JohnWordCena

Hello to all.
In 5 weeks time, me and 3 friends will be travelling to Vienna, Austria. At first it was an 8-day vacation focused just on Vienna and Bratislava, however in the end we rented a car and will go to all these places:
VIENNA
BUDAPEST
ZAGREB
GRAZ
BRATISLAVA
PRAGUE

Now my query is if someone can give me clear indications on the toll charges for each one of them and how and from where to pay. Also when I booked my rental online, I was not asked if I will leave the country but I think it will be asked when we pick up the car? Any idea of the prices to travel to other countries? Or at least indications as I would understand that it would be different from one company to another.

In regards to the toll queries, these are the full trips I'm planning to perform:
Tuesday 25th August 2015 - Vienna----->Budapest
Wednesday 26th August 2015 - Budapest----->Zagreb
Thursday 27th August 2015 - Zagreb----->Graz
Thursday 27th August 2015 - Graz----->Vienna
Saturday 29th August 2015 - Vienna----->Bratislava
Sunday 30th August 2015 - Bratislava----->Prague
Monday 31st August 2015 - Prague-----> Vienna

Thanks a lot,
Clayton

hetismij2

Have a look at http://www.theaa.com/allaboutcars/ov...lls_select.jsp

You will see you need a vignette on the windscreen for many of the countries you plan to visit. Your rental may or may not have one already for Austria, but is highly unlikely to have them for Hungary, Czech Republic etc.

fourfortravel

1.700km in 7 days? Have fun enjoying the autobahn in August when many. many European families will be returning home from their holidays. Also, factor in an extra 25% (at least) of driving time for Vienna to Budapest, Bratislava to Prague, and Prague to Vienna. There is currently road construction that has traffic reduced to one 80km/hr lane in several long sections.

You will need vignettes for Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia and Czech Republic, all of the countries you intend to visit, plus one extra for Slovenia for the pleasure of driving through from Zagreb to Graz. Each average €10-12 depending on the country. Do be certain to place the vignettes in the proper position on the windscreen, as many (even the short-term) are monitored by overhead systems on the highways.

And, for planning, petrol is averaging approximately €1,20 per liter, or about $5 per gallon. Prices are higher for fuel stops along the autobahn.

Take note of where you park your car, as well. I know that Vienna, Budapest and Prague can be expensive places to park if you are not familiar with parking restriction signs.

nytraveler

Well this certainly is a road trip. Will be nothing but driving, eating, sleeping and moving on.

You need to check to see if you are even allowed to take any particular car into all of these countries - it may not be allowed and if you do so you would have no insurance coverage. And must you go to vienna 3 times - surely there is a better routing!

mytravelove

I fully second all the advice you received so far, fourfortravel has a good point with the road construction. If you love driving and your trip is not low cost, you'll be fine, even though you won't see much more than the highway and some rushed city visits..

The vignettes can be bought from gas stations, the closer to the border the better. On some border crossings, there's even a specialized store for vignettes, always clearly marked. Apart from the vignettes, you don't have to pay any toll.

In my opinion, it would be better if you stayed with your original plan, or added just Budapest.

JohnWordCena

Hi thanks to all for the replies.

@hetismij2
thanks for the information. do I need only to pay for these vignette stickers? is this the toll charge? what happens when we reach the border?

JohnWordCena

@fourfortravel
wow what a detailed information. thanks so much. Yes a lot of distance, however we will stay each night in the location that we arrive. So it's not directly road trip. Also thanks for the info on the road works. So the vignettes are all I need for the tolls? And from where should I buy them? Beforehand? or while on the border check? I saw somewhere that you need to buy them from petrol stations?

JohnWordCena

@nytraveler
Do you think we won't have time to visit even for a few hours in each of the locations? We will sleep in the travelling location each night so we don't have to get back to Vienna at night.
In regards to Vienna, our flight arrives and leaves from there, so we need to be in Vienna at least for 2 times. The third time in between will be worthwhile since we will stay for 2 days.

JohnWordCena

@mytravelove
Actually I won't be the one driving but my friend. What do you eacatly mean by not being low cost? From what I'm being told it won't be that much expensive just average €12 per place and the cost for fuel?

Thanks for the info on the vignettes. Why it's better to buy them next to the border? Also thanks for clearing that there aren't involed any costs other than the vignettes.

fourfortravel

The vignettes can be purchased at the borders and, usually, at petrol stations near to the borders. That's all you need in terms of highway tolls.

You also need to factor logistics time to park the car, check into your lodging, map your sightseeing course for each particular city if aimless wandering isn't your thing, and collect the proper currency for your destinations (Euros for Austria and Slovakia (and Slovenia, if you stop for anything); Koruna for Czech Republic; Forints for Hungary; and Kunas for Croatia.)

Personally, with just 8 days, I would keep the trip simple (Vienna, Bratislava, and Budapest or Vienna and Prague) and travel between the three by train.

JohnWordCena

@fourfortravel
the currency won't be an issue as I will buy them beforehand from my country, Malta, as they offer hassle-free not expensive rates and refund you the money you come back with.
I will carefully think about reducing a minimum of 1 destination for now, as we have already booked the car rental :/

ira

Hey J,

Good advice above.

7 countries in 8 days?

You don't know if you will be permitted to take your car out of Austria?

What are the xtra charges for pickup in Vienna and drop-off in Prague?

Why can't you take the trains?

> 8-day vacation focused just on Vienna and Bratislava

Very good idea.

JohnWordCena

@ira
It's actually 5 countries in 8 days. Or 6 cities in 8 days.
Nope I don't know if we will be permitted, however from what I read most car rentals allow it.
I can't drop=off in Prague as my flight is from Vienna so I would still to get to Vienna.
The main reason for all this was infact the cost of the trains. Some friends of mine will be going there coincidentally a week earlier and will go by train from Vienna to Budapest and it will cost them €80 including the return. That's when I said it's better to rent a car and visit more places.

nytraveler

No based on your schedule you will have one day in Vienna. And why not spend your time there when you arrive or leave - rather than coming back to Vienna a 3rd time?

And I suggest that you may not be in the cities at the times the sights you want to see are open. We don't know what your must sees are - but I would definitely check what days they are open as well as what hours. (What if the sights you want to see closes at 5 or 6pm?)

nytraveler

Sorry - I have no problem with road trips. We have done at last 20 of them in many different parts of europe. But for us a road trip means driving no more than about 3 or at most 4 hours per day - getting from one town to another to stay in - or doing a day trip from the town we are staying in.

Part of the reason we do this is for the serendipity allowed by following our noses to see what we see - not being stuck to driving 8 or 9 or 10 hours per day. Another part is the chance to drive fast cars fast - which is rapidly disappearing in europe - although speeds are still much higher than here (55 max in the state).

There is no way I would do this drive if several of the roads are being reconstructed.

Jean

Although Google Maps' estimates of driving times between your destinations aren't too crazy-long, I think you're under-estimating the real life time it will take. Add a half hour at each end to check in/out of hotels, load up the car, etc. Then, time for lunch, finding the next hotel, looking for parking, possible traffic delays, etc. It all adds up.

I would skip the middle stop at Vienna and just drive Graz to Bratislava. Put all of the Vienna days at the end. I'd probably also skip Prague because, IMO, the distance is too far for essentially a half day there.

JohnWordCena

@nytraveler
Sorry - I have no problem with road trips. We have done at last 20 of them in many different parts of europe. But for us a road trip means driving no more than about 3 or at most 4 hours per day - getting from one town to another to stay in - or doing a day trip from the town we are staying in.

actually all the trips we will make should be maximum 4 hours per day.

Jean

Well, then, you're going to have a great time.

okszi

Clayton,
Your schedule is ABSOLUTELY doable. Don't worry.
I do trips like this for living, so I can tell you, this is absolutely possible. Especially taking into consideration that first, you will be moving eastwards, so you are ABSOLUTELY NOT going to be affected by the holiday traffic.
The only thing that is not clear to me is why Zagreb??? I would have definitely changed it in favor of Ljubljana, it's s-o-o-o much nicer. From Budapest it is just 50-60 minutes more driving time.
Now on to your schedule:
Everything is fine except I would recommend you to leave earlier for Bratislava, you will need 3-4 hours at most to discover all the most important spots over there. Most of the time I am easily doing it on my way from Budapest to Prague and all my clients agree that this is more than enough to learn about this city/town. The downtown (interesting and nice) area is really small, in comparison with other neighboring capitals. You better continue your journey on the same day, on to Prague and you will have one more day for Prague, which is a whole lot better option.

Some people say that 1,700 km in 7 days is too much. Well, we have to accept the MOST Universal fact, that we are all different. Someone needs a whole week for any given city, while the other one does it in a single day or even less. And guess what? They are both happy with their achievements. So simple.
I'll tell you something even more "frightening".

A couple of times I have done the Budapest-Vienna transfer via Prague. YES, I am not kidding.
Normally it looked like that:

We left at 7:00 am from Budapest, by 1:00 pm we were in Prague. We had a 3-4 hour tour of the city, than a lunch in a local restaurant. At 6:00 pm we leave for Vienna. At 10:00 pm I dropped them at their Hotel there and shortly after midnight I was back home in Budapest.
My clients told me that they are probably never going to be back in central Europe again (No discrimination or whatsoever. They just considered that's more than enough for them and the world still has tons of other places to explore.) So they decided why not throw in Prague as well. However short trip it was, they still have seen the major sites and they were happy about that.

Or take a look at this:

This is a 1,700 km (1,060 miles) tour in guess what? 5 Days!!!

We leave early morning from Budapest. 5-6 hours later we have a relaxing 30-60 minutes stop at the shore of the magnificent Traun See (lake) in Austria. Normally at the Restaurant and Seecafe Spitzvilla in Traunkirchen. The views of this pristine lake and the surrounding mountains, from the restaurant terrace are absolutely magnificent. An hours drive from there and you are in Hallstatt. We take an electric boat, ride the lake for an hour or so. The town of Hallstatt is absolutely the best when explored from the water. The views are amazing. Then have a lunch in one of the local restaurants. Ask for the Reinanke (a kind of trout from the lake) its absolutely gorgeous. One of the most Delicious fishes I ever had.
A stroll through town and off we go to Berchtesgaden. Overnight in this little charming town.
Next morning after breakfast we visit the Kehlsteinhaus (the "Eagle's Nest") http://www.kehlsteinhaus.de/en/. This place is located at 1,834 m (6,000 feet)altitude on top of Berchtesgaden and provides a marvellous and unforgettable view over the eastern alps and the König See. An absolute must see, especially taking into consideration its history.
After the tour and the usual coffee-snack pause and off we go to drive through the magnificent Grossglockner Mountain highway-Pass (http://www.grossglockner.at/en/). If you want to visit the Austrian and not only Alps and you have only one choice, than this is the PLACE!!! You will remember that drive forever. The vistas, the Glacier at the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höheetcher, everything is simply magical.
By 6-7 pm we are in Cortina D'ampezzo, the place of the winter Olympics and probably the fanciest winter resort in Italy. If you plan to visit, especially during the weekend, than do your bookings beforehand. Even in the summertime its really crowded and you easily end up paying 200-300 Euros/room/night. This happened to us during our first visit there
Walk around the town, diner, usual procedures.
In the morning you will probably enjoy the amazing views from your Hotel terrace/balcony accompanied with a real Italian espresso. After that we leave for Misurina lake while stopping at the Rio Gere chairlift station along route SR48. The lift takes us to 2,200 m Rifugio Son Forca, at the slopes of Monte Cristallo where we take the second lift and go up to almost 3,000 m (9,000 feet) to the Rifugio Lorenzi.
There are absolutely breathtaking views over there. You have seen it to believe. After fully enjoyed the views and a coffee-cake stop, we go down and follow on to Misurina lake. Same thing, beautiful views, etc etc. Then we continue on to Slovenia, Portoroz. In the evening a diner, visit to the Casino, whatever you want. Next day, relax at the sea side in Portorozh, a visit to the mini Venice town of Piran with dozens of local sea-food restaurants, so having a lot of fun.
The morning of the 5th day we leave for Budapest with a few hours stop in Ljubljana.
ALL in NO HURRY, absolutely leisurely pace, no crazy driving whatsoever. The views, even along the super highways are amazing with zillions of chances for a fantastic photo-stop, lovely little cafes, restaurants, B&Bs, etc. This is really an easy-driving tour.
Throw in a 6th day and visit one of the most amazing places on earth. The Plitvice Lakes National Park. This is not simply a UNESCO heritage, no, this is real paradise on earth, even with huge tourist crowds.

So 1,700 km in 7-8 days. I think it is more than enough, especially when your budget and time is very limited.
And yes, you can take your rent a car absolutely everywhere in Europe. Even to Ukraine. If they don't allow you, which is hardly possible, then immediately forget about that specific company, wish them good luck in their business and in 5 minutes you will find dozens of more, without any limitations.

Happy travels.

okszi

PS
As an addition to my posting I forgot to mention, that probably the only setback of taking your car to another country is that they may charge you around 10% more of their regular rates. But this usually applies to the smaller companies, the ones that have a only a dozen or so vehicle fleet. Then again, their (small companies) rates are much better than the large ones. Also a huge advantage of the smaller companies is that you can leave a deposit in CASH. Smth like 400-600 Dollars (equivalent in Euros). In case of any damage to the car (kinda, someone scratched it in the parking lot and left without any notice or a nice stone from a big truck's wheel cracked your windscreen) you will save yourself a lot of hard time negotiating the amount of the caused damage. This happens quite frequently, especially in Spain, Greece, Italy. When they have your credit card, you are exposed to the (sometimes enormous) appetite of the given rent a car company's damage estimator and believe me they are not faint-hearted on charging exorbitant sums off your card. You have to know that in Europe the average priced CDW covers only about 80-90% of the caused damage. Well yes, there are some 100% CDW-s but then their cost is very high.

Also as for the the estimated driving time:
On a European super highway (Autobahn, Autopista, Autostrada, Cesta, Autopalya etc.) on an average with all the pit and photo stops, you can easily make 90-100 km (55-62 miles) an hour. On any given average country road it's about 60-70 km (37-43 miles) an hour.