Guide to road trip in Europe 🚗 🛣️🛞

Last december, my friends and I rented a car and drove from Austria to Switzerland. It was my first time driving overseas and I wished someone had shared their experience driving in Europe. Hopefully, this post will provide some useful tips for anyone planning a road trip there! ☺️

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 & 𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒊𝒑𝒔 💡

1️⃣ 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝘁 (𝗜𝗗𝗣)

- To rent a car and drive overseas, you must get your IDP from the Automobile Association in Singapore before travelling

- The process is quite fuss-free, just need to apply online, send in a photo and fill up some information and the IDP can be mailed to you for $20 in total

💡If you are in a rush, best to visit the Automobile Association centres in person so that you can collect on the same day!

💡Second or third drivers also need the IDP to drive, though only one IDP is required to rent

2️⃣ 𝗟𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝗨𝗞

- This means that roads and driver seat is on the opposite side (vs 🇸🇬)

💡Remind yourself to always drive towards RIGHT side of road

💡When giving way, keep to the RIGHT

3️⃣ 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀

- Usually three to four lanes. Counting from the left, first lane is the overtaking lane, rightmost lane is slow lane.

💡Only use first lane if you are overtaking and then change back to second or third lane afterwards. Staying on second or third lane is alright unless you are really slow, then move to rightmost lane.

- It gets dark by nightfall, and few/no streetlights, only reflectors at the side

💡Very sleep inducing when driving on expressways at night, so play some music or have someone chat with you beside!

- Speed limit is much higher (typically 80km/h in tunnels, 120-130km/h on expressways)

💡The speed limit in tunnels is very strict as there are speed detectors, so monitor your speed closely!

💡Tunnels are also much narrower (1 to 2 lanes) so be careful!

Note: there is a special type of expressway called Autobahn in Germany 🇩🇪 - basically no speed limit on this expressway and everyone drives at any speed they want. For the Autobahn, you will want to ensure that you are not blocking anyone on the fast lane and always check blind spots before changing lanes!

4️⃣ 𝗖𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀

- In Europe, you can drive across borders of many countries without requiring any immigration process since most of them are in EU. So that’s different from driving from SG to JB, since you do not need any passport checks!

- However, you may need a vignette when entering a new country. A vignette covers the road tax or toll fees for driving on an expressway and there are different pricing depending on the country you driving to.

💡Purchase your vignette stickers at a petrol station or rest stop near the border before entering the other country! It should be stuck on the windshield of your car so that it’s visible.

5️⃣ 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀

- It is very common to drive for more than an hour when travelling from one city to another since each country is so big (fyi: drive from Austria 🇦🇹 to Swiss 🇨🇭 could be 6-8 hours)

💡Take short breaks every 2-3 hours and switch to another driver if possible! There are many rest stops along the expressway (look out for 🍴 or 🚻 sign).

💡Play music or have a chat buddy

6️⃣ 𝗡𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

- From my personal experience, Google maps works much better than the built-in GPS on the rental car

💡Assign someone to be the navigator to pre-empt you about when to make an exit cos the signs may not be that obvious and the roads may be much more complicated than you think!

💡Bring a phone holder that can be either attached to windshield or centre console of the car. Also a charger to ensure that your phone does not run out of battery! 🔋

7️⃣ 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 ❄️

- This is definitely something the driving centre in SG did not teach us cos no winter here but apparently winter tires are different from snow tires. Winter tires have deeper grooves to prevent slip on roads during winter, but you need to add on additional snow chains to drive on snow, otherwise the car will still slip.

💡As we did not purchase snow chains (it was not yet snowing for us at that time), we were told to look out for a specific snow chain sign and avoid those roads that may have snow or layers of ice formed.

💡More buttons on the centre console that can save your life in winter (a.k.a. seat warmers)! I think it would be helpful to read up on some of these buttons before driving off so you don’t panic when you need to use them!

- Also in the winter, it is common for ice to form on the windshield overnight if you park outside

💡Always carry along a scraper and start your engine 15 minutes before driving off so that the ice melts and your engine is heated up!

8️⃣ 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴

- Parking is so different in Europe because they do not use the IU system we have in SG. Instead, you need to press a button at the gantry and a parking ticket will be issued to you. Before leaving, you need to pay the ticket at a counter first. You will only return the ticket to the machine at the gantry when driving out.

💡There is a 15 minute time limit from the time you pay to the time you need to drive out, so make sure you have enough time to get out!

Remember, drive safe & enjoy~

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