shepherds56

My wife and I are thinking of taking a multi country vacation to Europe. Retired military so we might be able to stay at different bases. Thinking about going to England for a few days then going across the channel and renting a car to see Italy, Germany, France, Poland (i think thats what she wants but could be different) point being any suggestions likes/dislikes of doing the car rental and traveling thru different countries?

happy_one

Following. We're still A/D but definitely interested. Are you going to try Space-A?

janisj

shepherds56: That is a LOT of territory. How long is your entire trip?

>>any suggestions likes/dislikes of doing the car rental and traveling thru different countries<<

Also - your post is VERY broad. You are talking about likes/dislikes traveling through 5 different countries. No one can possibly give any sort of useful advice. One thing you probably need to know that picking a car up in one country and dropping in a different country adds hundreds and sometimes thousands of $$$ to the rental cost.

So -- how long do you have, and what time of year?

shepherds56

Thinking about it from East coast to Europe. Haven't decided, never have done it before and never been to Europe before (except on a extended stay in Germany via USAF years ago)

shepherds56

Thinking about March, maybe a month duration if we want, don't have to have a car but thought we could see more of the countries by driving (locals and not ALL tourist areas)

Robert2533

Traveling SA is fine as long as someone else of higher rang isn't planning the same adventure.

If you're planning on traveling in March 2014 you should be fine for the most part as Easter isn't until 20 April, but there is still spring break to consider. It runs from early March to early April, depending on the school.

RogerM

If you're going to have the vehicle for 3 weeks or more look into a purchase/buyback plan such as that offered by RenaultUSA. You'll get a brand new car that's fully insured. While Citroen and Peugeot have similar plans we've used RenaultUSA three times now and have had a good experience each time plus our dealings were all with their New York office. They also came through for us when we had some issues.

Consider the extra costs associated with differing pickup and dropoff locations - sure there's an add-on but it may work out for your itinerary. Regardless of everything else, (1) get a diesel (they're very different than what you're used to in the US and the fuel cost is considerably less) and, (2) get one with a GPS. Bone up on the international driving symbols and have a decent map and someone who can act as your navigator. Outside of the center of cities and some smaller towns, we found driving in western Europe fairly easy with drivers being a bit more skillful than we're used to. And finally, if you're going into Italy take plenty of chill pills along - the style there is a bit more aggressive than you're probably used to. We did a three-month drivearound last year and it was a great time.

StCirq

A MONTH to go to five countries? NO. Unless you're planning on emulating the backpacker model and roaming around on trains from place to place and not really seeing anything, just "getting places." It'll be an expensive and hurried trip and you won't get much out of it.

March is an iffy month for travel in Europe - cold and rainy in many places, snow in others, just gloomy in much of it.

You need a better plan. You could do this, but it could backfire bigtime.

Jean

I wouldn't try to visit 5 countries in 4 weeks, and, in March, I would prefer to travel farther south. Poland would definitely not be on my list for this trip, and if I went to England at all it would be at the end, not the beginning.

I think driving in winter presents more problems than it solves. Yes, you can get to many places that trains don't serve (or serve infrequently), but weather conditions (esp. the farther north you are) could serious slow you down, force you to make a detour here or there, or in the extreme stop you in your tracks for a day or two. Sunsets won't be terribly late, so days may feel a bit abbreviated.

You should also understand how much it will cost to drive because tolls and fuel costs add up quickly in Europe. You can search routes on viamichelin.com to get estimates of driving costs.

sparkchaser

Don't listen to the haters -- 5 countries in 4 weeks is doable. That being said, I would not want to do it with the countries you have picked because you'll spend most of your time driving.

But, if you insist on doing it, here is my modest proposal:

Day One: Arrive London
Day Two: London
Day Three: London
Day Four: fly London to Paris (I am seeing tickets for legacy carriers as cheap as $110)
Day Five: Paris
Day Six: Paris
Day Seven: fly from Paris to Munich (AirFrance as low as $70 per person)
Day Eight: Munich
Day nine: Munich
Day Ten: Nuremberg (stay here overnight)
Day Eleven: Bamberg (return to Munich)
Day Twelve: fly from Munich to Rome (legacy carriers as low as $115 pp)
Day Thirteen: Rome
Day Fourteen: Rome
Day Fifteen: Rome (or somewhere else in Italy)
Day Sixteen: Rome (or somewhere else in Italy)
Day Seventeen: Rome (or somewhere else in Italy)
Day Eighteen: fly from Rome to Warsaw (legacy carriers as low as $170 pp)
Day Nineteen: Warsaw
Day Twenty: Warsaw
Day Twenty-one: go to Krakow
Day Twenty-two: Krakow
Day Twenty-three: bus/train from Krakow to Prague
Day Twenty-four: Prague
Day Twenty-five: Prague
Day Twenty-six: Express bus from Prague to Nuremberg
Day Twenty-seven: fly from NUE to LON (legacy carriers as low as $70 pp)
Day Twenty-eight: Fly home

Not ideal but it will get you what you want plus Prague. Plus you didn't need to rent a car.

jamikins

Why would you fly to paris when you can take the Eurostar city centre to city centre and save the cost and hassle of getting to the airports?? If you book 4 months in advance the seats are about £60-70 each...

sparkchaser

Because in this case it is cheaper and faster to fly.

jamikins

But add the cost and time wasted getting to and from airports, waiting for the plane etc and it really doesn't save much if anything if you book far enough out

sparkchaser

<i>...if you book far enough out</i>

And if you book far enough out, you can get even cheaper airplane tickets. Getting to/from the airport only costs a few Euro and is still cheaper than the train, although time-wise it might be a wash for a Paris-Frankfurt trip.

FWIW 3hr 48 min from Paris to Frankfurt and 6hr 17min from Paris to Munich.

My suggested itinerary skips Frankfurt in favor of Munich.

MagicBus

Just yesterday we came home from a 21 day, 5 country trip in Europe, so as sparkchaser said, disregard the haters! If we'd had an extra week like yourself, we may have done 2 more countries!

As UK residents, we opted for the Interrail Global Pass (Eurail to non-European residents) rather than using car hire and it was fantastic. We made seat reservations (sometimes compulsory) only for high speed trains, not the locals. We found it much nicer to take in the landscape rather than worrying about the road ahead or a dodgy satnav. The second class trains were very comfortable ... Spanish high speed 2nd were more like 1st class!

I also disagree when people say you can't see a major city in 2 nights. Take Spain, for example (Flew to Malaga from Birmingham, UK); 2 nights each in Seville, Madrid and Barcelona. We picked 2 or 3 personal 'must see's/do's and used the local tube to get around. This was free in Madrid (with global pass) cheap in Barca but not necessary in Seville. It is essential to have a realistic view when choosing how much you wish to see. Obviously you will not get to see 'everything' but who does on a tour? We're not all rich!

From UK we flew out to Malaga, travelled by train across Spain, France, Italy, Austria and Germany, (visiting many towns/cities) flying back from Stuttgart late yesterday afternoon. Ideally we would have gone home from Munich where we had stayed on Saturday, but didn't want to go home to the Midlands via Gatwick.

It took us around five months to work out our final itinerary. Also, use good luggage and book all hotels, trains etc, as early as possible. Study the map, get real with the budget, visit seat61 and make it your own. Have a great time whichever way you choose to do it

jamikins

Sparkchaser - my comment related to London to Paris only! Of course flying makes sense for lots of journeys in Europe but London to Paris via Eurostar is a no brainer!!

sparkchaser

Ah then I'd agree. 2:20 is a no-brainer.

Jean

Why is one labeled a "hater" if they don't like the idea of seeing 5 countries in 3-4 weeks?

The OP can develop any fast or slow itinerary he or she wants. But it's easier to follow an ambitious plan in summer than it is in winter, and one or two cancelled flights or a few days of nasty weather could throw a fast-paced itinerary completely off track.

It's also easier when you live in the same time zone as the itinerary and therefore would have no jet lag problems in the first days of the trip.