Renting a car to cross multiple countries in Europe?
Discussion
Ideally want to start in Austria, but totally flexible. We’d like to hit a few countries across 5 days. Thinking currently...
Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, and back up. Could easily skip Austria, the others less so because I haven’t been to them.
But as I say, totally flexible. Would love people’s experiences of doing similar. We were going to take a UK car but since neither of us own a car right now, and one of us is short on time, it doesn’t seem worth it.
Thoughts / recommendations would be really appreciated.
Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, and back up. Could easily skip Austria, the others less so because I haven’t been to them.
But as I say, totally flexible. Would love people’s experiences of doing similar. We were going to take a UK car but since neither of us own a car right now, and one of us is short on time, it doesn’t seem worth it.
Thoughts / recommendations would be really appreciated.
We've twice rented vehicles from Sixt for this purpose
We needed to move some furniture to Spain so decided to make a holiday of it. Rented a long wheelbase van from UK > South Spain and back (unlimited mileage on their T&Cs). Round trip and was fairly cheap, I think £250 or so for 10 days but a few years ago now.
The other time was renting a Skoda Octavia between Hungary and Romania. Lots of fun but as soon as you're off the carriageways or outside of a major city the roads are in pretty poor condition. Just something to consider in terms of damage excess etc if you find yourself falling into a crater. We dropped this off in Bucharest but you pay a premium for leaving it in another drop-off point, let alone another country. Depends if you're looking to do a round trip or not.
We needed to move some furniture to Spain so decided to make a holiday of it. Rented a long wheelbase van from UK > South Spain and back (unlimited mileage on their T&Cs). Round trip and was fairly cheap, I think £250 or so for 10 days but a few years ago now.
The other time was renting a Skoda Octavia between Hungary and Romania. Lots of fun but as soon as you're off the carriageways or outside of a major city the roads are in pretty poor condition. Just something to consider in terms of damage excess etc if you find yourself falling into a crater. We dropped this off in Bucharest but you pay a premium for leaving it in another drop-off point, let alone another country. Depends if you're looking to do a round trip or not.
I've done a fair few similar trips and have driven through all the countries you mention. (although in my own car) Through EU countries it's pretty straight forward. Bosnia might be an issue for you on this trip, but check with the hire company and you might be okay.
The biggest issue if renting though are the 'one way' fees if you are returning to a different drop off point. They can be particularly massive if in a different country altogether!
I recently did Riga (Latvia) to Tallinn (Estonia) one way and it was only about £150 for the car for a couple of days. If I'd started in Poland though it would have added a £1000 one-way fee. I'd suggest just playing around with options.
Otherwise all of Europe is pretty easy driving. Roads in Albania and Macedonia are atrocious, but for where you're suggesting it's not much different to driving in France or something.
The biggest issue if renting though are the 'one way' fees if you are returning to a different drop off point. They can be particularly massive if in a different country altogether!
I recently did Riga (Latvia) to Tallinn (Estonia) one way and it was only about £150 for the car for a couple of days. If I'd started in Poland though it would have added a £1000 one-way fee. I'd suggest just playing around with options.
Otherwise all of Europe is pretty easy driving. Roads in Albania and Macedonia are atrocious, but for where you're suggesting it's not much different to driving in France or something.
Easy to do and many people do this. Just check the coverage for where the car is insured, there are often exceptions and these also depend on the type of vehicle.
Example below from Sixt
The vehicle selection can restrict travel to certain countries. For a description of these restrictions on admission, the countries are divided into three zones.
Zone 1: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finnland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Great Britian, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain and Vatican
Zone 2: Croatia*, Czech Republic*, Estonia, Hungary*, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland*, Slovakia* and Slovenia*
Zone 3: All countries which are not in zone 1 or 2.
Passenger cars, offroader/SUV's and convertible of Audi, BMW, MINI, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volkswagen cars, offroader/SUV's and convertible are only permitted to enter countries in zone I. Up to and including size XD** (except PT**) vehicles are permitted to enter also countries marked with * in zone II
Passenger cars of all other manufacturers may only enter zones I and II. Offroader/SUV's and convertibles of all other manufacturers are also permitted to enter countries in zone I and those marked with * in zone II.
Trucks, vans, people carriers and minibuses of all brands may only be driven in zones 1 and 2.
Entry into any country in zone 3 is not permitted
Example below from Sixt
The vehicle selection can restrict travel to certain countries. For a description of these restrictions on admission, the countries are divided into three zones.
Zone 1: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finnland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Great Britian, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain and Vatican
Zone 2: Croatia*, Czech Republic*, Estonia, Hungary*, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland*, Slovakia* and Slovenia*
Zone 3: All countries which are not in zone 1 or 2.
Passenger cars, offroader/SUV's and convertible of Audi, BMW, MINI, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volkswagen cars, offroader/SUV's and convertible are only permitted to enter countries in zone I. Up to and including size XD** (except PT**) vehicles are permitted to enter also countries marked with * in zone II
Passenger cars of all other manufacturers may only enter zones I and II. Offroader/SUV's and convertibles of all other manufacturers are also permitted to enter countries in zone I and those marked with * in zone II.
Trucks, vans, people carriers and minibuses of all brands may only be driven in zones 1 and 2.
Entry into any country in zone 3 is not permitted
Thanks everyone. It's becoming clearer, but I'm still not 100%. The countries we'll hit are now confirmed - Austria (arrival and departure), Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina... with Montenegro and Hungary as possibles, but not likely.
In the exclusions lists for both Sixt and Europcar (the two main suppliers in Salzburg airport), whilst they say there are restrictions, I'm not clear on:
1. If we cross the border, how do we pay for vignettes / tolls?
2. If we cross the border, what are the fees?
3. How do we ensure (since they all say 'or equivalent') we get a certain manufacturer (since some are not allowed)?
Anyone with experience of this?
In the exclusions lists for both Sixt and Europcar (the two main suppliers in Salzburg airport), whilst they say there are restrictions, I'm not clear on:
1. If we cross the border, how do we pay for vignettes / tolls?
2. If we cross the border, what are the fees?
3. How do we ensure (since they all say 'or equivalent') we get a certain manufacturer (since some are not allowed)?
Anyone with experience of this?
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