Traveling in Eastern Europe
 

Is it better to book a tour of Eastern Europe or is it doable driving and traveling on your own (2 of us)?

Eastern Europe is a little more difficult than Western Europe. Driving means you will probably stay outside of the city and visit smaller towns, while tours usually visit the large cities and stay in the downtown areas.

If you have traveled abroad without a tour before, I think you would be ok, but if it is your first time without a tour, I would recommend no.

This website helped me when I visited Eastern Europe.

www.inyourpocket.com

I think the answer also depends on: (a) what you mean by Eastern Europe; (b) how intrepid you are as drivers/navigators.

For example, I don't think my husband and I would have any concerns about driving in Estonia (which some people might characterise as part of Eastern Europe, even if Estonians wouldn't) - but I don't think either of us would want to drive in Georgia (which is actually more like Eurasia) or the Ukraine.

At least all the EU-countries in Eastern Europe (e.g. Poland, Slovakia, Czech-republic, the three Baltic States) are very doable traveling on your own. Road are generally reasonable to good (a lot of EU-money goes to the infrastructure there).

I was in Hungary and I saw a car with a New York State license plate. Perhaps they brought the car over on the boat?

Define "Eastern Europe". How many countries, in how many days?
If you plan on visiting more than one country, consider that renting in one country and returning in another will mean a hefty penalty.
http://www.ideamerge.com had a brief on the driving rules of most European countries. You might want to check on this, one big one is fines are collected on the spot in many countries.
Also check on the requirement for International Driving Permit, AAA issues them for about $15. The IDP has to be issued in the same country as your drivers license.
Are you highway or country lane people, remember that for the one driving sightseeing can be limited.

Western and Central Europe roads are crowded with commercial truck travel. Traffic is slow as roads transit small cities and villages. The EU has standardized signings and such. A new regulation requires headlights at all times. How about an hour of driver training in the country you plan to travel in?

Hi
Here are some links for tour companies that I hope are useful:

Topdeck Tours at http://www.topdecktours.co.uk/conten...ument_id=22101
They have tours designed for a younger traveler with some budget options.

Rick Steve's Europe at tours.ricksteves.com/tours07/findtours.cfm/rurl/category_ID/170/has friendly, well planned tours and a particularly thoughtful approach which you can tell if you visit their excellent website. They have a TV show, a graffiti wall, a blog, contests, interviews with travel teachers. What don't they have? They offer four Eastern European tours.

Isram at isram.com/isram/index.htm is a veteran operator with plenty of experience in Eastern Europe and a variety of short one city tours and long tours all over Eastern Europe including Russia and the Balkans. They also have a Jewish heritage tour and a Christmas River Cruise.

Central europe (Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, etc) are fine - you just have to be sure your rental car can be taken in/out of all those countries.

If you really mean eastern europe (Russia, Ukraine etc) things become much more problematic.

What kind of itinerary are you looking at?