What is it like driving in Europe between countries? Pretty easy?
 

I'm going to be going to Germany, Switzerland, and Austria and I'm pretty sure I'll be renting a car rather than taking trains.

Is it pretty easy navigating? Anything I should know about the Autobahn laws/rules? Foreign driving laws in general?

I've only been to major cities like Paris, Venice, Rome etc and walked everywhere. Driving looked pretty bad in those cities, but I assume smaller towns are easier.

you shouldnt have any problems driving just obey the speeding laws.The No speed limit only applies in Germany and that is outside of built up areas.There NO borders between EU countries, you may have to slow down at the crossing, aside from that no hassles.Above all watch out for the other guy:winkwink:

We just got back from The Netherlands 3 days ago, while there drove to Germany for lunch. It was a non event, we hardly noticed going into Germany.
I did not even see a sign that said welcome to germany but we saw one going back that said your entering Nederland or something like that

I've driven from Germany to Spain and had no problems navigating the main highways and autobahns. The secondary roads are a bit more of a challange, mostly because of the different languages, and the little villages with their 1 car wide roads. However I liked taking the secondary roads because you see a lot more of real Europe.

Navigating is pretty easy especially if you are going on the major roads between big cities.
One thing you have to keep in mind is some countries require you to pay a fee for driving on the highways/autobahns, its a sticker you need to have in your wind shield and the fines are hefty if you don't

Cool came home just in time to read these. I guess I'll have to get a few maps. I like the small roads if I'm not too time constrained.

Thanks for the info. I'll have to look into the fees about driving on the autobahn.

:thumbsup

Now to find a cheap high performance sports car haha

get a portable GPS to take with you, comes in very handy... I took mine and it worked great.

On mainland Europe it is just like driving between states in the USA. You get a 'Welcome to Belgium' type sign and the language might change but beyond that it is no big deal. Plus, they drive on the American side of the road so not a problem.

When you are in France just look out for British people who are over for on the car ferry for the day and not used to driving on that side of the road.

I had no idea that travel was so easy between the countries. Man that is nice.

one thing should be mentioned though.. driving in northern and southern parts of europe is totally different.. we are more strict up north.. for instance using the horn of the car would be seen as a very offensive and insulting thing to do in norway and northern parts of europe, while in italy it would be totally normal..

That is where good tour books come in handy. Search out the Rough Guide books. They are usually pretty good about letting people in on local customs,etc.