DeborahAnn

If we pick up our rental car in Strasbourg and drive into Germany will we have to buy a road stamp or pay a road tax/toll to drive on German roads? Thanks for any information you can provide. Deborah

Michael

My recollection is that the German Autobahn is free.

bettyk

Michael's right. However, if you drop off the rental car in Germany instead of returning it to France, you could be looking at some hefty drop off charges.

DeborahAnn

Thanks, someone told me that they remember having to buy a road sticker costing about 50 euros when they went from Strasbourg into Germany. I know in Switzerland we had to purchase a sticker if you enter on one of the "A" roads; I wasn't sure if we should expect the same in Germany.

It's possible this friend was confusing Germany with Switzerland because they drove in both countries as well as France . Thanks again, Deborah

bettyk

Switzerland and Austria require road stickers. In Austria, you only need it if you are traveling on the motorways but not for the smaller roads. Can't remember the requirements for Switzerland. The last time we were there, our rental car already had a sticker on it.

Alec

In both countries, the motorway sticker (vignette) is only required for driving on autobahns and other expressways (indicated by a sign - vignette obligatoire or vignettenpflichtig). If you enter either country on autobahn, you are obliged to buy one at the border as you cannot go any further without using their autobahn (even to the next exit). When entering through ordinary roads, you don't have to buy one.
As others have said, no tolls or stickers needed for Germany. From Strasbourg, any bridge you cross over the Rhine brings you into Germany - no border control or anything.

Michael

It is possible to not use the roads requiring stickers in Austria and Switzerland. However, it requires a considerable effort because the road signs are not designed to give an obvious alternative (unlike France and Italy) since residents most probably all have the sticker and have no reason to avoid these roads.

logos999

>buy a road sticker costing about 50 euros when they went from Strasbourg into Germany
It might have been a truck driver. Trucks pay autobahn tax in Germany. Most trucks have a GPS/GSM capable "toll collect" device installed that computes the payable tax and transmits the data (while the truck is on it's way), to the toll collect agency. It's then taken from the companies bank account.

Trucks that don't have the toll collect unit installed have to log into the system at several gas stations and buy a token.