My buddy(from Endicott, NY) and I(from Phoenix, AZ) are planning a trip to Eastern Europe from Sept 19 - Oct 5, 2007. We are flying into Dresden, Germany. Picking-up a rental car and then driving to Breslua-Krakow-Brno-Prague-and back to Dresden.

Would like to hear from anyone that has traveled this route:
* How are the roads?
* What sites to see along the way.
* Places to stay along the way.
* Any restrictions on driving a Germany
rental car into Poland and Czech

Any info on the pros/cons of getting the rental car reserved here in the states vs just getting a car when we arrive at the airport in Dresden would be appreciated.

Any info on the pros/cons of renting a car vs using the trains/buses would be appreciated.

One last item, we are looking for 1-2 people to come along on our trip to offset the price of the rental car and gas. Any info on the pros/cons of traveling with unknown people would be appreciated.

pretzel

Hi pretzel (funny!),

Sounds like you're going to hit some very interesting cities. Are you mostly interested in the cities or also in the countryside, small towns, scenery?

If you focus on the cities then a car is not reasonable. Point-to-point transportation is excellent by train/bus. Scenery/Mountains where a car is recommended are to find between Krakow and Brno only (High and Low Tatras). But even there you could get around by public transportation - it only takes more planning and a bit more time.

Roads are in general in good condition. You won't have any problems driving, but be cautious south of Krakow - the road towards the High Tatras there is infamous for insane drivers and bad accidents.

You'll face problems to find a rental agency that allows to drive cars into Poland/Czech Republic from Germany. It's because they are stolen there relatively often. It has happened to friends of mine, too.

I don't think to take strangers along on the road trip is a good idea. Firstly, safety issues. You don't know them. Secondly, you don't know what they are interested in and they might have completely different ideas of pace, what to visit, etc. It could end in a bad fight.

Having said this I must say the idea of coming along with you guys is tempting, LOL. I live in Dresden and have never been to Krakow (but to Breslau, Brno and Prague. But I'll be in the USA 25 Sept to 16 Oct so this is out of the question. ;-)

Ingo

PS: to answer to your question on places to stay we need to know how much you're willing to spend per night and room.

Don't rent at the airport. Use www.gemut.com as your rental agent; good prices, helpful service. Be sure to tell them you want to rent in Germany and drive thru Poland, Czech and Slovak Republics.

Ingo

Thanks for the response. We are looking at spending an average of $100(US) for lodging a night for 2 people.

What is the High & Low Tatras? Where is this located? I'm looking on an AAA travel map but don't see this.

Tomboy, thanks for the info. I feel more comfortable renting from a US car agency rather than a Europe agency. Just in case something happens, they are here in the states....

We aren't the "On the bus/off the bus" travelers. We don't have any strict guidelines on what to see and when. The idea of renting a car and going out to see what "Eastern Europe" is all about is our goal.

To really experience a country, skip the tours, skip the train travel, rent a car and have fun....

pretzel

The roads are ok. The other drivers are the problem. Local drivers assume you know the territory! The EU has and is trying to install common driving procedures all over their area. Signing is good and not good. Local streets are not identified...Much roadwork is underway. Yesterday we spent an hour on a single lane road..holdup; police and a stopped impatient driver. Later we saw another holdup because a towed vehicle had come loose. There was a 10 k backup. Poland has many wayside motels, with a restaurant and pub. All seem clean and inexpensive.

Hi pretzel,

To fly into Dresden is actually a good idea. It's a small airport and easy to navigate. All the major (international) rental car agencies are there. You'll see them right after you went through customs. Hertz, Alamo, Sixt, etc.

So you're the car type,eh? Ok, then do it. Just wanted to mention that parking fees in cities are expensive. Especially centrally located hotels sometimes do not have parking lots. And think about driving in the old towns with their narrow cobbled alleys! A nightmare.

Anyway, I stayed in the hotel Dwor Polski in Breslau. Excellent and should be in your price range. www.dworpolski.wroclaw.pl

Krakow is a bit more expensive. Maybe slightly exceeding your budget is this hotel, recommended by a friend of mine:
www.hotel-jan.com.pl

The High and Low Tatras are mountains south of Krakow in Poland and Slovakia. Very scenic with lakes, caves, excellent hiking, cable cars etc.

I'll come up with more ideas later, must hurry now.

Ingo

hi, pretzel.

interesting that you are planning to do the sort of trip that we are interested in too.

we are thinking of starting from Prague [good connections via easyjet from our "local" airport] then doing a loop through the southern czech republic, vienna, slovakia, the tatras, Krakow, and Dresden. I know that's a lot in 2 weeks so it may get cut a bit.

you may find it easier with car hire to start off in an eastern european city where they aren't woried about their cars being taken into germany.

there is a recent thread on this forum about a similar trip.

good luck!

regards, ann

ps if it comes off, please post a trip report so the rest of us can benefit from your experience.

I understand your desire to "rent American". Be advised that gemut.com is a US company HQ'd in Oregon; the owner, Bob Bestor, apparently was a pro basketball player at one time. He and his son, Andy, run the company. We've rented twice thru them, the first time on price, the second time on service provided when we had an accident problem the first time (price was still competitive). Both times involved travel in Germany, Poland, Hungary, Czech/Slovak Rep. They find discounts thru, for example, Autoeurope (a car rental broker), which finds discounts from the likes of Hertz, Avis, etc. That may seem too much indirectness to you, but it's transparent to the renter, and in the event of a problem (such as an accident) necessitating dealings with the car's owner, my experience is that the owner (Avis) gives no lesser service to a gemut.com customer than to a walkin of their own. But maybe price isn't of any import to you, so at least you're advised.
RE: places to see and stay. It'd be helpful to know your interests and disinterests to be responsive.

Tomboy - I just put in a request at gemut.com for a rental car. It takes 24 hours for them to get back to me.

Last year, my buddy and I took a trip to Paris. We took a train to Caen. Got up the nerve to rent a car and did it. It was the best part of the trip! We drove all over Normandy seeing the WWII sites. Drove to and walked up Mont St. Michel. A very beautiful landmark but what a tourist trap! Drove along the coast to St. Malo and up to Dinan. Spent 2 days in Dinan and drove back to Caen.

Most of the places we saw with the rental car, a person using the train or bus systems won't have seen these(easily).

The rental car hasn't been confirmed yet. We are still weighing the option of rental car vs train. Leaning more and more towards the rental car.

A little worried about driving the big cities and finding a place to park. Do most hotels have parking? If so, is it expensive?

Small towns and small cities are our favorites to visit. We get excited just taking a tour of a local grocery store in a foreign country!

We really don't care where we stay for the evenings. As long as the hotel has 2 beds and a bathroom, we're happy. We enjoy having a few beers after each day's journey so a bar/pub nearby is always appreciated!

Enjoy the comments and feedback. Keep it coming....

pretzel

I agree about seeing more with a car; even if rail WERE less expensive, the flexibility of a car beats the "convenience" of a train (to me).

Be aware gemut.com DOES have an 800#

I'd suggest seeing Auschwitz if you drive to Krakow.
Why Brno? I'm curious. We've been thru it, but it didn't strike me as a destination town unless one had a reason.
Be aware that sometimes rental AT an airport agency can be $50 more than in the center of the city, just because of the airport's charge for space.

Brno is in the loop. Not sure if we can make it down to Vienna.

Is it possible to park the rental car on the outskirts of a large city and then use trains to get into the city? Are there safe parking lots that would watch our rental car for 1-2 days while we tour the inner city?

Yes, we've stayed both centrally and on the outskirts (the latter to avoid pricey central hotels) of Central European cities. In the latter case, the lodging was quite near a tram or metro stop that was perhaps 10-15 minutes out, at a substantial saving. In all cases, secure parking was available.

We did it! A 3-week rental car journey of Easter Europe seeing 5 countries: Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Austria, and Czech. What a blast!!!

I kept a daily jounal of our trip. I will try to post it all as soon as possible.

In all, it was 2200 kilometers in a black, Ford Fiesta. Good car.

hi, pretzel,

welcome home.

I'm really looking forward to the trip report- but hey, no pressure!

regards, ann