trip to Europe for the 1st time

If you guys are flexible about where you sleep, I think you'll be fine, especially if you have a car. (Just drive to the next town if you really can't find anything.)

A good routine is to call ahead the morning you leave one place for another. In a pinch, the TI can find you a room for a small fee.

Some places--the tiny town in the Alps with one hotel--are not so flexible; reserve ahead.

I think your itinerary might be a bit crowded for four weeks--it sure would be a lot of driving--but you didn't ask about that.

Have a great time!

Steve, thanks for the info my brother has a Blackberry and I have a verizon w/sim card for Europe so all I have to do is activate it before I leave.

Adam, we are planning on driving for about 2 weeks out of the 4 weeks in Europe, we want to spend a week in Perugia visiting relatives and the same in Paris. Other then that driving to Costa Del Sol in Spain, then into Italy then maybe Switzerland and then rent a apartment in Paris for 4-5 days, then finally home to recoup. Thanks for all your info.

Bill,

As driving will be a prominent part of your trip, a few points to note.

For driving in Italy, an International Driver's Permit is mandatory. Foreign drivers can be fined on the spot for failing to produce one if requested. This must be used in conjunction with your home D.L. and each driver must have an IDP. You can obtain these at any AAA office and the permit is valid for one year.

You might want to check some of the posts on the Italy section here regarding Zona Traffico Limitato zones which are becoming increasingly prevalent in many towns. If you pass by one of the automated cameras, you'll receive ticket(s) several months after you return home.

As I recall, for driving in Switzerland (and perhaps other countries) a highway permit of some kind is required. I can't recall the details but hopefully someone here will have that information.

If you're travelling on Motorways (Freeways) especially in France and Italy, you'll need to budget for the tolls. Toll stops seemed to be quite frequent in France.

Even though you'll be travelling in the "fall shoulder season", most Hotels and other lodgings will likely still be quite busy. You may be fine with the "spontaneous approach" in some smaller towns, however in smaller towns that have some historical significance and tend to attract lots of tourists, you may have trouble finding a room by just showing up.

As this is your first trip to Europe, I'd highly recommend pre-reading the Guidebook Europe Through The Back Door. That will provide you with lots of information on travelling efficiently and inexpensively in Europe.

Happy travels!

My dad and his wife always travel this way. They book only their first and last night.

I went with my dad about 10 yrs ago,, we stopped whenever he felt he was done driving( I wouldn't drive in Europe and he doesn't mind it). We never had any problem finding a place. The places were not scenic,, they were mostly sort of highway side motels. All were clean. There are serveral chains that are well known for being cheap and cheerful. He did prebook one hotel in Amboise( Loire Valley) for a few days as it was summer and that area is popular. We drove from Paris to Zermatt Switzerland.

The toll highways are fast and easy,, but do add up,, and you don't get to see much while on them,, we detoured a few times onto "National Roads" which oare free secondary highways,, ( often seemed like country roads), getting somewhere on them takes longer,, but if you are not in a rush, it is fun to drive through the little towns etc.

Note, we always started looking for a hotel early in day,, usally by 2 or 3 at latest,, we got up and travelled early in day, then found we could enjoy a pre dinner walk and a nice dinner each night instead of trying to find a last minute hotel later in day when everyone else does.

Ken , Pat

Thank you for that great information, Ken you are correct with needing a International attachment, I had forgotten about it but thanks for your info. I just finished mapping out the trip on my computer (where would we be without them) and plan Pat on only drving about 5-6 hours per day and mostly on secondary roads, the idea is not to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible, I will be 68 and you never know what tomorrow will bring, so we are going to sloooooowly drive thru the countryside and stop no later then 3 in the afternoon.

Thanks everbody your help is invaluable.

Bill, sadly, your trip will be " Europe through the windshield" . Better add a few more hours EVERY DAY to your proposed driving schedule.

Have you spent any time reviewing this site? Please consider reading a few of Rick's books- free at your local library!

Bob, thanks what we decided was I bought the AutoRoute from Microsoft and since we are not leaving for 8 more months I have plenty of time to pick the route we plan on taking. I don't want to drive more then 5 hours each day, not because I might get tired, but because we might want to stop and either visit a small town or take pictures. We are going to be over in Europe for 30 days so should be able to see quite a bit. I drove charter busses for over 15 years covering all of the US and most of Canada, so I'm fairly use to driving.

If you drive on the major highways in Switzerland-sorry, don't know "exact" name, you will need a toll sticker, but you can buy it when you go thru the border, using either euros or Swiss francs. They're good for the rest of the calendar year.