To Drive or not?

Hi EttaMae, Putzing around is the key phrase. For my wife and me it is great fun to explore Europe with a car. We don't always have a destination each time we go out driving, but we often find interesting things to do or see. Have fun and don't worry about driving in Paris; it's probably no worse than driving in Dallas, but parking is difficult and expensive. Try to rent a Diesel car to save money. Charlie, Lodi, CA

You can put a $ figure to the actual cost of a rental car vs. train travel and make a purely budget wise decision. We love the ease of train travel in Europe, BUT, there is something to say about having the freedom to STOP whenever you want with a car! We have driven from Brugges, Belgium to Amsterdam, from Frankfurt all through Germany into Salzburg, and all through Switzerland. We loved it! There is nothing like making an impulse stop, say in Freiburg, Germany to skip stones in the creek while we listened, enchanted, to 3 dozen cows with their clanging cowbells! Or finding "Zimmer Frei" in Neckarsbach, Germany and having our best German meal at what became one of our favorite B&B's!

I would suggest train travel AND a rental car. You may find that you prefer one over the other.

No-you are not crazy. We always drive in Europe. Check out viamichelin.com to see what your driving times would be.

Make sure you check the drop-off fees. Renting a car in one country and dropping it off in another could cost you a lot more than just train tickets alone.

I too enjoy having a car and normally recommend it but in your case there is something to consider when pricing your rental. When you rent a car in one country and drop off in a different country there is an added fee for that and it is a hefty charge. Be sure to ask about it when you talk to the rental agency. Gemut.com and AutoEurope are two you may want to check. I have used gemut and they have good rates and service. I have also heard the same about autoeurope. Both are brokers and deal with all of the major rental companies. Do check out the cost of the drop off fee before you rent though. It may make travel by rail more appealing. If you do rent the car with a gps make sure the gps has maps for countries other than the one in which you rent. I am told that some only have maps for the country where you pick up the car. Diesel is cheaper as mentioned by someone else.

I don't have any problems driving in Europe.
Keep in mind that toll fees in Europe are very high, especially from Amsterdam to Paris. I am not sure how much is in Germany.
It is true that the gas price is high in Europe, but the cars use less gas than US cars. However IMO it's much better to rent a car than travel by train, since there will more than a traveller.

I think it is great! Gemut.com is your best bet for a good deal on a rental. My friends and I got an intermediate sized car for 10 days for $454 (that was for pick up and drop off in Frankfurt). We got it without GPS because I brought my own GPS with me. I highly recommend buying a GPS in the States and practicing with it at home. Some come already loaded with both US and European maps or you can buy the European map package separately. The best thing is that you then have it for travel here as well as in Europe. I think it is worth the expense to own rather than rent.

I just (Oct) spent a week going from Munich to Oberammergau and Linderhof, then up the Romantic Road to Würzburg. The best car quote I could find was $272 for a very small car. Michelin's estimate for fuel was another $75 for $347 total. I used public transportation instead and paid $126 for train and bus fares, a savings of $221.

With public transportation I got to everything I wanted to see and had time to sit back and enjoy the scenery, instead of watching the traffic.

I have spent 12 weeks traveling in So. Germany in the last eight years and never needed a car. I compared car rental and gas with train and bus fares, and figured the money I saved on my first four trips more than paid for my fifth one.

We always get a car. Last October we got a Prius from Hertz. It was a midsized car and a little more, but we got great gas mileage. Drove it all over France, no problem at all.It is in their green line. Had a GPS. We always pick up our car at Orly because it is so easy to take a cab to and easy to get on the A6 after we get the car. The car dealers have raised the super CDW for this season so any one who rents will see an increase if you take it.

Gas is expensive but the cars get good gas mileage and the distances aren't anything like Texas.

Bring or rent a GPS. While Germany and Netherlands are relatively easy to navigate, you will save time and hassle. Make sure you know how to use it before you drive away from the rental agency.

Pay attention to parking as you plan your trip. For example we stayed at Vondelpark Hostel in A'dam and parked at the Olympic Stadium. It was a relatively short bus ride between the two. Check with your hotel for a parking recommendation. City center parking is expensive, hard to find and less safe.

Plan your trip on ViaMichelin.com. You can plan and print directions.

Get a good map. You can get one cheaper in Europe than trying to buy one here.

Give yourself plenty of lag time for traffic, construction, missed turns, etc. If small delays can have a big impact on your plans, it makes it extra stressful. If you aren't delayed, you will have extra time to buy an ice cream and relax.

A couple of other things.

Diesel is cheaper than gas in Europe and not hard to find. Diesel cars run clean and quiet, you wouldn't know you were driving a diesel.

Expect small cars (goes with the good mileage). Make sure you pick a car you will be comfortable in. Our last lease was a Renault Grand Scenic II. It's listed as seven passenger. We had my wife and I plus 16, 12 and 8 year old kids. It was fine for us with one carry on bag each. If we had more or bigger people or more luggage, we would have been cramped.

Personally, I would take the train. Rent a car when you get out to Bayeaux (or in Caen or somewhere) and maybe one for when you're in Germany but I'd definitely take a train from Germany to Amsterdam and the on to Paris. Driving will take a huge chunk of time. We rented a car in Paris and drove to Bayeaux and it took much longer than we expected. I wish we had spent that time on a train chatting rather than driving on the highway!

A car is really the only way to see parts of Europe BETWEEN the major cities. Trains offer nice countryside views but you will not be able to pull off the road and meander through villages on a whim. I cannot tell you how many places we explored via car that a train would never see.