Advice: Wherever there's a mountain, there will always be a valley. What would you consider an unsafe road? You can kill yourself on any road.

My husband and I have driven in Europe a number of times, and I wouldn't say driving there is any more dangerous than driving in the States. Personally, we do not like driving in the big cities as there are too many limited traffic zones (I'm thinking Italy here.), and drivers do tend to be a little more reckless, but I find that in NYC, Chicago, LA, SF, Miami, Dallas, etc, too.

You say that you're going to be there two weeks. . . .Are you giving yourselves enough time to enjoy? You're covering a lot of mileage in two weeks, You're giving yourselves roughly 2.25 days per country, and that includes driving time. I might reconsider going through five countries and limit yourselves so you can do more than see them from your car.

Have fun!

Unless you know for sure that you will never return, and there are sites you absolutely must see, you are tackling far too much for this to be an enjoyable trip. I agree with Chris C that you should consider cutting the scope of your trip.

Consider taking high speed trains between major cities and rent a car locally. That way you would minimise driving & parking problems.

As for driving, I doubt you would have any problems. With your itinerary you will be confined to main roads and all will be well formed & safe even in the mountains.

driving is very safe, same as usa or other westernized places... some drivers are not safe, just like home.. it is quite easy.


but in 2 weeks this is much too far... drop italy completely..

take a GPS with europe maps..

i might even suggest that you fly to the south of france rather than paris.. or fly to your western most point and drive back....

are you aware of the large car drop off fee? easy to avoid in some cases like picking up and droping off car in same country. fly to paris and drop off in nice

You are taking on a massive amount of driving in two weeks - too much, IMO. Not fun.

The roads in Europe are fabulous for the most part, the drivers expert (but often fast). But without knowing the roads you plan to travel on, it's impossible to say if there are more or less safe ones.

Isn't there an issue with taking a rental car obtained from outside of Italy INTO Italy??

All that PLUS a stop in London . . . in two weeks?

Sorry but being afraid of heights is the least of your problems. You could spend your two weeks in Germany, or in Italy, or in France, or in Switzerland - and barely scratch the surface in any of them.

Why the need to dash around like that?

"My question is about the roads we travel on, are they safe? I am extremely afraid of heights, and I know we will be traveling on roads through the mountains. Are there less mountainess roads to travel on, or is that impossible?"

Depending on where you are going, there may be less-mountainous roads. But, those may also take longer to drive to your next destination. Check google maps or vaimichelin.com.

I, too, am afraid of heights, but I drive on every trip... alone as a solo female traveler. I like the flexibilty/freedom the car allows. Do have to admit that there have been many roads (narrow winding roads, no barriers against steep cliffs, high bridges, steep switchbacks, etc.) that have totally freaked me out. When I die of stress/heart attack, it will be because I've done one of these drives once too much!!!

If someone else is driving, just close your eyes at the scary parts.

You definitely don't want a car in cities. And it's expensive to park in cities. Another place you don't want a car is Switzerland. Some of the cutest towns are off-limits to cars. But the Swiss public transportation by train/bus/boat/funicular/ski lift/gondola is superb and superbly coordinated. You can enjoy the scenery, not have to keep your eyes on the road.

What time of year do you plan this trip?

You need to do some more research, decide what you really want to see. Because you don't have nearly enough time for 6 countries. You're going to have to do some pruning of your itinerary. Assume you will return.

I suffer from a fear of heights, so if you're like me, you're probably wondering if roads in the mountainous areas you'll be traveling in have steep dropoffs, lack of guardrails, lots of switchbacks, and the like.

You could possibly get specific answers to questions like that if you tell us which routes you are planning to take.

Other than those kinds of concerns, yes, the roads (especially the highways) are safe, just like they are in the U.S. And I agree with other posters that it sounds like you're planning too much geography for two weeks.

Driving in Europe
Posted by: jcparr on Dec 28, 12 at 8:06pm Posted in: Europe Tagged: Austria , France , Germany , Italy , Switzerland
My husband and I are planning a trip to Europe. We are planning on flying to Paris and driving through Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Italy, and France where we are taking a train to London to fly home. We plan on staying two weeks.
My question is about the roads we travel on, are they safe? I am extremely afraid of heights, and I know we will be traveling on roads through the mountains. Are there less mountainess roads to travel on, or is that impossible?
I would love any advice.

The roads are safe. Are you safe? Have you ever driven in Europe before? You appear to be a newbee. I suggest that you get familiar with driving rules and signage before you take to the road. See http://tinyurl.com/3bc2ax for an introduction.

I've driven through much of Europe. The expressways are as good as any in the USA. Lesser roads through the mountains and along the coasts can be worrisome. Probably the worst I have experienced is the coast road from Genoa to Nice. Driving through the hills of Slovenia and Croatia was also a problem. You can alter your route when you see a lot of zig-zags for a road on a map.

Like everyone above I would say you are cutting too much for two weeks. I would do France first, and maybe pop over to Germany or Switzerland for a few days. If you keep Italy beware of the ZTL! It has been discussed frequently on this Fodor's Forum.

Thanks for all the great advice! I should have said scary roads for someone with a fear of heights, not unsafe roads.
We took a road trip through California last summer and covered quite a bit. It was wonderful, and we got to see most of the highlights of the state. We were sort of thinking of doing the same thing in Europe. We will of course have to adjust as we go. My husband was stationed in Germany 30 years ago and is familiar with driving through some of the countries on our list.
One more question; this trip is scheduled for the middle of June, what kind of weather should we expect? What type of clothes should we pack for the different areas? I am sure higher elevations are much cooler, but will it be summer like temps in most areas?

June is summer everywhere - but naturally in the mountains you will need a light jacket and sweater in the evenings.

European roads are generally well-maintained - but there are many routes through the mountains that have limited shoulders and drop-offs next to the road. You will need to identify specific routes to determine the conditions on each road.

A much bigger issue is that you are trying to pack a 6 week vacation into 2 weeks. We have done MANY road trips through europe - and none were as extensive as this - not even my first trip when we had almost 6 weeks. In a typical road trip we would start in Rome (3 days) and end up in Paris (3 days) and stop in probably 4 towns (NOT countries) in between. But - this would be a 3 week - 22 days - trip - and worked only because we have been to Rome and Paris a couple of times before and seen most of the major sights.

What you have described is a road trip of the type done by college kids - with a couple of drivers taking turns driving 5 or 6 hours at a time, stopping overnight and starting over again in the morning - giving you very little time to actually see much of anything.

I notice you didn't ask "if" you should drive or "if" your itinerary was too much so I am glad to see that you ignored the responders who offered only criticism of your chosen vacation style.

If, by chance, you are undecided on what things you like to eat, or wear, perhaps you can post another question and get their advice on those subjective matters, too.

European roads are as good, if not better ,than most in North America, in my experience. If you stay on the major roads through the mountainous areas, you will probably be shielded from most of the vistas that could cause fear; smaller grades, dual lanes, guardrails, etc.. If you start taking smaller or local roads in the mountains, there will likely be some hairpin turns and narrow roadways that could cause you some concern. If you drag the "little yellow man" icon on Google Maps on to your potential routes you can get a picture of the specific road. Not a perfect solution since you can't view every but of a journey, obviously, but iy might give you some comfort.

At the risk of incurring aramis' wrath . . .

"We took a road trip through California last summer and covered quite a bit. It was wonderful, and we got to see most of the highlights of the state."

My guess is you saw LA, SD, SF, some of the coast, maybe Yosemite, possibly Tahoe - most visitors think those are the 'highlights'. That is a rushed but doable two weeks. But isn't nearly 'most' of the state's 'highlights.

So fine - you enjoyed your road trip -- of one state. You want to hit five countries - each entirely different. And while there are big multi-lane highways (like I-5 and 101 in CA) in some of the places you are going -- they are not, for the most part, scenic routes. More often than not you'll want to get off the main roads - and the alternatives are much slower. Plus driving in old/congested European towns and cities isn't like tooling up the middle of California. The traffic in LA may be bad --but the city was built for cars . . . not so where you are going this time around.

If you mainly want to drive for two weeks - that is one sort of trip (and I take/enjoy 'road trips' ALL the time). But if you want to stop and see much along the way, you really would need to cut back . . . a LOT.

So mainly depends on the sort of trip you want.

Now aramis can load up her ammo . . .

I think my original question was about how scary the mountainous roads are throughout our trip. I want to stay on the main roads throughout.
Did I mention my husband has driven from Bamburgh, Germany to la scala, Spain before?
We don't plan on driving more than 5 hours at a time, and we will probably use the trams/trains through Switzerland.(good advice)
No there is no way we saw all the highlights in CA, but we did see the ones we planned.
We, in no way think we are going to see all there is to see in Europe, but we will use the flexibility of driving as our main mode of transportation. We plan on two nights each in London, Paris and Rome where we will take some tours, and no driving in the cities.

I am in no way comparing the two areas, but good planning helps a great deal.

Our road trip to CA started when we landed in SF, rented a car and drove to Montery, where we stayed in a beautiful B&B. We drove on to Carmel,then down scenic Hwy 1 where we viewed Bir Sur,and eventually stayed the night in Pismo Beach. Next, we spent the day in Hollywood,took a tour, then headed on to Palm Springs where we spent 2 nights and played golf. The next stop was Yosemite, and Sequioa NP. From there we went to Napa Valley, stayed the night, toured the oldest vineyard in NV, and drove the scenic roads. We ended our trip back at SF, took a boat tour, rode the cable cars, visited Chinatown, Little Italy and stayed two nights before flying out.

I really appeciate everyone's advice, it will help tremendously in our planning. Please keep sharing!

janisj - no need for ammo.

You desire to admonish, criticize, and "correct" people for not traveling they way you like to travel - even when the questions they pose are entirely unrelated to the worthiness of their itinerary.

I would call that self-inflicted damage.

As a person with a fear of heights, if you could handle driving or riding in a car going south on Rte 1 to Big Sur, then you'll be ok driving in Europe!

Not necessarily so. I have driven on roads in northern Italy and Switzerland that were two narrow lanes - one in each direction - and trucks or buses going in the other direction took part of your lane. And when you were next to a drop-off there was sometimes a small shoulder and sometimes just a small amount of grass ( 1 to 2 feet) with driveway reflectors stuck in so you could see the drop off after dark.

Granted if you stick to the largest highways you will almost always have a wall between you and a drop-off - but if you are really fearful, definitely check your routes in advance - including side trips to smaller towns.

Lexma90 on Dec 29, 12 at 6:25pm
As a person with a fear of heights, if you could handle driving or riding in a car going south on Rte 1 to Big Sur, then you'll be ok driving in Europe!
Which reminds me of a drive north from LA to Big Sur back in the fall of 1975. There were several sections of the coast highway southbound lane, up to 50 feet long, that were completely washed out. The sea side guard rail was hanging in the air.

Regarding what type of weather to expect, you can check weather averages for the cities you plan to visit here: http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/country.php3?r=EUR&refer=&regionname=Europe A few days before your departure date, check the weather forecasts for these places. Bring comfortable shoes because you will likely be walking significant distances and, in Italy, you will find many streets paved in paving blocks and other stones - many in beautiful patterns but hard on your feet!

Parking for many cities and towns is limited and usually expensive, and driving in the center of cities and towns is to be avoided. You can find yourself in an area that is restricted to drivers except residents (ZTL) or on a very narrow street which is difficult to drive on and almost impossible to back out of.

About those ZTLs in Italian cities and towns, they take a photo of your license plate, the car rental company identifies you (and charges your credit card for the service), and the municipality mails you a ticket with a stiffish fine.

Generally in smaller towns it's better to park on the outskirts and walk in. The streets in the old centers can be very narrow and twisty. A reason to rent a smaller car.

In Italy foreign drivers are required to have an International Drivers Permit, a translation of your license. It's easily and cheaply obtainable at AAA/CAA; they'll also take your photo.

Also check your rental car insurance coverage for Italy. If you rent a car there, you're required to buy CDW. I'm not sure about cars rented in other countries and driven in Italy. Fodorites?

Sounds like you know how you like to travel. And how to plan such a trip. You'll have a great trip in Europe.

This forum is quite interesting. May I add something?
We started going to Europe in 1981. Since then, we went back 32 times. Always rented a car (with good Insurance package).

We drove many times thru Mountains in all 5 Countries you are going to visit. My husband (age 58 and me 73 "yes, no mistake") feels more secure driving in Europe than on our Canadian Highways. Europeans take good care of their roads. In general, they keep them in pristine conditions. The last 3 yrs we noticed thet there are more cars on the road and, yet, the road sizes are still the same! We recently drove in Italy but not in Rome, better walk or use bus/train. The Italian drivers seem to always be in a rush to arrive at their destination! We feel safer to drive thru the Alps than driving three hours from the Airport to our home.

Two weeks to visit 5 Countries? In 1983, we drove thru France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland in 21 days! It was exhausting. And what do we remember? Not much. The last 12 years, we opted to rent an appt. for 1 week in one area, and 1 week in another area. We stay at a Hotel or B&B near the airport for 1st and last day. We take day trip from the appt. We usually spend 3 months to plan a flexible itinerary.


There are excellent ideas from the above blogs. Good Luck in replanning your Wonderfull European Vacation.

Okay we are thinking about dropping Switzerland or Austria from our itinerary.
Can anyone recommend which one to drop from our road trip?
We might possibly make another trip to Europe, so we thought the more we saw this trip would help us know where to spend more time/visit on our last trip.
Thanks for the advice!

Which of Switzerland or Austria to drop depends on what else you want to see in the other countries. If you are going to Italy, then you could pass through either of them, or both in doing so. If you go to Venice, or want ot see Munich, then Salzburg and the Salzkammergut area of Austria is in play. If you stay in West or central Italy, then you can get in and out via Switzerland and France alone - actually France alone if you must.

So, if Munich or Venice are on the list, then I would say Austria stays in and you start roughing something out for further advice. it is a bit difficult to advise on itinerary changes when your base routing is not clear.

>>>Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Italy, and France<<<

Too much driving for 2 weeks. Maybe even too much for a month!

If you have a bad fear of heights why ever are you going to Switzerland? Austria is pretty mountainous too, so cutting the 2 of them out is the obvious choice. That leaves Italy as the outlier... and the direct route there is through mountains so drop that too.

Unless your husband wants to revisit his old haunts in Germany why not spend 5 nights in Paris, take a trip to Normandy and the landing beaches then on to London for a few days to finish the trip. This will be less hectic and avoids mountainous roads.

Hello!
i definitely suggest you to travel by train... you enjoy the journey while reading a book or simply looking at the landscape. You always reach the center of the city and you don't have to care about maps, gps or so.
especially in Switzerland you can reach all the destinations by train: the system is very efficient!
And don't forget that in Europe the price for the gasoline is double compared to the US.

Well we have done numerous road trips in numerous countries in europe and enjoyed all of them. I do not subscribe to the train is just as good. IMHO the train is good between major cities but a PIA in the countryside.

However, we leave enough time so that we are not rushing madly from place to place, we share driving equally so neither is stuck looking at the road versus the scenery for most of the day - and neither of us is afraid of heights - so we can use whatever route we want.

I don't think you need to abandon a road trip - just plan it so it makes sense for your interests and needs. Have you looked at viamichelin.com to check driving times and routes?

Sigh.....even more advice telling you to take the trip some one else wants, not the one you want.

Aramis, you have a point in what you're saying about travel-advice very often being self-referential: answers are quite often taken as an opportunity to tell your own story rather than answering the actual question, but is that so bad? Talking about travel plans is naturally about telling stories of own experiences and of course, one is convinced of one's own style of travel and this can lead to a patronizing attitude or give at least the impression of it. But aren't you, to some extent, doing a similar thing, telling others to post here the way you want, not the way they want?

If you are asking if I think it is rude, self serving, or condescending to tell people not be rude, self serving or condescending, the answer is no.

My primary goal is to let OP's know that they don't have to feel like they are foolish, wasting their time, or ruining what could be a valuable experience if they don't conform to someone elses idea of what constitutes the "correct" way to travel.

The need to find self-validation through directing others to do as they have done is might strong in some responders.