This page last updated 5/9/08

Summer seems to go on and on this year...and with extremely hot weather! This is great for standard summer tyres on your car. But don't forget if you are driving over in the late Autumn...mid October on...then get some winter tyres. You will be amazed at the difference in road holding!!  From October, here in Austria we change our tyres...we have to or the police will complain!! There are many shunts caused by people with summer tyres getting caught out in an early snowfall and ploughing into the back of the car in front.

Yes it does seem a long way to Austria from the UK!! but it is very rewarding and very cost effective for families and friends wanting to share an adventure! We will be updating this page regularly, so if you have an experience or some advice to share please email us at news@amazingaustria.com

If you want to be in control of your journey and have more than a week's holiday it is worth driving, if only because you can take as much as your car will carry. Your wife/Girlfriend will love this, she has no need to worry about weight restriction on her suitcase!! For a start the ferry cost is approximately £90 for a car with up to 5 people! Compare that to the cheapest flights and now particlarly with air taxes increasing all the time. We have given some figures for the costs with the experience gained from the many trips we have made to Austria and back again.We normally spend about £160 on fuel, but it depends on the vehicle and it's fuel consumption. Fuel cost varies between countries, about 1.35 euro in French hypermarket to the cheapest in Luxemburg approx 1.29 cents. The cost in Austria as of July2008 is about 1.39 euro per litre for Diesel to 1.35 euro for petrol.

For a short channel crossing the best port to use is Dover. We found that after a few trips via Calais, we were not happy with the crowded Ferries full of day trippers. We tried another port Dunkerque and what a difference, no day trippers! We went with Norfolkline and they specialise in cars and trucks only. The ships are super modern and a joy to be on. We now use this route all the time, particularly as getting off at Dunkerque cuts the drive to Austria by almost 30 kilometres! They have a great web page for driving in Europe: http://www.norfolkline.com/EN/FAQ/Motoring/

For our latest trip last week end of July, we had the opportunity to check out the effectiveness of RAC membership!!! Yes...we broke down just outside Munich. A bolt holding the Generator sheared and all the belts were driving nothing...so we lost brakes and everything!!

We found this out when the mechanic arrived. But to relate how good the European motor service was...we called the centre in France, from our mobile...it cost a fortune!! If youare reading this RAC...please set up a text alert system for your members as many people have pay as you go...and at £1 a minute it does not last long!! That aside, the RAC were great..keeping in contact and wanting to know what was going on. We were towed to a garage, but as it was the weekend...you guessed it...everything was closed so we had to wait until Monday morning. The RAC supplied a hire car so that we could return to Austria for a few nights while the car was repaired.

I can only say...don't travel Europe without Motoring assistance membership...you will regret it if you do get a breakdown!!

Well done RAC.

Archive:
On our last trip to Austria November 2007, we took the motorway north and stayed in Belgium heading for Bruxelles and then down to Luxembourg. We enjoyed going this way as we did not have toi tackle the traffic at Lille! It also seemed a little quicker although it was a few kilometers more in distance.

We did find that on the return trip, the sign posting for the ferry terminal was not so good coming to Dunerque from the Ostend direction. WE actually missed the turning and ended up somewhere between the Ferry Terminal and the town. So do pay attention if you take this route.

Some clients have been taking the route from Belgium to Koln in Germany. I have not tried this route, but many say it is a very straight forward route and mainly motorway. Let us know if you find different ways.

Preparing for your trip.

Some things you should make sure you have before you jump in the car and set off are as follows.
*Check your insurance covers you for the trip. Most insurance policies cover you for up to 30 days abroad and some will insure for up to 90 days for each trip, but best to check.
*Next take out RAC or AA European cover. It is well worth the cost if you should break down.
*Next get your vehicle checked out at your local garage, it is great to have the peace of mind.

There are certain items you must carry when driving in Europe otherwise you could be fined.

*Headlamp adaptors. Fit these when you get to Dover. You must have them for Europe, failure to do so could deem your vehicle unfit for use on the road and invalidate your insurance!

*a GB plate must be displayed on the rear of your vehicle.

*Reflective vests for driver and all passengers. These must be worn by all in the event of a breakdown.

*Spare Bulbs. All your lamps must be in working order. You could be fined on the spot.

*Warning triangle, carry as large a one as possible. In the event of a breakdown, place it 50 - 150 metres behind your vehicle. Both the RAC & the AA sell European packs that will keep you on the right side of the law.

*First aid kit and Fire extinguisher. The European 'Good Samaritan Law requires every driver to stop and provide assistance when encountering an accident or incident, providing it is safe to do so. This may require a First aid kit or Fire extinguisher, so it is highly advisable to carry these.

If you are going to drive in the winter, either get some snow tyres put on your car or if you are going to be driving up to ski areas etc when you get to Austria, invest in some snow chains. You will need them!

We found that a 'print out' of the route from the RAC site was very useful although it can be quite confusing! We found in the end it was best to invest in a good Europe map book. Then head for the major cities along the way.

TIP. We always tackle the journey in two halves. On the first day we get the 10 am ferry to Dunkerque. The drive takes about 7/8 hours to get to a halfway point. We have made this Permisens in Germany. There is a good Guest House the 'Falkenstein' at Hinterwiedenthal. This is on the main road, so no need to be looking around country lanes late at night.

TIP. We try to fill up with fuel at one of the cheap French hypermarkets such as Le Clerc just outside the port, before setting off across france, but if you have enough fuel to get to Belgium, then it is a little cheaper but not much. After leaving Dunkerque head for LILLE We found this town the most confusing, because on our earlier trips we were trying to religiously follow the RAC route, but it is best to take the first exit towards Bruxelles then you are on your way to belgium. After LILLE head for Belgium & Luxemburg. We found Luxemburg the cheapest for fuel. You will find that a lot of Petrol/rest stations have a turnstyle at the toilets for payment. It is worth it, the toilets are excellent, some even have automatic seat cleaning after you have stood up! Also you can use the ticket towards any purchases you make in the restaurant or shop...so the toliet is effectively free! Then it is on towards Germany and Permisens to stop overnight.

The standard of driving in Europe is no worse than in the UK. The drivers seem to have the same penchant for tailgating as we have in the UK! THis can be quite frightening particularly on the German Autobahns in the wet when you watch them tailgating at 100 MPH! Best to stay in the inside lane! The Gasthof 'Falkenstein' (frauenstein@hinterweidenthal.de)where we like to stop overnight, is on the main road between Permisens and Landau & Karlsruhe. We have found them friendly and very helpful. On our last trip when we got delayed in snow leaving Austria and did not arrive until almost midnight. We found that all was in darkness and thought we might have to spend the night in the vehicl)e! After just two rings on the bell, the owner himself came down and let us in. He had been worried that we might have had an accident and had been listening for our arrival.

The Gasthof is a good place to stop as you are almost exactly halfway to Salzburg(about 350 miles) The staff speak a little English, as they do get a few property owners stopping regularly. The price for a room for two people is 60 Euros and this includes breakfast. They do a wonderful menu if you get there in time for dinner. They like you to pay for the room in advance, probably as most truck and car drivers leave early and it would be a long queue at the till in the morning! There are a lot of roadworks between Karlsruhe and Stuttgart, so be prepared for some traffic hold ups at peak times.

The next day we have a good breakfast and aim to get away about 10am. This means we are in Salzburg for late afternoon. When we set of we head for Karlruhe, Stuttgart and then onto Munich. The motorway leads all the way round Munich and you can pick up the connection for Salzburg and Innsbruck. An interesting new building is the Allianz Arena, it looks like a giant tyre that has fallen on it's side! The inner ring road can save about 15 minutes depending on traffic, but we found it was not worthwhile getting off the motorway and the last time we tried we got stuck in rush hour traffic!!.

TIP. You will find as you get nearer to Austria the price of fuel seeems to go up!! If you can fill up before Munich then do so. It is then cheaper to buy fuel in Austria.

TIP. Once in Austria, do take care over traffic signs. I ended up with a speeding fine on one trip because I did not notice I was within village boundaries where the speed limit went from the 80KPH of the road to 50KPH. Unlike England with it's 30MPH signs as you get to a town or village, they tend to have the speed for the road then a sign for the same speed with a diagonal line through it. In other words the speed you were travelling at has been cancelled!

The traffic officer that stopped me was very pleasant, but was not happy that I had left my driving licence in my apartment! Anyhow, I was doing 74 KPH in a 50 KPH area and he fined me 20 euros, which I had to pay there and then. He let me off the forgetting my licence although he could have also fined me for that! (carry your documents with you always, just in case!)

Speed limits: Motorways - 130km/h Country roads - 100km/h In towns/villages - 50km/h

Alcohol limit is 0.5% drunken driving is punishable with a fine and confiscation of driving licence.

You will need a Road toll sticker if you intend to use the Motorways or Expressways in Austria. These are called Vignette (pronounced Veenyet) and can be bought at petrol/service areas as you get near to Austria. You can also buy them at the border control, but we found it easier to purchase from a service station. The cost for 10 days is 7.60 euros and for 2 months 21.80 euros. They should be affixed to the windscreen top centre or top left. Infringements of the toll regulations are punished with an additional charge of, up to 120 euros! If you don't have one when you should have one the fine can be from 400 - 4,000 euros!! Don't think that being a tourist gets you off the hook either!

TIP. you can only get unleaded petrol in Austria. For older cars without a catalytic converter an additive is available at petrol stations.

We did some price comparisons with air travel (not including 1p flights from Stansted) and found that an average return flight per person was £110. So for four people it would cost £440 plus to hire a car was another £250, making a total of almost £700 for 4 people.

The return Ferry cost is approx £90 - £100 for vehicle and up to 5 people. Then there is fuel costs of about £150 - £200 depending on the car and how fast you decide to drive! The hotel would costs £185 for 4 people B&B, making a total for the round trip of approx £465. Allow £35 for some European breakdown cover and you still have a saving of £200! So taking your car stacks up quite nicely as opposed to flying, plus you get to be adventurous and see some more of Europe. Many clients who have bought apartments in Austria, regularly make the trip and take equipment for their apartments. If you are interested in a property in Austria have a look at our property page.

REMEMBER.

• Be especially careful when setting off from service stations or restaurants on the left side of the road and remember to switch on your headlights. These are a legal requirement in Austria even in the day time!
  
• Take care when overtaking - allow more space between you and the car in front so you can see further down the road ahead.
• Austria has strict drink driving laws, only allowing 0.5 milligrams of alcohol per millilitre of blood - stricter than the UK where the limit is 0.8.
• Seat belts front and rear are obligatory everywhere.
• Speed limits, are implemented rigorously. Radar traps are frequent in Austria, and heavy on-the-spot fines can be levied.
• Remember - Speeding and other traffic offences are subject to on-the-spot fines

All motoring legislation and toll costs is subject to change so you should check with our Austrian tourist office link for any updates before you travel.

Many of our clients who have bought property in Austria are driving to the country regularly. We have asked them to post their experiences on this page...so watch this page!

If you have already driven to Austria in the past, please email us with your experiences so that we can add to these pages. email us at info@amazingaustria.com

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