🚐 European Road Trips: What We Wish We Knew Before Starting our Adventure
Keys in hand, dreams in our eyes… and chaos waiting around the corner.
Our grand European road trip was about to begin, but not before the first major headache: returning the rental car. We had to rent one because we found many motorhome options in Germany which we had to inspect before buying. What should have been a quick drop-off turned into a customer service nightmare — one that still hasn’t been resolved over four months later.
💸 The Rental Car Debacle
Let’s start with the elephant in the room: the cost.
Because we returned the vehicle to a different city, added baby seats, and extended the rental, we were slapped with a bill close to AUD $2,500 for just two weeks. And that might have been acceptable... if the service wasn’t so atrocious.
Trying to get a breakdown of our daily charges? Impossible. The phone rep directed us to speak to a local branch. The branch rep told us to call the customer service line. I literally called them in front of her, and they ended up arguing with each other before hanging up. Unbelievable.
🚫 Our advice? Skip car rentals in Europe.
You're often better off buying a cheap car on Facebook Marketplace, cycling, or using trains if you can. Unfortunately for us we had to rent a car since we were driving between many cities to inspect our new motorhome.
Driving in Europe: A Different World
Excluding the UK (the “poms” don’t count since they're out of the EU anyway), get ready to switch sides — you’ll be driving on the right. The first few days involved us opening the wrong car door more times than we’d like to admit. If you're used to driving on the left like we are in Australia, everything feels off.
🚗 Manual Madness
Europeans are in love with manual transmissions. 90% of motorhomes — are manual and diesel. If you don’t know how to drive stick, you can kiss that motorhome fantasy goodbye.
🪪 Aussie Drivers, we’re special!
One major advantage of having an Australian C-class license is the range of vehicles you’re allowed to drive. That includes vehicles up to 4.5 tonnes GVM and even trailers up to 9 tonnes. Perfect for larger motorhomes.
Before you leave, I highly encourage you to get an International Driving Permit (IDP) through the Australian Automobile Association:
👉 Apply here
It’s valid for one year and translates your license into multiple languages, making it easier for authorities to verify your eligibility.
⚠️ European drivers have much stricter limits — usually capped at 3.5 tonnes GVM and 8 passengers.
🚌 Tip: Don’t Buy a Motorhome Over 3.5 Tonnes
If you do, you'll be subject to stricter laws, road bans, and more paperwork especially if an overzealous policeman decides to pull you over. This is because most towns and cities ban vehicles over 3.5 tonnes.
🚧 The Road Rules They Don’t Tell You
Motorway Tolls & Bridge Taxes
For example In France: You collect a ticket at the entrance, then pay when exiting based on distance.
In Denmark: Get ready to fork out over €100 to cross two bridges. Ouch!
In Austria, Hungary, Romania and others: You’ll need a vignette — a prepaid road-use sticker or digital pass.
⚠️ In Hungary, the police hunts vignette dodgers relentlessly. Don’t risk it.Parking
Surprisingly, parking is much easier than in Sydney where you need a PHD in road signs translations as per below photo. However do be careful of the height restrictions and some parking places outright ban motorhomes.
Apps like EasyPark make life simple — scan a QR code, add a location code or simply use the location setting, pay, extend or stop your session anytime. Link your credit card and you’re good to go. Be careful because in Germany you need to buy a parking disc in German: die Parkscheibe which you need to manually add the time when you started the parking otherwise you’ll get a fine despite being within the allowed time.
Watch for LEZ Zones (Low Emissions Zones)
Found in cities like Antwerp, Paris, Brussels and others
These zones scan your vehicle’s emissions level, and if your vehicle is not compliant or haven’t paid the tax, expect a fat fine in your mailbox.
Google Maps might warn you but doesn’t offer an "Avoid LEZ" option yet (as of 2025).
For example, in Antwerp, only Electric, Hybrid, Euro 5 and 6 vehicles are allowed. Since most motorhomes are Diesel and below Euro 6 expect to pay a €35 daily fee — and yes, we learned that the hard way because unfortunately we drove in the LEZ for 100 m for 5 minutes and bang, taxed!
⛽ Fuel Stops and Fill-Up Fails
Many fuel stations in Europe are completely unmanned.
Here’s how it works:
Swipe your credit card.
Usually a €150 block is placed on your card but can go up to €300.
You fill up, and the actual amount is charged later.
Bring multiple credit cards, as some may randomly be declined.
Also, fuel names vary by country for example:
🛑 Size, Weight & Safety
Motorhomes are big beasts so expect to drive around in a vehicle over 2.5m wide, over 3m high, and over 6m long.
Be mindful of:
Height signs (or you risk taking out a bridge… and your roof)
Weight restrictions — many towns ban vehicles over 3.5 tonnes
Bridge limits — both height and weight restrictions apply
This isn’t just a matter of legality — it’s about your safety.
🛣️ Country-to-Country Speed Limits
When crossing borders, keep an eye out for speed signs.
Final Thoughts
Europe by road is one of the most unforgettable adventures you can have — but it definitely comes with a learning curve. If we had known even half of this before starting out, we could have saved a lot of stress, time, and money.
Have any of your own road trip tips or horror stories? Drop them in the comments — let's help each other navigate the chaos!