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Old 13th May 2017, 13:05   #406
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Re: Travelling to Europe. Need advice

Quick questions - I travel coming Friday and request answers to some next level questions from friends on this forum:

1) I am planning to hire a cab in Edinburgh to drive to Glasgow/to the highlands for 2 days next week. Can I hire a car directly once I arrive or should I book online beforehand? I was suggested Sixt, Europcar, Budget etc., but there are also some negative reviews these have attracted. Which one is the best?
2) Budget for e.g., doesnt have India as an option when we fill in the address online, so guess it doesnt hire to folks from India?
3) I was able to confirm with Sixt that they accept my driving license even though the initial is not expanded on it and hence the name will appear different from the passport version. However, one more doubt - my Indian driving license says "valid for driving in India". And in some review, someone has said this could be a problem. Can someone confirm? Can I use this DL?
4) what options should I go for - I am thinking of additional driver, ZERO excess loss damage waiver, roadside protection and SatNav as additional. Does this make sense? Or should i stick to google maps on mobile?
5) How much should i pay as deposit? when will they release the same back to me? can i pay this using forex card? or do i need a CC?

Will any of you familiar with London, Edinburgh, Paris and Lucerne/Interlaken be willing to entertain a phone call from me to help with some local info?

Thanks in advance.

Last edited by HighwayBuddha : 13th May 2017 at 13:09.
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Old 13th May 2017, 18:54   #407
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Re: Travelling to Europe. Need advice

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Originally Posted by HighwayBuddha View Post
5) How much should i pay as deposit? when will they release the same back to me? can i pay this using forex card? or do i need a CC?
Personal advice: don't use a forex card to pay deposit. A hotel used mine when I checked-in to block a certain amount and during check-out, they couldn't reverse it and asked to charge the whole amount again.

I flatly refused and somehow a helpful guy at the hotel acknowledged that it was some issue between their bank and the forex card bank that the blocked amount was stuck, and I was able to checkout.

Quote:
Lucerne/Interlaken
These two places, completely.

PM and we can share numbers.
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Old 14th May 2017, 09:04   #408
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HighwayBuddha View Post
1) I am planning to hire a cab in Edinburgh to drive to Glasgow/to the highlands for 2 days next week. Can I hire a car directly once I arrive or should I book online beforehand? I was suggested Sixt, Europcar, Budget etc., but there are also some negative reviews these have attracted. Which one is the best?
2) Budget for e.g., doesnt have India as an option when we fill in the address online, so guess it doesnt hire to folks from India?
3) I was able to confirm with Sixt that they accept my driving license even though the initial is not expanded on it and hence the name will appear different from the passport version. However, one more doubt - my Indian driving license says "valid for driving in India". And in some review, someone has said this could be a problem. Can someone confirm? Can I use this DL?
4) what options should I go for - I am thinking of additional driver, ZERO excess loss damage waiver, roadside protection and SatNav as additional. Does this make sense? Or should i stick to google maps on mobile?
5) How much should i pay as deposit? when will they release the same back to me? can i pay this using forex card? or do i need a CC?.
Hiring a cab is going to be exorbitant (unless you meant a self-drive car). You can use your Indian DL in the UK for a period of 12 months from arrival. No issues whatsoever with that.I hired from Enterprise using my old booklet type license issued in Kerala and they had no problems. The license has to be in English and a proper valid date has to be legibly seen, that's all. Enterprise wanted only my DL, they didn't ask for my passport and neither did I offer to show it to them. They wanted a local address and I used the local hotel address.

Deposit would be charged to your credit card. Enterprise charges a flat 200 GBP. If you use a debit card/forex card then there are some extras (all operators do not accept forex debit cards,so check with them directly).The amount is back into the card usually in 7 -10 working days. Again this is dependent on your card company (takes between 7-15 days depending on the bank, hence not advisable to use debit cards and there are loads of issues if you use your forex or debit card to block amount even in hotels, so either directly charge the card or else use a credit card as reversal is simple). If the car has an inbuilt satnav, then no hassle; else use GMaps or Waze on your phone. Waze is preferred as it gives you audio notifications when you are above speed limit etc. Google maps did not give me any of those speed limit warnings.

You can hire your car using your hotel address,no need of an India address. Booking online is preferred as you get far cheaper rates than picking one after arrival. You haven't mentioned which airport you are arriving into, if it is Heathrow, all the companies have complimentary shuttles from the terminals to the parking yard. The sheer size of the self-drive parking yard itself is mind-boggling; and if it is peak hour arrival, be ready to stand in a line just to process your car. Hence advisable to book online. Most of them do not charge any amount to the card online, so you are safe.

Take all the waiver options,lets you drive in peace.Airports have more options on cars. You can refer to my post on the UK driving experience on the International Driving sticky thread - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/showthread.php?p=4195073

Last edited by Gannu_1 : 14th May 2017 at 09:44. Reason: Post edited to add punctuation and spacing between paras. Request to please format the post before submitting. Thank you!
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Old 14th May 2017, 11:06   #409
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Re: Travelling to Europe. Need advice

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Originally Posted by HighwayBuddha View Post
1) I am planning to hire a cab in Edinburgh to drive to Glasgow/to the highlands for 2 days next week. .
If you have only two days doing Glasgow and the highlands is a bit of a stretch. Glasgow is actually a nice town these days. However, it’s still just a town, whereas the highlands are truly unique. It really depends on what you would like to see and do. But if you like to see some truly remarkable scenery tour the highlands. No need to book a hotel. When you want to stop just look for a hotel or try a B&B. There are some absolutely fabulous B&B around Scotland. We always stay in B&B when touring Scotland.

As some other members have already suggested, best use CC. Even my Dutch debit cards give problems when I’m travelling in Europe. CC is never a problem.

Enjoy

Jeroen
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Old 14th May 2017, 18:39   #410
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Re: Travelling to Europe. Need advice

Thanks all. Just one last question. Sixt or any other ? (Budget seems to be unavailable for booking from India)?
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Old 15th May 2017, 07:36   #411
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Thanks all. Just one last question. Sixt or any other ? (Budget seems to be unavailable for booking from India)?
Whichever company gives you the best deal take that.all of them are more or less the same in terms of service.
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Old 23rd May 2017, 16:06   #412
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Re: Travelling to Europe. Need advice

We are planning to cover Munich, Switzerland and Paris over 8 days. Could anyone suggest:

1. If Munich - Swiss - Paris will be the most economical and logical route or the other way around?
2. For a group of 4 people, does it make sense to rent a car for the entire trip or use trains and public transport?
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Old 23rd May 2017, 16:37   #413
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Re: Travelling to Europe. Need advice

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Originally Posted by HighwayBuddha View Post
Thanks all. Just one last question. Sixt or any other ? (Budget seems to be unavailable for booking from India)?
I believe you are landing at EDI (edinburgh airport). My friend used Hertz from EDI last October and drove to highlands. You need to take care to see your hotel have free parking (will not be available if it is close to city). Also keep physical map of the areas you are planning to visit. My friend ran into a dead end using google maps. His route took him to one side of the river whereas his lodging was on the other , that too late at night. Best to plan ahead your route and cross check with physical map.
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Old 9th June 2017, 13:41   #414
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Re: Travelling to Europe. Need advice

Is the Disneyland Paris worth spending 2 full days, one each for the park and the studios? Or can it be reasonably covered in 1 day itself?
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Old 9th June 2017, 14:28   #415
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Re: Travelling to Europe. Need advice

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Is the Disneyland Paris worth spending 2 full days, one each for the park and the studios? Or can it be reasonably covered in 1 day itself?
Depends how many of those rides you want to cover. Also if you have those fast passes to prebook timings for your rides and are able to run across from 1 place to another. Considering summer days are long, it may be doable but that also means more crowds. you need to know whats happening where and when. For example, the parade.
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Old 9th June 2017, 15:02   #416
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Re: Travelling to Europe. Need advice

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Depends how many of those rides you want to cover. Also if you have those fast passes to prebook timings for your rides and are able to run across from 1 place to another. Considering summer days are long, it may be doable but that also means more crowds. you need to know whats happening where and when. For example, the parade.
Could you help me with what kind of rides and shows are there for adults? We are planning a trip during end of September so that might be end of summer as well.

We loved the Sentosa Island at Singapore and end up spending 2 full days there. I'm expecting we'll like Disneyland as well and hence I'm confused if I should allocate 2 days to it.
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Old 9th June 2017, 15:33   #417
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Re: Travelling to Europe. Need advice

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Could you help me with what kind of rides and shows are there for adults? We are planning a trip during end of September so that might be end of summer as well.
I could. But the info would be outdated as we visited years ago. Also, we went to the parks on separate days as we were living in Paris anyway.

I would instead recommend checking the park attractions online; choices and preferences are subjective after all..
http://www.disneylandparis.co.uk/des...sneyland-park/

Have fun and do ask if you need any info for other places in/ around Paris
Edit: or Munich, or Switzerland too.

Last edited by selfdrive : 9th June 2017 at 15:34.
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Old 9th June 2017, 15:49   #418
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Re: Travelling to Europe. Need advice

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Have fun and do ask if you need any info for other places in/ around Paris
Edit: or Munich, or Switzerland too.
Haha, thanks a lot, I've already bookmarked that link.

The plan is to spend 2 days in Disneyland, 1 day on river cruise, Louvre (we are not art & history people, louvre is only for namesake) and leave for Switzerland the next day.

What are the options to travel to Swiss?

The plan in Swiss is to reach Interlaken, spend 2 days, move to Lucerne, spend 2 days, and then return. But haven't planned my point of exit from Europe. Munich would be good, after visiting Rhine falls? Or a train journey to Austria?
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Old 9th June 2017, 16:48   #419
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Re: Travelling to Europe. Need advice

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Originally Posted by Nonstop-driver View Post

The plan is to spend 2 days in Disneyland, 1 day on river cruise, Louvre (we are not art & history people, louvre is only for namesake) and leave for Switzerland the next day.

What are the options to travel to Swiss?

The plan in Swiss is to reach Interlaken, spend 2 days, move to Lucerne, spend 2 days, and then return. But haven't planned my point of exit from Europe. Munich would be good, after visiting Rhine falls? Or a train journey to Austria?
The only other Disneyland I have been to apart from the one in Paris is the one in Florida (Epcot) and in comparison to that, the Disneyland in Paris was quite a let down. I understand that this is one of the oldest and has more of photo ops, than rides. So if you/your kid(s) are crazy about some of the characters, you will enjoy that place. But for rides, its probably not the right Disneyland.

The other tip I would give you - when you go to the park in the morning, go to the farthest end first. Most of the junta gets caught up with the rides/photo ops that are right in the front. For example, when we entered the park in the morning, the wait for the train (the first ride) was about 2 hours. We went around and came back around 2pm, the wait was 45 mins.

Not sure if it is already there, but you might want to include Mt.Titlis in your itinerary. We stayed in Engelberg which is at the foot of the mountain. Very beautiful place. Below pic is from the balcony of the hotel we stayed in.

Travelling to Europe. Need advice-20170531_061553_clipping.jpg

Btw, I was surprised to see that Swiss is full of us (Indians). All over the tourist spots you would spot only us, and Chinese. In hundreds, and thousands. And the restaurants in Jungfrau have menu in Hindi!

Last edited by shifu : 9th June 2017 at 16:55.
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Old 9th June 2017, 17:41   #420
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Re: Travelling to Europe. Need advice

Thanks @Shifu for the tip, we had similar lessons at Universal Studios @ Singapore.

Titlis is there in the itinerary, guess I didn't mention it separately.

For the tourist part, I think Yash Chopra is to be blamed! I've heard they have SRK's poster as well at the top.
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