If you’re looking for a great way to experience more of Europe and to have a continental adventure, then there are few better ways than with a European road trip. If you can get a car into to Europe, or rent one out there, then this will give you the opportunity to quickly and easily see many of the highlights of these varied countries. Here we’ll look at how and why you should go on a European road trip.
If you live in or near Europe then getting your car over there might not be too difficult. However, if you are travelling from America or another country that’s a bit further away then this will be difficult. In this case you need to try and rent a car that you can take across various countries for your European road trip. Not all car rentals will include permission to take the car between different countries, so make sure that you have one that does. If you struggle to find such a rental then you can alternatively buy a new vehicle from a country while you’re out three and once you have insurance you should be able to drive this wherever you want to. This will cost you a little more up front, but at the same time it will save you money that you would otherwise have to spend on planes and trains and make the whole journey far more convenient.
There are other considerations to bear in mind when taking a car on a European road trip however, and there are different laws on the road depending on which European country you’re in. For example if you’re England you will be forced to drive on the opposite side of the road. If your car is from mainland Europe or from the US then you will need to get stickers to change the angle of your headlights when driving in England and vice versa. This is very important as countries where the drivers stay on the left side have cars that angle their headlights slightly left, and this can dazzle on coming traffic if driven on the wrong side.
There are also particular legal requirements for each country to take into consideration. For example if you are driving in Paris then you will need to ensure that you have in your car – and visible – a visibility jacket, a fire extinguisher and other similar items. You should ensure that you research the laws in each country before beginning your European road trip. Additionally you should ensure that you take with you other items that can be useful on a European road trip. You should stock up on supplies of food and first aid for instance and at the same time should make sure that you have things like a road map of Europe. These can be quite difficult to read while driving, and even a navigator is unlikely to be able to read it fast enough to advise you while you’re passing turnings on the motorway. As such a GPS device with the relevant European maps downloaded on it is also a very useful item.
If you want to include England in your European road trip then you will also need to find a way to cross the channel. There are many ways to do this whether you want to go by Euro tunnel on the Eurostar, or you want to take a ferry.
If you organise all of this in advance and plan a good route through all the main countries then you can expect a European road trip to be a highly fulfilling and exciting adventure that helps you see a greater variety of cultures and sites in a more condensed period of time than you would otherwise be able to. Thanks to the fact that these countries are relatively near, and often fairly small it’s easy to see lots of different cultures without travelling too far. At the same time, thanks to the fact that these countries are part of the EU, you can also travel through Europe without too much difficulty getting across the borders and with only the need for one currency across most of the countries.
