Driving around Europe - requirements and considerations

Yes yes yes, I know there's a bunch of other threads on this subject, but I can't seem to find all the bits of info I need, or definitive facts rather than opinions, in one place.

I'm doing a bit of a tour around Europe next year, leaving the UK and visiting my remote colleagues. I quite fancy turning it into a driving adventure with the Landy (1987 90 converted to 300tdi), so I'm trying to work out everything I need to know, carry, and modify, to make it legal (and avoid fines).

I'll be going north and south, for example I need to visit the Netherlands and Norway, and I need to go to Germany, France, and down to Spain. I'll probably throw in some detours along the way too. One of my colleagues lives all the way over in Turkey, but don't think I'll be heading that far, especially looking at some of the countries I'd have to drive through to get there!

So, what do I need to know? Lets assume I'm going to visit anywhere in Europe, rather than focusing on specific countries, is it possible to get myself set up with enough info, and to be prepared enough, to be able to just tour around?

• What do I need to carry?
• What do I need to do to my Landy before visiting?
• What other considerations do I need to make or understand?

This can include things like emissions charges for certain areas and cities, I'm sure I'm going to have to consider those with something as old and poisonous as a 300tdi, in some parts of Europe?

Thanks anyone who helps out on this, or points me to places to gather all of this info...

Check your insurance company to see which countries they will cover you while you are driving in Europe.
Many years ago I had an insurance company tell me I wasn't covered if I drove or had an accident in Austria, Poland or Denmark.

If it were me, I'd make a list of countries I want to visit and route I'm taking, then email/snail mail each countries embassy and ask what their requirements are. Despite still being in EU, each country still has an amount of autonomy over you driving through it and each country will have some specific requirements. I doubt any one person will have all this knowledge unless they're, for instance, an EU motoring journalist.

'course, I'd probably check the countries FO web sites, the UK Foreign Office website and maybe even ask at an independant Travel Agents!

JUKE179r said:

Check your insurance company to see which countries they will cover you while you are driving in Europe.
Many years ago I had an insurance company tell me I wasn't covered if I drove or had an accident in Austria, Poland or Denmark.

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Eeek, I'll definitely check that, as one of the possible routes will be via Denmark.

Paul D said:

If it were me, I'd make a list of countries I want to visit and route I'm taking, then email/snail mail each countries embassy and ask what their requirements are. Despite still being in EU, each country still has an amount of autonomy over you driving through it and each country will have some specific requirements. I doubt any one person will have all this knowledge unless they're, for instance, an EU motoring journalist.

'course, I'd probably check the countries FO web sites, the UK Foreign Office website and maybe even ask at an independant Travel Agents!

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Yeah, I've started a bit of this, hence me taking to the forum too, as it's proving time consuming. I'm hoping there's a few people on here that have at least had some experience driving around these parts of the world that might be able to chip in.

Either way, as I gather information, I'll be updating this thread for future reference for others.

Well a for instance..........if you go via Austria you need a motorway pass which you can only buy before you go there no you can't buy it when you get there and its a 100 euro on the spot fine. They always stop the English cars because almost none of us now about it or buy it.

biketeacherdave said:

Well a for instance..........if you go via Austria you need a motorway pass which you can only buy before you go there no you can't buy it when you get there and its a 100 euro on the spot fine. They always stop the English cars because almost none of us now about it or buy it.

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has this changed with austria as we were able to buy a vignette at a pull in near the border last year

biketeacherdave said:

Well a for instance..........if you go via Austria you need a motorway pass which you can only buy before you go there no you can't buy it when you get there and its a 100 euro on the spot fine. They always stop the English cars because almost none of us now about it or buy it.

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Dont go on the motorway in Austria or Switzerland and you dont have to buy one.

You'll defiantly need the usual stuff to avoid a fine. Standard to get checked and fined for any of the following.
GB sticker or euro/gb number plates. (next year might be different)
Head light deflectors
Alcohol breath tester ( france)
Warning triangle
First aid kit
Drive with your lights on (some countries)

Next year you might need to apply for a visa for every country you want to visit

EeEk said:

Next year you might need to apply for a visa for every country you want to visit

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That's assuming Boris and Nigel will let you leave in the first place.

Avoid central Paris and Florence!
If you go to Italy, some cities don't allow cars in the city centre unless they're residents or for work, I was caught out in Florence and ended up paying a fine.

Remember to drive on the wrong side of the road. Sounds dangerous, but everyone else over there does it so you'll be OK!

You can get pre-made European driving kits if you want convenience, some of the following are common requirements in most countries on the mainland.

High vis, one per occupant
Spare bulbs
Spare fuse
warning triangle (or 2)
first aid kit
Jerry can with fuel in (also, it is illegal to run out of fuel on the German autobahn, or so I've heard)
Spare glasses (if you need them for driving)

Some good things to have;
Pump/compressor
Jack
Spare auxiliary belt
Spare lift pump
Insurance and registration documents (green card?)
Paper road atlas
Euro breakdown cover
Grease gun (for your prop UJ's etc)

Before you go;
Give your wagon a reyt good service.

I've driven to Oslo, down to Southern Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and most of the countries in between. Not in the Trattor though! Switzerland and Austria you pay a single toll for motorway use. If you stay on minor roads you are usually ok. You only get fined for being on the motorways without the sticker in your window. First motorway we hit in Switzerland we hit a small tail back to find it was police taking tolls off people and sticking a sticker inside your windscreen. It's a one off charge and works out cheaper that the likes of France if you are doing a lot of motorway/peage driving. We got stopped at a border crossing between Austria and Switzerland year before last. Policeman asked us where we were going and we told him we were visiting a village for the day in Switzerland and then travelling back, so he just let us through. There were road signs in Austria reminding you that you needed to pay the charge, as James Martin did, if you wanted to use the motorways. We found it well signed and straight forward. Pretty sure France has scrapped the breathalyser kit requirement.

+1 on France scrapping the breathaliser rule, they found it totally unworkable. To be honest safest to just not drink at all, unlike the locals, (and me DOH)

The equipment you are supposed to carry is all sensible stuff to have in the UK anyway. Basically if you have a spare bulb kit, first aid box, hazard warning triangle and a hi-vis for everyone in the vehicle you should be fine. Plus the usual array of tools/spares you need as a Landy driver.

Headlights will need converting for driving on the right. The usual stick-on deflectors will do the job, and the old Lucas yellow lenses are a reusable solution if you can find them. The best solution I've seen was a series with four headlights- one set for driving on each side. In some countries you need to have headlights or DRL on during the day at all times- best is to just copy what the locals seem to be doing.

GB Sticker for the back. It's valid in all countries unlike the GB marking on the numberplate which I believe is theoretically only valid in the EU. Magnetic ones don't work very well!

Get an up to date paper road atlas for the countries you're visiting. Unlike a sat-nav it won't break when you really need it.

Austria, Italy, Czech Republic and a couple of others have toll motorways and you need a pass to use them- if you're not in a hurry the simplest approach is to just stay off the motorways and enjoy the scenery.

Watch out in urban areas as in a lot of countries you give way to traffic from the right, not the left as you'd expect. This means locals will pull out of side streets in front of you and you are expected to stop! Also, in a RHD vehicle visibility is quite restricted round some right-hand bends- slow down and move over to the left a bit if possible.

I am sure you have already found this but a good place to start would be the RAC website. (link) There is drop down in the top right where you select the country and it will give you the requirements and recommendation for each one. As you go through you will find it very repetitive and most of them are fairly similar.

This is great stuff guys, I'll collate everything and update the first post eventually - keep it coming if any of you think of anything else!

Another thought- at night don't rely on being able to see the secondary speed markings in km/h. On my 90, the green backlighting made the green km/h scale virtually invisible. Make a mental note during the day of the mph equivalent. If both sets are white or if you have a military dash with km/h dominant then this won't be an issue.

Several countries have low-emissions zones in many cities which also apply to foreign vehicles. In Germany, for example, you have a green, yellow or red sticker in the windscreen and the 'umwelt' zones only allow certain categories in. But in a lot of cities it's easier and cheaper to get the bus into town anyway.

You don’t say when you will be traveling but if it’s between 1 Nov and 31 Mar make sure you are sporting M+S tyres and are carrying snow chains.

Most vignettes can be bought on line or in motorway services near the border crossings. Just be aware that if you want to but one for Austria on line, you have to do it 18 days before you plan to drive through.

France haven’t scrapped the breathalyser, just suspended them for the mo until they can work around sell by dates, they can reinstate the regs at any time so play safe and carry them. Boots sell them, so do the ferries.

As for driving to Turkey, why ever not if you have the time? We do Bug-UK-Bug often and it’s a great trip. Just got back from a trip last week. Your insurance should cover you for Serbia which would be the better option if you travel from Italy.

For comfort, and I am sure you have one tucked away, take a gas stove, a 12v cool box and a couple of chairs. I know the service areas have food and drink but if you are planning to put in the driving hours, you will feel more rested if you park up, brew up, make your own food and relax. It gives you something else to think about.

Enjoy the adventure!

Id also second a very thorough service, a week before you go change ALL oils, diffs, engine and both boxes, also change all filters, and take a spare fuel filter with you!
Sounds silly, but make sure your spare wheel and tyre are in serviceable condition, and a decent bottle jack can be handy too!
Id personally stay off motorways in general unless you really need to race the clock, its just not that enjoyable in a 90 and can get quite tiring (I find anyway), if your are on motorway for extended periods I find sticking to 55 ish and being happy to be in the slow lane makes things much more bearable!
Give the wheel bearings a once over as that would be a pita if one let go during the drive!

marjon said:

You don’t say when you will be traveling but if it’s between 1 Nov and 31 Mar make sure you are sporting M+S tyres and are carrying snow chains.

Most vignettes can be bought on line or in motorway services near the border crossings. Just be aware that if you want to but one for Austria on line, you have to do it 18 days before you plan to drive through.

France haven’t scrapped the breathalyser, just suspended them for the mo until they can work around sell by dates, they can reinstate the regs at any time so play safe and carry them. Boots sell them, so do the ferries.

As for driving to Turkey, why ever not if you have the time? We do Bug-UK-Bug often and it’s a great trip. Just got back from a trip last week. Your insurance should cover you for Serbia which would be the better option if you travel from Italy.

For comfort, and I am sure you have one tucked away, take a gas stove, a 12v cool box and a couple of chairs. I know the service areas have food and drink but if you are planning to put in the driving hours, you will feel more rested if you park up, brew up, make your own food and relax. It gives you something else to think about.

Enjoy the adventure!

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Great response thanks!!!