ktstel

First, thanks to everyone for your help and suggestions in the past. My new query is about a 3-week trip in Sept. We plan to drive from Frankfurt to Prague, to Krakow, to Budapest, to Vienna and then return the car in Frankfurt. We're seasoned drivers in Europe and much prefer driving ourselves then taking trains.

My questions are:

- Will German rental car companies allow us to drive thru those other countries?

- Will our German GPS in the car likely work in all those other countries?

- Can anyone suggest a scenic overnight stop between Frankfurt and Prague?

- Any suggestions for a lovely 1- or 2-night stop between Vienna and Frankfurt?

Thanks to all who respond. I so appreciate your wisdom, experience and willingness to share info!

Michael

You will have to ask about taking the car to Central/Eastern Europe. If you rent the car through Autoeurope or Kemwel, I believe that it will ask if the car is intended for travel in Poland etc., and the rates may differ accordingly.

The Michelin Green Guides identify towns and cities as worthy for tourists through a star system. You might find these useful for stops between major destinations.

greg

If you are a seasoned drivers in Europe, you already know that whether you can take a German car into Central/Eastern Europe is easily be found by looking up the current, not historical, rental terms and conditions? For example, if you try to book a car in Germany through Autoeurope now, you have to agreed to the T&C:

"Cars may not travel into Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, or any other Eastern European country."

Lexma90

In 2008, we rented a car in the Czech Republic, and drove it from there, through Slovakia and dropped it in Hungary. We used AutoEurope, which we've used a bunch, but of course that's a consolidator. The rental company was Budget. You'll have to talk to the rental company to confirm which countries you can take the rental car to; as I recall, the rental included some additional document that the rental company required (a green something?).

In 2008, each of those three countries required a sticker / coupon to drive on the highways. The rental car should already have the sticker for the country that you're in when you pick up the car (check to make sure). We were able to purchase additional stickers after crossing the border into the next country. Into Slovakia, we were several km into the country, on a very quiet stretch of highway, before we came upon a money exchange place that also sold the highway coupon - we could tell because they had a sign with a picture of the coupon. That was a weekly coupon. For our entry into Hungary, we crossed the border and at the first town we came to, we spotted a sign for the Hungarian vignette at a gas station. There, we filled out a short form, then received the coupon. We were told that in Hungary, you don't have to display it, just have it ready in case you're asked. This was pre-internet everywhere, so I took with me pictures of the coupons / stickers for each country.

Of course, this was the deal in 2008 - I haven't driven in those countries since then.

tower

At one time I had some problems during Iron Curtain days...for as time German Car Rentals were not allowing rental cars into Central and Eastern Europe because of heavy theft threats. May have changed. To be sure please contact the rental companies. I would suggest using a US rental company like Auto Europe in Portland Maine..they'll give you all the information. Nice people to deal with IMO...no language barriers.

Don't know about GPS..I use MAP. I too have driven all over most of Europe independently during bad times as well as good (1970 until more recently). Always an adventure! Ain't that what travel is all about?

Vienna to Frankfurt(aboout 700 kms), suggest a 2-night stop in Salzburg or Munich. Then head for Frankfurt through the Romantische Strasse (Romantic Road) with handsome little towns like Nordlingen, Dinkelsbuhl and Rothenburg.

Frankfurt to Prague (500 kms) there's a lovely Czech town just across the German border...Domazlice. You drive through forested, hilly Bavaria through Regensburg and into Domazlice on good roads, some non-divided highways. Beautiful countryside. Nice introduction to Czech Rep. We stopped there for two days when very few westerners were visiting CentraL and Eastern Europe.

Michael

<i>At one time I had some problems during Iron Curtain days...for as time German Car Rentals were not allowing rental cars into Central and Eastern Europe because of heavy theft threats. </i>

And I had the opposite experience in 1975. Picked up a car in Munich (it was a Honda Civic with Danish plates) and drove it in Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Austria with no problems. Dropped it off in Vienna – in those days cross-border drop-offs were cheaper than returning the car to the country of origin because it avoided the VAT and there was no added fee.

The OP may want to call Autoeurope to see if Greg's quote is absolute.

tower

michael, I'm talking 1969-70...around 1993 I found that the "threat" scare was revisited but I was able to cajole the German rental guy at Frankfurt airport but he insisted that the new Slovakia was a no-no. I'm sure that was lifted soon thereafter. Game-playing in Europe!

Kistel: These may be of some help in familiarizing you:

https://picasaweb.google.com/stuartt...cenesOfPrague#

https://picasaweb.google.com/stuartt...1980SAnd1990S#

https://picasaweb.google.com/stuartt...nna1980S1990S#

ktstel

Thanks for all your replies and insight.

Greg, yes, we're familiar with the AutoEurope T&C; however, when we spoke directly to their office in Portland, we were told that it is, in fact, possible to rent in Germany and drive to the aforementioned countries, (Michael, you were right!) but the cost add-ons are astronomical - more than several days of very nice hotels. So we have abandoned the idea in favor of the trains.

Thanks again.

hetismij2

A lot depends on the class of car. The higher the class the more restrictions there are.
The only absolute nono that I know of is taking a car to North Africa.
You need permission from the rental company to take the car out of the original country, and usually need to specify which countries you want to visit.
You will need to buy the appropriate stickers for the countries you are visiting if the car doesn't already have them.
I hope you aren't planning on driving from Frankfurt to Prague the day you arrive.

Michael

If the rental costs are astronomical, this may be the one instance where a lease might work out. Peugeot lease4s can be driven in the countries you list:

http://www.kemwel.com/long-term-car-...rope-terms.cfm

flanneruk

"Will our German GPS in the car likely work in all those other countries?"

Yes. But if GPS is optional, it's almost always dramatically more expensive than buying one at home, making sure its European maps are fully updated on your home computer, then taking it with you.

Cowboy1968

The more direct routing from Vienna to Frankfurt will take you via Linz, Passau, Regensburg, Würzburg.
Each one could be a worthwhile stopover. If you prefer smaller scenic towns, you could make a slight detour off the "ideal"/motorway-only routing and overnight in Cesky Krumlov - which is roughly located in the that corner in CZ where it borders Germany and Austria.

Good info on the motorway stickers.

Whether (built-in/rented) GPS will cover all of Europe or not is a bit hit and miss. Usually it should, but sometimes you're stuck with Germany, Austria and Switzerland only (for rentals in Germany).
You want to verfiy this with the rental car company - or, as flanner suggested - take yours with you, or download one on your phone (but you want an app then which works offline or does not need connectivity to function)

Taking rental cars from Germany to the Eastern Central Europe or Eastern Europe is another mixed bag. Some companies exclude certain class of cars, e.g. "luxury" or "full size SUV". Others make it more complicated and discriminate between makes, e.g. let you take an "intermediate", unless it is a BMW or Mercedes. The problem with the latter is that you do not know which car you end up with.
So unless the T&C (of the actual rental car company) are clear about it, I would try to somehow address the issue with the actual rental car company to get their acknowledgement.

fourfortravel

I think this was mentioned, but keep in mind that you will need highway vignettes for Austria, Czech Republic, and Hungary.

AisleSeat

If you are still planning you might consider an open jaw plane ticket where you fly into Frankfurt and out of Vienna (or whatever your last stop is). Even with a cross border drop fee you might save money on gas as well as time for driving back to Frankfurt.