Driving in Eastern Europe

If you want to stop in countryside on your way then get a car but it will be a lot of driving. Otherwise it is easier by train.

We stayed in Bratislava after a long weekend in Budapest. It was a great place to rest up and get ready for busy 4 days in Vienna. Bratislava is only 39 miles from Vienna, however we never heard the first word of German. It's got a high tech population and is one of the highest income places in Europe. They also have a huge modern mall on the river with a bunch of restaurants and bars on the lawn--great happy hour place. We took a 1 hr. bus to the front of the new Vienna train station.
Only thing I could say is get ready for a Bratislavan taxi to rip you off riding you all over town to get to your hotel.
Nice that you're an experienced auto traveler in Europe. If you fly into and out of Vienna, you'll need to verify if there are any countries on your list that the rental car company doesn't allow their cars to go into. Krakow's pretty much out of the way vs. the other places you're visiting. And your cities, other than Vienna, won't have any direct flights to North America--as far as I know.

If you enjoy driving on vacation then that's what you should do. The roads in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia are excellent at most all levels. I suspect that Slovenia and Croatia will be similar. Still its a lot of driving, something like 20 hours and 1800km if you don't want to retrace your route. Your route can be done by train, but its a tough trip by my comfort level standards.

Seems to me that you are trying to see two worlds in one trip and if you are going to do that why don't you fly in to Zagreb or Ljubljana, rent a car and tour the area. Then fly from Ljubljana to Warsaw for under $125 non stop and rent a car to tour the region. For the US leg get an open jaw.

Seems like a lot of big cities for a rental car trip. It seems like you are connecting a lot of places that are not that easily connected, is that why you want to do it by rental car? I think some countries have a high incidence of car theft / break ins, that's why rental agencies sometimes prohibit driving into "eastern" Europe of a car rented in the "west". (Quote marks are to avoid being chastised). This would not apply if you rented in that region, but there might be a reason why they have those restrictions. I'm not saying it's a definite problem, just that you might want to research it. We did Czech Republic by bus, visiting Olomouc, Telc, Czesy Krumlov in addition to Prague (after starting in Budapest and Sopron). The roads in Czech Republic were very good. I have driven in eight or nine countries in Europe too, but I would look for ways to be on public transit in these countries.

Check each rental car company's policies and restrictions for driving in Eastern Europe. Some companies not only charge more for driving in Eastern European countries, but they also only allow certain cars to be driven there. It can be very expensive. Also make sure you have good insurance coverage.

I would be surprised if they mark up the rates in EU countries and most of "Eastern Europe" is EU and all of the countries you are likely to drive through (except Croatia) are in the Schengen zone. But you are correct, this could be a costly trip. But if he likes driving.... more power to him. Me? If my significant other points out a new building on the highway by my house and I turn to look I generally go off the road. Just imagine me looking at everything on a vacation trip. Would be down right hazardous.

Car theft statistics in Europe:

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/images/b/bc/Crimes_recorded_by_the_police_Theft_of_a_motor_vehicle%2C_2004-2010_New.png

http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/File:Motor_vehicle_thefts_recorded_by_the_police,_2002%E2%80%9312_YB14.png

Agree with Sati...I have found eastern Europe to be quite safe as far as break-ins, theft, etc. There are places in "western" Europe where I would be much more nervous about taking a car! I think in the past this may have been more of a concern but I have found the eastern Europe to be safe, clean, and beautiful! The highways are excellent but watch out for your speed! Many tickets are issued via speed cameras resulting in tickets that will arrive via the mail months later. Also be careful of driving in cities. There are many one-way streets, bus zones, and restricted zones and it's easy to get a ticket or citation. I got pulled over in Prague for driving in a bus zone and was lucky to be let go with a warning!

I agree with sati and Anita. My nephew who lived in Seattle Queen Anne neighborhood had his car stolen twice there. I have many friends in Prague and Brno (the second largest city in C.R.), none of them had their car stolen.

Thanks, all. Even when we have rented cars in other European countries, we don't drive in the big cities, but rather stay in a more suburban hotel (with parking) and take public transportation into the city. Worked great for us in places like Madrid and Lisbon, for example. So I was thinking that would be the way to go here too. But for places where we didn't drive, such as Prague, we did manage to do a few excursions by train (Kutna Hora, for example.) So we have done it both ways. Takes a lot of prior planning, but that's all part of the fun for me. Incidentally, when we went to Budapest, then spent a week driving in the Wauchau valley in Austria before travelling to Prague, we used bus transportation from Budapest to Vienna and from Vienna to Prague. This worked great for us, and I highly recommend it! Anyway, thanks for the helpful feedback!