Traveling Central Europe By Car in 2 weeks

Sailen, That's an extremely ambitious Itinerary, and I'm not sure it will even be possible. I'm assuming your holiday time is two weeks? To cover that distance in such a short time frame is not completely realistic (IMO). You didn't mention travel times between locations. Especially when driving, each leg could take awhile. Using fast trains (which travel at 300 kmH) would be a more efficient use of your holiday time. A few thoughts...... > Renting a car in one country and dropping in another often comes with a HUGE fee. > For driving in Italy, EACH driver will require a compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. Failure to produce an I.D.P. if requested can result in fines on the spot! You can obtain I.D.P.'s at any CAA / AAA office for a small fee. You'll also need to avoid the dreaded Zona Traffico Limitato areas, which are becoming increasingly prevalent in Italy ( especially in Florence). Passing through these zones can result in expensive fines, which you won't know about until several months after you've returned home. Recent posts here would seem to indicate that authorities in Italy are becoming more aggressive in collecting the fines from foreign drivers, and there may also be charges from the rental car firm for providing renter information to law enforcement. > Driving in Switzerland and some other countries, you'll need a Highway Tax Vignette. Without that, hefty fines! When is this trip taking place? I'd suggest a substantial revision of your Itinerary (but will defer to the collective wisdom here on the HelpLine). Good luck with your planning!

With this plan you'll certainly "see" Europe but you won't experience any of it. You have two days listed in each city yet it's going to take at least a day to get from one city to another meaning you only have one day in each city. To me, that's too much travel and not enough site seeing. From Paris to Zurich it will take over 7.5 hours to drive. That's the whole day. From Zurich to Milan is about 4 hours and then to Florence is another 4 hours, that's another whole day just being spent in the car. From Florence to Rome is over 3 hours and from Rome to Venice is 6.5 hours. Venice to Salzburg will take 5.5 hours and then to Munich is another 2 hours. The train trip from Munich to Amersterdam is over 8 hours. This is how you'll spend your vacation if you don't change your itinerary. The choice is yours but I would never attempt this trip. It's too much travel with not enough time to do anything but check into and out of hotels. I would suggest cutting out half of your stops. I would stay 5 nights in Paris, 6 nights in Munich with a day trip to Salzburg and the rest in Amsterdam. This will give you time to actually see these cities and not just rush through them and check them off a list. Donna

Forty, minimal (not counting gas, food, and comfort stops), hours in the car in twelve days? Effectively five out of ten days cooped up? How often have you casually driven a couple thousand miles? Ask the rest of the crowd those questions and see what happens. Leave all of Italy off and you might be able to come up with something workable. You're going to want to figure a way to drop that car back in France and get to the Netherelands by mule or something.

If your goal is to see "True Europe" then you really should consider the train. That's how many if not most Europeans get around. Get second class tickets for train travel in Italy (they're fine) and you'll be much more likely to be sitting with "true" Italians.

If this is a flexible itinerary in which case you 'might ' make it to these locations it could be a really loose plan, which will probably change the first day. However, if you will have reservations in these places and must make it to the next town, it could be stressful. I travel by car most of the time, and especially love the spontaneity and flexibility it allows, but then you must be just that...spontaneous and flexible and able to change your plan in an instant. If you are only driving from city to city, you will be on a car trip. But, if you meander you way along and find the off the beaten path locations that many travelers love it will be a whole different trip. Agree with pick up and drop off in the same country. I would leave Florence & Rome for next trip unless you make an itinerary to dump the car and take the train to those locations. I often combine car and train on trips to have a variety of experiences, and for places I don't want a car. Road trips are grueling for some people, but for others it is an incredible adventure to 'experience' Europe that doesn't always include a
train schedule. Sometimes the car rides can get a bit long, but just stop at a little market, get some picnic food, and pull over for a roadside picnic and enjoy being in Europe with your family. Also, bring along a few 'pastime' things for the car. I always make a CD of European music, bring the Book of Questions, and spend some time sharing thoughts, etc. with your family. Have the kids take turns reading aloud the guidebook for your next location... there are lots of great ways to spend that time when you have the kids captive.

"True Europe" is a very loaded term; it's all true, except maybe Disneyland Paris. However, many use terms like "the real Europe" to mean rural areas that conform to certain stereotypes. These can be fine places to see, but your itinerary includes nothing like this. You've listed only cities. The best way to connect these is the train, or sometimes a flight. Driving between so many of these on a short trip, you'll only see the highway, and European highways don't look much different from US ones. Terry Kathryn's type of trip, in which you truly get off the main roads and see smaller towns and rural areas, requires that you focus on a MUCH smaller area. Does someone driving from San Francisco to Los Angeles via the I-5 see the "true California" or even a nice California? If they're not in a hurry, most would say to take the coast highway instead of I-5, because this a much nicer and more rewarding trip - but that takes a lot more time. The same applies in Europe. Yes, if your goal is to "touch many places" like in a game of tag or The Amazing Race, your itinerary is great. But that's all you'll do - get to a place, have a day there, and then drive to the next one. If you really want a whirlwind tour (and some really do), take an escorted tour from a company like Globus or Trafalgar. Since someone else who knows where they are going is taking care of the logistics, you can cover much more ground on a tour than you can on your own. If you want to do it yourself and actually remember what you've seen, cut your destinations by one-half or even two-thirds and take trains between them.

And to think of anyone driving in Switzerland where the train system is second to NONE is incredible. On top of that you chose Zurich instead of beautiful little Lucerne which is 50 minutes away by train. AND you chose Interlaken which is 20 minutes by train from the most amazing scenery I've ever seen anywhere...and you won't see it because you're in Interlaken. You want to see the True Europe. Are you sure you know what you're looking for?

Thank you all so much for your valuable tips. I discussed this with my wife & kids and it seems we all do not like to miss France and Italy. The reason, I chose to use the car, so that we spend less time in the city and rather take time to drive via the country side - thus knowing true Europe. I love to drive (but that is mostly I have done in the US), but I also will try train (2nd class - great suggestion). And I am booking my places to stay in B&B, which can be changed at the last moment. My modified itinerary could be: - Paris (3) - Interlaken (1) - Florence (3) - Rome (2) - Venice (2)
- Train to Amsterdam and back (2) I did a tentative Hertz Rental, cost of dropping off at a different city is a bit more, but I think not too bad. Is it advisable to buy the train tickets at the last minute (for 2nd class)? I hear that pick pocketing and losing passport/wallet/camera/phone is common thing - is this still true? One again thanks a lot for all the opinions - this is an wonderful forum...

Sailen, Your latest Itinerary is an improvement, but I would still suggest a few changes. A few comments........ > Have you already purchased air tickets? If not, using open-jaw tickets would be a really good idea, especially for such a very short trip. > In your travel planning, have you allowed for your two travel days? Your two week holiday will actually only allow 12 days. On the flight TO Europe, you'll arrive the day after you depart (and will be jet lagged and tired for a day or two, and not up to full touring speed). The last day will be spent on the flight home. > As someone else mentioned, rather than stay in Interlaken you might consider staying in the Lauterbrunnen Valley. It's much more scenic, and Lauterbrunnen (for example) is only about 20 minutes from Interlaken. > In order to allow more time for travel between locations, you might consider skipping Amsterdam. Fly inbound to Paris / CDG and outbound from either Venice / VCE or Rome / FCO. > You'll need to plan your sightseeing efficiently in each city, as you don't want to waste ANY time. You might spend some time at your local Library going through Guidebooks (RS books or others), in order to find activities and sights that will interest your group. Good luck with your planning!