Driving aroune Europe,hints and tips

bazster

A minor point arising from my recent trip to France: many of the toll stations are now fully-automated with no friendly person ready to take your money and give you change. I found the easiest thing at these automated jobbies was to pay with a credit card rather than faffing around trying to find the right money or figure out which way to push a note in (and if the note is wet - I was on a motorcycle - often it will not accept it at all).

With a credit card it doesn't even ask for your PIN, you just pop it in the slot and it pops straight out again and the barrier opens. Obviously you do need a credit card that doesn't make a transaction charge every time you use it abroad!

Apropos one comment above, I've done loads of motorcycling in southern Spain and never been stopped by any cop, bent or otherwise.

usignuolo

We are a planning a (private) road trip this autumn to deliver sporting memorabilia to a museum in south east of Czech Republic (It's a long story). Going via Karlsbad in north Czech as b-i-l 's family from there originally but avoiding Prague as we visited recently (by air). Any tips on best route, things to look out for?

Have driven in Western Europe and Scandinavia in the past (a while back) but not Eastern europe. Am particularly concerned about where we will stay there and if we need to book in advance? There will be four of us and we are taking husband's Peugeot Combi.

chigley

I have just come back from a trip to Kutna Hora (east of Prague) in the Czech Republic - in a 1957 Land Rover! A great trip, but a long drive.

You also need a vignette to drive on motorways and express-ways in the Czech Republic, which is easily available at the borders, or at most petrol stations on the autobahns. You also must have your lights on at all times, unless you have DRL's fitted.

As for things to do, Carlsbad looks close (well ish) to Pilzen, so you could call into the beer museum there, and you may cross the border from Germany near Chemnitz, which is not too far from Zwichau - where the Trabant museum is. If you are anywhere near Kutna Hora, then the Bone Church is definately worth stopping to see.

As for places to stay, I have always camped, so have no advice for you there sorry.