10 European countries

DoctorEdgeWild

Hello all,


I'm heading off on a drive around Europe next week, taking in ten countries if all goes to plan. Anything I'm not considering after the following:

Car - serviced, ready to go.
European driving kit on board.
Toll roads (especially France) considered in the budget.
European mapping sat nav.
Good travelling companions!
Accommodation booking as we go depending on where we end up.
We all have enough basic languages to get by, barely.

Anything else we need to consider that people may have experienced?

Thanks in advance.

munchkin_utd

you also need the documentation for the car to prove you own it, so you can prove to police you aren't some east European criminal making a run home with a stolen car.

When you say European driving kit, i presume you mean triangle, first aid kit, safety vests for all occupants, and that you have all this easily reachable, not buried with the spare wheel. In the likes of Italy you have to have the vests in the car cabin itsself. Not having the vests or triangle easily reachable is considered nearly as bad as not having it at all, and the police do fine you for that.

after that youre getting into smaller things, but still, every country has a different minimum speed for motorways or for country roads, and in France its temporary lowered again in rainy weather. You mightnt have many signs for these limits so maybe something worth researching and printing out ?
I got a bill in the post from the "Republic of France" for being 1km over the limit , so coming from abroad doesnt make you immune to getting fined for the smallest of things.

Red Kev

You need a breathalyser kit for France.

Spain requires a second warning triangle but not sure if this is only for locals, they wanted to extend it to all cars.

Learn the system that cars from the right have priority on many minor roads. The sign is a yellow diamond in a larger white Diamond. Locals will expect you to stop and may drive out in front of you.

Sort out your phones roaming charges before you go and understand what costs you may incur.

Some countries like Switzerland and eastern Europe don't have toll barriers but you must buy a vignette or window sticker to drive on the motorway.

Make sure you know what your breakdown and accident cover actually covers.

European Medical Card or what is/was called the E111 is handy.

There's an excellent dictionary you can get that is a book with thousands of photos of everyday objects in it, its sometimes better than a dictionary.

munchkin_utd

Red Kev wrote: »

You need a breathalyser kit for France.
<snip>

I'd double check this if it still applies as I thought I heard it was being repealed, and it was only a fine of a tenner even when it was in force so whether it is/was worth bothering with is a moot point.

and good point about the yellow diamond sign.
In Ireland and UK theres a vague concept of main road/ side road and lots of usage of lines on the road.
Thanks to a snowier climate, many junctions down the country have no lines and instead have signposts regulate who has right of way, and that diamond sign is an important part of how it works.

DoctorEdgeWild

Great advice, thank you folks. I have the weekend free so will finalise the plans before I leave on Thursday morning.

AA cover including Europe is in place, with the cars I have it's essential!

Will bring a folder with V5 and insurance info printed out, good call.

munchkin_utd

it seems you have it pretty much sorted on how not to get fined or jailed or the car impounded!
The only thing then to have for a road trip is to work on comfort and cost

You definitely should have a few bottles of water, some nibbles, sweeties and what not for the journey. Petrol stations or Motorway service stations in the UK and Ireland tend to be reasonably enough priced so people will buy as they go. On the continent, a bottle of water or coke is at pub prices. Sweets and crisps and snacks multiples of what a normal shop would charge. For something so easy to just throw in a bag in the boot, its worth stocking up (also good to have of an evening in the hotel rather than raiding the mini bar)

Fuel at service stations on Motorways are also pegged at way higher prices than normal, so maybe a €70 fill in a normal station would be up on €100 at a motorway station. In France theres often hypermarkets with cheap fuel near motorway junctions. In Germany offline "Autohof"s are a reasonably good option, or in most cases just find something off the motorway at all and you'll save a fair amount on your fuel.
Oh, and avoid buying any fuel at all in the Netherlands as they have just mental prices altogether !

Atlantic Dawn

You will also need covers for your headlight to alter the beam so you don't blind oncoming traffic because your car will be set for driving on the left rather than right side of the road. (Assuming your driving kit doesn't have this).

CelticRambler

munchkin_utd wrote: »

I'd double check this if it still applies as I thought I heard it was being repealed, and it was only a fine of a tenner even when it was in force so whether it is/was worth bothering with is a moot point.

Technically, the law is still in force ... but there is no penalty for not complying with it! :cool:

It's damn near impossible to find the breathalyser kits now in France as the Gendarmes are quite happy to supply their own if they want to check you. They're still on sale (along with the false information that you need two) in most UK ports and travel shops.

If you're driving off-motorway in France, be aware that the sign telling you you're entering Bledville-sur-Mer is the 50km/h speed-limit sign, even if you don't see the number 50 anywhere. A white rectangle with a red border. In other countries (Benelux/Germany) it's black-on-yellow or a variation on the theme. The Gendarmes will set up speed traps just inside the zone.

Speaking of zones, familiarise yourself with the need to have anti-pollution stickers for various countries to allow you to enter the ever more numerous low emmission zones. There's another thread on that somewhere (might be in the motorhome forum).

Also in France (my stomping ground) be careful using 24h/24 automatic service stations. Your card will be pre-authorised for a certain amount which can be well above what you're going to put in the tank. If this is a one-off and you're filling the tank, then there's not usually any problem, but if, say, you top-up 20€ on a Friday morning so you've got a full tank, then top up again with 30€ on Friday evening, and twice more over the weekend, your card could have several hundreds of €'s worth of pre-authorisations on it ... and then gets declined in a restaurant on Sunday evening. Pre-authorisations at the moment can be anywhere from 139 to 299€ depending on the pump (the latter being mainly truck-friendly diesel pumps)

Baybay

Please get good travel insurance that covers repatriation in any event. Too many families in the news currently that are dealing with incapacitated, or worse, loved ones.

EverythingGood

Poland, if you are going there, requires that you have your headlights on at all times, day and night. Poland has toll roads. Do you need to inform your insurance company that you are going away? Have a big boot for all the nice wine, beer and spirits that you will want to bring home!! Have a great trip!!

CelticRambler

A point about booking accommodation as you go: remember that the continentals tend to work an earlier day than the Irish (or British) and will usually have arrived and booked out all the cheap/standard accommodation by about 4pm.

fdevine

IIRC it's a legal requirement in France to have a spare bulb kit. Some driving kits don't have them so might be worth a check.

DoctorEdgeWild

Thanks all, I think we're pretty much sorted for the trip now. Have made a few notes from the suggestions above, much appreciated. Now to spend a month's wages on petrol!

nibtrix

Just to re-iterate the insurance suggestion from further up. Make sure you have breakdown cover that includes more than roadside assistance. It's worth paying the extra to cover repatriation or repair of your car.

See my miserable thread in Motors for an example of what can go wrong - http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057718287

DoctorEdgeWild

Just thought I'd pop back here to say thanks for the suggestions above all, the trip was absolutely fantastic. 3040 miles across 12 countries, not a single problem. Would do it again in a heartbeat. Brilliant driving.