for the entire week.

If you have an American Auto Insurance Policy, you should be covered for any accident that should occur or for anything unexpected that should happen to your car.  Check with your insurance provider to verify your coverage.  If you choose to decline the rental car insurance and something should happen, you may be required to immediately pay for damages, even in situations where you are not at fault.  You will then have to work with your insurance provider to be reimbursed for anything you may have paid and you may also have to pay your deductable.

Roundabouts

Roundabouts are your friend and you will come to love them.  There are a few basic rules you should be aware of if you are unfamiliar with roundabouts.

Cars in the roundabouts have the right of way.  When you approach a roundabout, you may enter when it's safe to do so, yielding to other cars.

Some roundabouts may be small having only a single lane while others may be extremely large having multiple lanes circling the center.  In a single lane roundabout, you simply drive around until you find the exit you are looking for, signal then exit.  In a multi-lane roundabout, you may be required to move closer to the center as you proceed around it, moving to the outside lanes as your exit approaches.

It's okay to continue around a roundabout if you miss your turn, that's what they are for.  Keep in the mind moving closer to the center if required in a multi-lane roundabout.

The photos below show a typical multi-exit roundabout showing your entry point form the bottom

Roundabout - Windsor, England	Arc de Triomphe - Paris, France

Different pick-up and drop-off locations

Depending on your itinerary, you may find it useful to pick up your car at one location and drop it off at another.

On a trip through Germany, Luxembourg, France and Austria we rented a car at the Frankfurt Airport for a week, returning it at the Stuttgart Train Station.  The first week of our trip, we drove the Mosel River Valley stopping at several locations to explore some castles that are not easily accessible via train such as Eltz Castle.  We drove to locations in Luxembourg and then down through the Alsace area of France to the town of Colmar before heading back to Stuttgart Germany to return our car.  After dropping off our car, we traveled by train to Munich then on to Salzburg Austria before returning back to other locations in Germany.  The distances were greater on the second half of our trip, so it made sense to travel by high speed train during that part of our journey.

Colmar, France	Eltz Castle - Germany

If you will be dropping off your car at a location different than the pick-up location, be sure to get clear instructions on where to park to drop off your car.  You may need to research ahead of time as the pick-up location may not have exact details on the drop-off location.  Be sure to bring maps and any special instructions you may need.

Keep in mind that there may be an additional fee to drop off your car at a different location.

Driving in England

Driving in England or any place where they drive on the opposite side of the road from what you are used to may present a problem.  Not only driving, but traffic signs may be unfamiliar and you will more than likely be shifting gears with the opposite hand as most rental cars have manual transmissions.

From personal experience and from talking with others, it seems to take about a month before you really start to feel comfortable driving.  Initially you may notice that your rearview mirror does not seem to exist.  For some strange reason when sitting on the other side driving, you don't notice the mirror.  You may also be paranoid about how your car is centered in the lane and how close you are to a soft shoulder.  You may find that you cannot look at anyone in the passenger seat or even fiddle with the radio for awhile.  Our advice is to take you time and things will eventually work themselves out.

The Long Walk - Windsor, England	Frogmore - Windsor, England

While living in England, we owned a Mini Cooper - great car!  It's easy to get around and fun to drive, especially on curvy English country roads.  This photo with Windsor Castle in the background was taken on the Long Walk.  The Long Walk is a path from the castle straight out into Windsor Great Park for about 3 miles.  They do not generally allow cars on the Long Walk, but this was the day The Frogmore Estate and Gardens were open (only once a year).  The Gardens are the resting place of Queen Victoria in the mausoleum.  When Frogmore is open, they allow you to drive down the Long Walk and park inside the grounds.  Although we lived only a few blocks away, we could not resist the opportunity to take the drive down the walk.

European Road Signs

All around Europe you will find the same basic set of signs.  Knowing these simple signs will help to keep you out of trouble and avoid potential tickets.

Rick Steves Travel