Epic Europe road trip: Car rental or other?

[haydensydney]

I'm planing a big drive around Europe that might stretch over 30 days, and I thought i'd best get some sage advice from those who may have done this previously.

I was hoping of getting a car rental for the 6000km journey, but I wasn't sure if a rental car company would allow a one way rental from Barcelona to Helsinki. Has anyone done this before and if so, was a deal struck with the car rental company to either lower the rate or try minimise the one way fine? Am I overlooking other options that could meet our transport needs?

Or.... am I just plain stupid for entertaining the idea? lol

 

[geordieladinoz]

We did a 21 day Europe trip using a Eurail pass in December 2011. You can get them for different durations and different combinations of countries and was a great way to see Europe. Would not want to be looking at the steering wheel and tarmac for 6000km that is for sure!

Go to www.eurail.com

Hope this helps!

 

[Simo]

I'm planing a big drive around Europe that might stretch over 30 days, and I thought i'd best get some sage advice from those who may have done this previously.

I was hoping of getting a car rental for the 6000km journey, but I wasn't sure if a rental car company would allow a one way rental from Barcelona to Helsinki. Has anyone done this before and if so, was a deal struck with the car rental company to either lower the rate or try minimise the one way fine? Am I overlooking other options that could meet our transport needs?

Or.... am I just plain stupid for entertaining the idea? lol

I had a customer did this a few years ago and they actually did a lease on a vehicle which is designed for short term type uses.

There son was an Olympian in Athens and they where travelling around to few countries with some of the pre olympic stuff.

He said it worked out cheaper for them than hiring a car.

 

[elbarto]

I had a customer did this a few years ago and they actually did a lease on a vehicle which is designed for short term type uses.

There son was an Olympian in Athens and they where travelling around to few countries with some of the pre olympic stuff.

He said it worked out cheaper for them than hiring a car.

I've heard of people leasing cars too. Apparently you can get them optioned to suit.

 

[Simo]

Just did a quick Google search and here is a link for one of the company's.

Wheels In Europe, Car Rental in Europe, short term Car Lease Program in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Holland, Belgium, England and Switzerland, Discount car rental in France and in Europe, One way car rental, One way car lease, Car Lease

 

[haydensydney]

Thanks for the advice re: leasing - will check out the link Simo

 

[Timtammi]

Google tax free car leasing. I did this about 15 years ago in Europe and it worked out great! You get a brand new car and its much cheaper than renting as long as you are going to take it for at least 3 weeks or so. I believe Renault, Peugeot and citroen all run a program.

 

[pmk]

We did the tax free buy sell deal last year. Picked up a brand new Renault, fully insured, with GPS etc at Orly. Had it for 31 days. You only pay the price differential when you collect it.

only open to international visitors.

used Car Lease Europe, Renault Eurodrive, Car Hire Europe, Car Rental Europe

after about 21 days it is cheaper than a hire car. Added advantage is that can still use once my husband turns 70, whereas some hire companies have restrictions.

some limitations on where It can be collected from and left at. But most major European countries are included.

Was absolutely easy and cheap and great car. Only hurdle is they give you only a little bit of petrol and the challenge is to quickly find a petrol station!!

 

[casanovawa]

I've been mulling over a 3 week or so road trip around the US or Europe sometime in the future and wondering whether just finding a cheap old car for $500 or so might be the way to go, hope it doesn't conk out on me and give it away at the end or trade it in or something... Not sure if there would be ownership issues transferring paper and rego and all that stuff etc...

Yes it wouldn't be a brand new Renault or Bentley or anything...

 

[The Rok]

I've been mulling over a 3 week or so road trip around the US or Europe sometime in the future and wondering whether just finding a cheap old car for $500 or so might be the way to go, hope it doesn't conk out on me and give it away at the end or trade it in or something... Not sure if there would be ownership issues transferring paper and rego and all that stuff etc...

Yes it wouldn't be a brand new Renault or Bentley or anything...

I'd take a €500 bunkie over a new Renault any day of the week.

 

[medhead]

I've been mulling over a 3 week or so road trip around the US or Europe sometime in the future and wondering whether just finding a cheap old car for $500 or so might be the way to go, hope it doesn't conk out on me and give it away at the end or trade it in or something... Not sure if there would be ownership issues transferring paper and rego and all that stuff etc...

Yes it wouldn't be a brand new Renault or Bentley or anything...

There was a top gear episode where they did this in the US. That had massive trouble finding cars under $1000 apparently (it is TV after all). They then tried to give the cars away in New Orleans, one of the lucky recipients tried to sue them, apparently.

 

[iRobbo]

I did the Renault Eurodrive about 4 years ago. Did the train thing 2 years ago, preferred the train. I found the trains a more relaxing way to travel eg. Nice to Venice, was dreading this particular trip, leaving 7 am and getting in around 4 pm, changing trains 3 times. Turned out to be very relaxing, read a bit, snoozed a bit, looked at some of the countryside.

Things I would consider:

- how many in your party? 4 or more might make the car a cheaper option, 2 might be better on train.

- what are you trying to see? Trains have advantage of going mainly into city centres, so you can walk to accom and most of city attractions. Driving in some city's is not ideal eg, Lyon. OTOH, stayed just out of Florence for several days and car was great, drove to a lot of attractions that may not have gone to otherwise (took the train into Florence however!).

- tolls can add up, best way to drive but be wary of the extra cost. ViaMichelin: Michelin route planner and maps, restaurants, traffic news and hotel booking is a great site where you can plug in your trip and it will give estimated times/tolls/alternative routes.

Also be wary of one way drop-off charges for car hire/lease.

Found the best site to book trains was DB Bahn bahn.com - your online travel booking tool for rail journeys, holidays, city trips and car rental

 

[vetrade]

Might pay to keep in mind what main cities you intend to visit (and for how long) if you intend to self drive.
Many Euro cities can be laborious and time consuming to drive in because of traffic congestion and parking can be a massive problem that you shouldn't underestimate - it's not anywhere as easy as Australia.
Personally I opt for trains if travelling between main cities because they're faster and generally reasonably priced - car is great only if you intend it to be mainly doing touring in the country.
Most rental companies charge extra for one way hire too.

 

[casanovawa]

I used a Eurail pass in 2008 that worked pretty well, some spectacular scenery as the train climbed into the mountains between Zurich and Salzburg i think it was, but the 10-12 hour train trip from Budapest to Venice was a little tough as didn't go for a sleeper and it was overnight... At least with Eurail it also gave me the option of choosing instead of a train leg i was contemplating between Florence and Barcelona (which would have meant more than 24 hours i think) to fly Pisa to Porto which took like 3 hours, so i could combine flying and train, whereas if you have a car, well your stuck with it for the short and the long legs...

I did a 3 week road trip round the US and Canada with a friend in 2011 in a big type of van that he had bought (did it cost him about $2500??), that was pretty reasonable, room for all our luggage, space to spread out in the back when driving, we just took it in turns to fill the tank up each time it was needed and fairly easy in the US to find parking at hostels (often included) and get around the cities, might be a completely different kettle of fish in Europe... All went pretty smoothly until he had a slight bingle in the back of a car and when the cop asked for drivers licences neither of us had one to give him for various reasons, we thought it was going to be impounded and the road trip come to a pretty sudden end...

So definitely swings and round abouts and US and Europe might be a bit suited to different options...

- how many in your party? 4 or more might make the car a cheaper option, 2 might be better on train.

I think 4 people in a car would be pretty cramped, unless you were just travelling with carry on... 2 adults and 2 kids maybe, 4 adults, that could get a bit squeezy and test friendships...

 

[alieninperth]

At $2k-$3k for a month, leasing is not stupidly expensive (one way from BCN to FRA). The only down side is that they are French cars and so likely to surrender (fall apart) at the first sign of agression on the road. The built quality will vary wildly so maybe have a look down at the local dealership before you go. In fact I think you might be able to arrange it locally before you go.

There is an earlybird sale on until the end of March for Renault as well. Not sure about the other makes. Depending on the ages of the pax I would go Train if they can manage their own bags, otherwise car.

Looking at the US, I am keen on the camper relocations. 10-20 days typically but pick up is from the factory (Indiana) and delivery can be anywhere across the country, although mainly LA, Vegas, Denver or San Fran by the look of it (Apollo Motorhome Australia - Relocation) Not bad for last minute Aus/NZ trips as well.

 

[casanovawa]

Hmmm, that Apollo camper thing could be an interesting option for my trip to the West Coast of the US mid year... Hmmm....

 

[amaroo]

Early 90's we leased a brand new Citroen for 30 odd days......brilliant.

Drove it through France, Italy, Germany & Austria - since it was brand new we had to get it serviced as you would a new car. These days most cars are serviced at 15K or longer, so it probably doesn't apply.

It was unbelievable cheap. Also, got a great Champ de Mars, Citroen key ring

 

[nickfromeastryde]

We did the big car trip in 2010, picked up the car on the way out of Paris and dropped it back at Calais 50 days and about 10,000 klms later. We basically did the whole of Western Europe. Returned to Calais to avoid the one way cost plus the ferry is a lovely way to arrive in England both from seeing the white cliffs at Dover then a pretty pleasant train ride into London but really it would not have been a significant cost. All in all, I wouldn't hesitate to do it again though there were both advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:
1. You can organise it all from Australia, we used Globalcars and it was a very simple process. They were very good to deal with
2. A brand new car, insurance, GPS, phone support/assistance etc all covered with no more to pay (well other than your running costs, tolls and parking)
3. Lease costs, petrol, tolls, parking probably cost us about 10K all up. There was my wife, 13 year old daughter and myself and really, I don't think we would have saved any money using the train or flying
4. Flexibility was fantastic for us, we had a fairly loose itinery so if we wanted to take a detour on the way, change our plans or stay somewhere a bit longer there was no impediment to doing so. We ended up doing so many things that we would never have thought of if we hadn't been in the car and in a way many of these things were what really made the holiday one of our best ever, even the numerous times we got lost
5. Great way to store luggage as especially for those one and two night stays, we left the majority of our luggage in the boot and only got out what we needed. We used a sedan so luggage not visible but don't underestimate how much easier it can make it especially when you are tired after a long day
6. Did some unbelievable drives, ie. the Almalfi Coast, both exhilarating and scary at the same time but a long time item on my bucket list, driving through the Alps and Pyrannese, being able to drive to Kitzbuhel and then being able to ski the downhill (very slowly mind you), something else on my bucket list and so many other things
7. Traffic wasn't an issue, we tended to arrive into major towns in the afternoon and were generally going against the traffic
8. Great in country areas and small towns where a car is an essential, Tuscany for example there's a lot to see and a lot of driving required, a lot of fun to with the winding roads and cobblestoned villages
9. It's not like Australia, places aren't that far apart so there's not need to do 10 hours a day to get from A to B. So you don't really feel that you are missing out on things because of the driving, it's part of the holiday rather than a chore

Disadvantages:
1. Capital cities and other major towns - often had no use for the car and also these are places where you tend to stay longer. Parking was expensive 40 to 50 Euro a day for a car not being used though as noted above, I think my overall cost comparable to any other option. We did tend to stay in the middle of these cities, no doubt parking much cheaper away from the city centre.
2. Certainly some stress, driving on the other side of the road into areas you have never been to does require concentration, there were times I that I wished I wasn't driving. Would have helped if my wife did some of the driving but not to be so it was me driving every last inch of the way. Still I have driven in India and China and Europe is a breeze compared to those countries
3. You need to be aware of specific requirements/rules in some countries. I knew I had to get a pass for Austria but didn't know about Switzerland. Nothing happened but apparently I could have received quite a big fine if I had been pulled up in the five days we drove through there

It's been a while so there's probably lots of other points I have forgotten to mention but hopefully I covered off the main ones

Overall, a huge thumbs up from me. The flexibility and ability to see so much more just blows the other options out of the water for me. My plan going forward is to keep driving when I can as I know there will come a time when I can't do it anymore. The I'll try the trains and flying!!!

 

[haydensydney]

Thanks everyone for all the tips and nickfromeastryde, cheers for the insights!

 

[NM]

I'll also suggest you seriously consider the trains in Europe. The savings on tolls, fuel, insurance and parking will go a long way towards using a few cabs or even renting a car to get to places outside the major cities.

One benefit we found was that the train stations are right in the middle of the towns/cities, so getting from station to accommodation was often a short walk. The convenience and lack of stress (strange country, different language, different rules etc) and comfortable seats with space to get up and walk around made the train an easy option for me.