Driving in Europe

Safety-wise, there should be no problem with you taking a roadtrip. On the other hand, you should keep a few suggestions in mind: When in Rome, do as the Romans do -- ignore any and all traffic rules (at as high a speed as is physically possible). You might want to consider the use of a blindfold and/or a psychotropic as an additional driving aid. Your other option would be to park the car upon arrival in Rome and spend your stay walking. Trust me, you'll have more fun.
Apart from that, remember that Europeans are not as "polite" about the sanctity of an individual's car -- break-ins are extremely frequent. Do not leave anything in the car that you are not willing to lose. Depending on the insurance policy of the rental agency, you might be liable for the cost of replacing the smashed window in addition to suffering the loss of your iPod, diary and backpack.

Driving in Europe is a great way of getting an idea of the difference in scale between the US and the "Old Country".

Would you want to pick up the car in Italy and drop it off back in Italy again? or in Germany? There are very high one-way rental fees!

It makes sense to me. I am heading there in a few days as one of 4 women, and from Texas (when I first started reading your post I thought it might be one of them). We are flying in and out of Frankfurt and renting a car to drive down to Italy where we will spend most of our time. We won't be in any cities as big as Rome and the car is mainly to get us from one city to the next, not to drive around in the cities. I made certain that I booked rooms at places with their own parking so that I wouldn't have to worry about that issue (see all of the posts about parking tickets in Italy) and I am taking my own GPS system with me to save on the rental of one. You might want to put your proposed routes into viamichelin.com to get an idea of how much you are going to spend on tolls, road taxes and gas and then compare the total (with the rental cost) to what you would spend on railfare to be certain this is the most cost effective plan.

karen,

Although you're used to driving long distances and then being "ready to party", I suspect your proposed Itinerary is going to be very tiring! That's an enormous amount of driving in a relatively short period of time (14-days), given the distances you want to cover. You'll be seeing a lot of of Europe through a car window, with less time to stop and actually enjoy each city. Even though this is a fairly "cost effective" method with 4 people sharing the bill, the cost of fuel, tolls and CDW (mentioned by Kent) is certainly something to consider. Keep in mind the traffic citations that have been mentioned here frequently as well, and don't forget to obtain an International Driving Permit (mandatory in Italy, I believe).

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Karen,

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It's certainly your choice, but I would have done this a bit differently in order to maximize travel time. I'd probably look at a budget flight Rome-Brussels, train to Brugges & Amsterdam and then back to Rome (using high speed trains where possible). With careful planning of your route, it's possible you could obtain a Rail Pass for less than $1K or just use P-P tickets?

If you do decide to use Rail for at least part of your trip (and assuming you haven't done this before), I'd highly recommend that you read Rick's "Rail Skills" chapter in "Europe Through The Back Door".

Good luck!

Karen - Be sure to check out viamichelin.com to get a better idea of driving times. You may not be able to go 400-500 miles in one day depending on where you are traveling. If you are really going Rome to Brugges - then fly there and rent your car for the trip back down. Regardless, when you start playing around with the routes on the viamichelin site you'll figure out how much you can do in a day and what you can see along the way.

And most important - Be sure that at least one of the 4 of you is an excellent navigator. I am a much better navigator than my husband and he likes to drive so that works well for us. We don't really get lost much except for in and out of the cities - that can be pretty confusing if you don't have a good city map. I like driving in Europe and I think the 4 of you will have a blast doing this road trip!

If you can turn your two weeks into 17 days, don't forget the leasing option.

We could do that, but I havent alot of info on leasing. Arrival is June 6th flight to Athens is June 29th. Unless we take a ferry. Has anyone traveled to Greece on the ferries? Concerned about reliability and saftey. Thanks Karen

A few comments. Your proposed northern excursion is feasible in 14 days. Just make sure you get an accurate driving time estimate. The highway system in Europe, although overall very good, is not as interconnected as in the US. Estimating driving times based on distances is not the same as in the US, especially if your route takes you through or around the Alps. Second, if you drive to Brugge, you may want to park your car at the main train station. Few cities in Europe are such a delight to walk and bike and such a nightmare to drive. Third, you're flying to Athens, correct? Would NOT suggest driving there from Italy!

Thank ya'll for the advice. Not planning to drive to Athens, planning on Flying or perhaps catching a ferry. Won't be taking the car. It will stay in Rome, (airport drop off) And no we won't be driving in the City. Houstons tough but apparently a sissy compared to Rome. Thanks Karen