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Old 3rd February 2025, 20:54   #1
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Roadtrip through Switzerland in a Mini JCW Convertible

In the summer of 2024, me and my wife were in the UK for a period of 3 months as part of a fellowship program in an NHS Hospital in London. We are Ophthalmologists and the routine working hours in these hospitals were limited to weekdays only. So as soon as we got this planned, we made sure to get a Schengen visa as well to give us an option to explore the neighboring states of Europe when time allows. Luckily we were able to make multiple trips on weekends + Bank holidays and I hope to share each in a separate travelogue.

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London to Geneva



Leaving from London Gatwick airport (an airport that's a good hour and half away from the city itself), I show you the arrangement that makes cheap flights within europe possible.

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The Underseat bag. The flight ticket is cheap as chips but only if you travel with this, carry on luggage (yes the one that goes in the overhead bin) costs extra and it can be as much as 3x the cost of the ticket itself.


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Despite starting off from London, this felt eerily familiar with a couple of Air India 787s visible from my window just before takeoff. Reached Geneva and checked into the hotel close to the airport.

Next morning, started out to early to visit the city centre. Decided to climb the Tower of the St. Pierre Cathedral and we were greeted with magnificent views of the city.
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This part of Switzerland speaks French and the writing on top of the tower showed that
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The climb of around 160 steps to the top of tower was exhausting, but the descent down was anxiety inducing
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Geneva has some of the best luxury shopping options and it was easy to spot some classy cars like these.
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Took the tram to get around to the Flower Clock

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and to get closer to the Iconic Jet d'Eau. We managed to walk through the fountain and yes, got absolutely drenched even though being covered in raincoats. It was good fun

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We took the tram to visit the United nations office and some giant 3 legged chair that seems to be an attraction. Happened to find a Statue of Mahatma Gandhi in the garden nearby.

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Then passed through the WHO headquarters, just as a bucket list item. There were some interesting factoids on display but would not bore you Non Medical guys with those, so here's where I managed to spot the Indian flag among 190+ in the entrance.
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Going back to the city centre , we were greeted with a beautiful rainbow thanks to the Sunset light hitting the fountain at the perfect angle.

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Last edited by agambhandari : 4th February 2025 at 00:35.
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Old 3rd February 2025, 22:32   #2
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Re: Roadtrip through Switzerland in a Mini JCW Convertible

Day 2 : Floods Dictate our Plan



The original plan today was to pickup the Rental car near the train station and head out to Zermatt.

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I had booked a Mini Cooper S convertible through Sixt a good month and a half ago for a reasonable cost. Thanks to our light luggage this car fit our use perfectly and I expected good weather throughout. Well, we lucked out on the car at least. I had booked an S but the alloted car was clearly a JCW (For those of us familiar with Minis, JCW runs a higher tune of the B48 and is much quicker) for no extra charge. It seemed to be a fresh example with under 5000 kms on the odo.

That was great but the weather was not on our side. It was pouring since the moment I drove the car out of the rental parking and luckily the softtop was well sealed and insulated. So we were off to.....Zermatt ?

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But the very previous day I got the news that village of Zermatt has been flooded and all ways into there have been cutoff including Rail. I was constantly in touch with the Hotel owner for confirming the status and by 12 noon it was confirmed the situation isn't improving any further and there was no way we could stay there. It was another big problem to get a refund of a non refundable booking of a hotel but seeing the weather I was able to do it by invoking a Force Majeure.
Parked at a rest area we decided what could be done with effectively a free day with nothing planned. Though I was constantly distracted by 2 of the best Wagons currently on sale
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The Town of Montreux was nearby but we planned to visit that in better weather on the last day. At this moment I was thankful that I selected the add-on for Cross border travel while renting the car. This allowed us to expand our search to Include France and Italy as well. We zeroed in on the valley of Chamonix-Mont Blanc that , yes serves as the gateway to Mont Blanc, the highest Peak in the Alps.

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The drive to Chamonix got more interesting as we got closer, the winding mountain roads were a treat to drive on, and the Mini was spot on as usual with its tight handling and more than enough power at all times.

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As we Reached Chamonix after a couple of hours, the weather was still quite grim with constant drizzle and winds. We were disappointed to learn this had forced an early closure of the cable car service. Not to be fazed by this, we looked on what else can be done around here ?
Being a petrolhead, the choice was obvious, drive through the Mont Blanc tunnel ! to get a slice of Italian Pizza

This 11km long engineering masterpiece opened in 1965, connecting the Town of Chamonix in france to Courmayeur in Italy. It passes right under the summit of the peak, about 8000 feet under it. It was involved in a tragic fire incident in 1999, but reopened 3 years later with improved safety protocols. The road upto the tunnel was even more impressive with multiple hairpins.



Driving through the tunnel involves a hefty 65 EUR , worth it for the experience and the time saved. Yes I was able to drive through the tunnel with the top down (This was really the first time I was put it down since getting the car). It was a surreal experience to start the the day in Switzerland, enter the French alps and drive through the tunnel to reach Italy for Lunch. Courmayeur welcomed us with breathtaking views of the Alps.

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The weather this side of mont blanc was better for the time being and gave us a chance to step out. Parked the car in the underground park in the town centre and headed out for some Pizza. We were late for lunch at most places but eventually a found a place that was open.

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The Parking had some italian competition
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and some Chinese-British imposters

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Drove back through the tunnel and stopped near the French portal , for a photo with this Flame Sculpture. The flame symbolizes their indomitable spirit and unwavering determination in conquering nature's challenges.

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Entered switzerland back again and descending down the alps , we chanced upon another beatiful rainbow and I just had to stop and capture it.

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Looked for a good hotel nearby on our route towards the Interlaken region and we decide to stay in the city of Bern.

Last edited by agambhandari : 4th February 2025 at 00:29.
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Old 3rd February 2025, 23:36   #3
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Re: Roadtrip through Switzerland in a Mini JCW Convertible

Day 3: Mount Titlis


We drove out of Bern towards Interlaken and then to Engelberg, that is at the base of Mount Titlis. It was a relaxing drive on the Swiss highways except for the bit of traffic passing through Lucerne. As I parked the car, I followed Rule #1 of driving a Mini : Always park next to another Mini .

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The series of cable cars up to the top were fun and birds eye view of the ground was interesting as always.

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The top was packed with snow and clouds were off an on changing visibility every few minutes. Was fun to do some activities and an open air ski lift at the top is definitely not for the faint of heart. In the few minutes of good visibility, I managed to capture the views with my drone.

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There were some ice sculptures to make sure you remember where you're at.
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At this point it had been nearly 2 months since we departed India and the bunch of Indian tourists in group tours on top of titlis made sure we were not homesick. We found some good Indian snacks down at the base and back down at the car, I got to know everybody understands Rule #1

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We drove back to our BnB few minutes out of Lucerne . We could have never made it there if we hadn't rented a car. As great as the swiss rail network is, it can fall short in the countryside.

Last edited by agambhandari : 4th February 2025 at 00:28.
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Old 3rd February 2025, 23:44   #4
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Re: Roadtrip through Switzerland in a Mini JCW Convertible

Day 4: Grindelwald and Furka Pass



Drove out of lucerne to Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen area. Weather was finally nice with bright sunshine. Roads were perfect as always

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Reaching Grindelwald, we went up the First activity area that offered a bunch of thrill rides. The flyer was particularly fun that I loved. Picturesque views all around
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After Grindelwald, went back down to Interlaken and chilled out at side of Lake Brienz. Scenic beauty at its peak

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Exploring the map, I found the famous Furka pass was less than 90 minutes away and this was the perfect opportunity to tick off this bucket list item. The first half of the drive was through the usual countryside roads but then it picked up gradient and within no time we were passing through a snowy Grimsel pass.
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15 mins later reached the Iconic location of the Belvedere hotel

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Got my drone out and you guys can enjoy the results.



It was getting cold and we crossed furka pass within the next 30 minutes. Towards the end the road gets REALLY narrow to a point where only a single car can pass through and you need to stop to let the other side traffic go. I was thankful to pick a small car that was easy to navigate here.

Stopped for dinner on the way back and also headed into the Lucerne city centre for some views

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Last edited by agambhandari : 4th February 2025 at 00:01.
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Old 4th February 2025, 00:25   #5
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Re: Roadtrip through Switzerland in a Mini JCW Convertible

Day-5 : Montreux and Back


This was planned to be the final day with the flight back from Geneva. We packed up and headed onto the highway stopping at Montreux for some great views. In my quest to find the cheapest Petrol, i ended up filling at a station next to a ford dealer where some Puma event seemed to be on.

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Montreux was pretty as a picture and we left with a heavy heart. Little did we know that Switzerland wont let us go so quick.

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It was clear by now the Swiss love their black cars.
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Stopped for Lunch on the way back at a Rest stop and this was a few of those where the rest area is on both sides of the highway but there was only pedestrian access to crossover. That gave perfect views of the highway from Top Dead centre.
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We had some spare time so crossed over to the French side of Geneva and filled up the car.
Reached Geneva Airport with plenty of time to spare and returned the car. I had kerbed a wheel pretty bad (in a narrow tunnel ) on the first day itself, but no need to worry. Zero deductible insurance FTW

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Trip stats across 4 days of driving. That's more than I drive in a month at times back home.

Checked in and waiting in the lounge for the boarding to start, we were in for a nightmare as adverse weather meant the Geneva airport ATC was flooded with water and systems had to be shut down. The whole airspace was shut down and all flights after 7:30 pm were cancelled. Since ours was one of the later ones, we were quite late to be confirmed as cancelled. Stuck in departure area, we managed to get rebooked onto another flight the next day .

Thanks to wave of cancellations, all hotels in the city got sold out with basically 30 flights grounded and over 1500 passengers to accomodate on such a short notice. At midnight we went back to city centre to literally knock at door of some hotels that could possibly accomodate us. ( Because fun fact: You cannot book a hotel online after midnight for the same night). This did not go well and we were left out in the cold. Thanks to an obscure last minute website I managed to track down a hotel in Lausanne , another town 45 mins away. So we did the obvious thing and took the most expensive uber ride of our lives (that cost about the same as a 5 star hotel stay for a few days) and ended up in a hotel to get some rest for just 4 hours.

In the morning, got a chance to ride the metro and take the train out of the Lausanne terminal.

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Reached Geneva airport and thankfully the flights were back up and running. We had to connect through Lisbon in portugal before flying into London (thanks to the rebooking) finally a day late. We planned to visit one country and landed back having visited 4

Roadtrip through Switzerland in a Mini JCW Convertible-20240626_193210.jpg

Last edited by agambhandari : 4th February 2025 at 00:28.
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Old 4th February 2025, 05:13   #6
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Re: Roadtrip through Switzerland in a Mini JCW Convertible

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!
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Old 4th February 2025, 13:53   #7
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Re: Roadtrip through Switzerland in a Mini JCW Convertible

Thanks for sharing! Excellent travelogue!

Good to see you making the most of your stay in Europe!

Jeroen

Last edited by vb-saan : 4th February 2025 at 15:18. Reason: A small correction. Thank you
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Old 4th February 2025, 14:03   #8
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Re: Roadtrip through Switzerland in a Mini JCW Convertible

Vow, that was a fantastic travelogue with beautiful photos and drone shots. Looks like you had a great time. What is the procedure for renting a car in Switzerland, what all documents are required? Also, if you could share the details of your stay and your rating for the same; as that will be of great use to prospective travellers. Thank you for sharing and keep on munching miles.
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Old 4th February 2025, 20:56   #9
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Re: Roadtrip through Switzerland in a Mini JCW Convertible

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Originally Posted by Jeroen View Post
Thanks for sharing! Excellent travelogue!

Good to see you making the most of your stay in Europe!

Jeroen
Thanks for the appreciation. Indeed it was a great time and I got a chance to visit Europe again in the same trip , to Prague and to Italy, hope to share the experience of that shortly.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Kkumar View Post
Vow, that was a fantastic travelogue with beautiful photos and drone shots. Looks like you had a great time. What is the procedure for renting a car in Switzerland, what all documents are required? Also, if you could share the details of your stay and your rating for the same; as that will be of great use to prospective travellers. Thank you for sharing and keep on munching miles.
Thank you for your kind words. I was not sure about how usable the drone would be in Switzerland but fellow bhpian ToyotaFan assured me there are plenty of places to use it to full extent there. and he was spot on

Here are the hotels that I stayed at, I was very happy with the arrangements at each of them, would definitely recommend.

InterCity Hotel in Geneva

Moxy Bern Expo

Wyna Motel, Near Lucerne

For renting a car, I usually book through kayak.co.in or book directly through the rental car company website (SIXT in this case)

Requirements are very simple, just a valid passport and a valid ticket (that you travelled on and sometimes a subsequent return ticket) to be shown at time of car pickup. Although most countries (including Switzerland) don't need an International drivers permit as long as your current driver's license is in English, some rental car companies do insist on it, so would suggest o have it ready just in case. I expect it might also be needed in cases you need to claim insurance.

Would suggest to book a car with the minimum amount and pay the rest at time of pickup. And most importantly, opt for the maximum Insurance coverage available to you. Most companies will offer a zero deductible full coverage.

For driving a car on Swiss highways, car must be equipped with a Highway Vignette. It is included by default if you rent the car in Switzerland, but you may need to buy it extra if driving into Switzerland from another country.

By the end of my extended UK(and the rest) 4 month long trip, I had rented a total of 15 cars and would be glad to answer any queries if anybody has about Renting a car abroad.

Last edited by agambhandari : 4th February 2025 at 20:58.
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Old 4th February 2025, 21:39   #10
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Re: Roadtrip through Switzerland in a Mini JCW Convertible

Thanks for the amazing pictures, videos and travelogue. They kindled the memories of my old trip days many years back. Norway and Swiss were the 2 most expensive countries to tour back then. I bet it still remains the same. European roads with Mini - that is fun
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Old 5th February 2025, 07:38   #11
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Re: Roadtrip through Switzerland in a Mini JCW Convertible

That was a lovely travelogue, and it’s sad that the bad weather spoiled it a bit for your family. Hotel cancellations, flight disruptions, and paying high fares for an Uber can be nerve-wracking moments, especially for travelers from India.

Quote:
Originally Posted by agambhandari View Post
By the end of my extended UK (and the rest) 4-month long trip, I had rented a total of 15 cars and would be glad to answer any queries if anybody has about Renting a car abroad.
I’m glad you offered this advice! I’ll be traveling to the UK for a week in April, with 4 days reserved for a short trip to Scotland and the remaining time spent around London. I’d love to take you up on your offer regarding "Renting a car in the UK" without breaking the bank (I will be glad for a performance car but can settle for a simpler one if the price is too prohibitive). The goal is to complete the Scotland trip by car.

Here are a few key requests:

1. My wife and 2-year-old son will be accompanying me on this trip. Do car rental companies provide baby car seats?
2. What car models and car rental platforms would you recommend for this trip?
3. If you have any suggestions for the road trip, they would be much appreciated.
4. Would I need an International Driving Permit (IDP) to drive in the UK?
5. Any other tips or advice for traveling in the UK would be greatly appreciated.

Best regards,
S
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Old 5th February 2025, 13:28   #12
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Re: Roadtrip through Switzerland in a Mini JCW Convertible

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Originally Posted by agambhandari View Post
Reached Geneva and checked into the hotel close to the airport.

Geneva has some of the best luxury shopping options and it was easy to spot some classy cars like these.
Seems like a nice trip rounded off with some chaos in the end.
The time we went to Geneva, we started out with the full tourist agenda including taking the tour of the the rich and famous neighborhoods.

Got bored of it and did the one thing I should have - Went to Patek Philippe Museum. It's an outstanding place with a great showcase of Horology. However, I could not find any other watch that I owned appealing thereafter.

After stepping out, we were walking in the city and just then we saw an entourage of black Cayenne's cross the road and stop around the Rolex showroom that was in the vicinity. Lot of black-suited jumped out and started standing in position. a few minutes later, a Dubai Plated RR Phantom drove by to the Rolex showroom. Never got to see who stepped out of the Phantom.


Till date I can't figure out why one would take the effort to fly in their car and bring in their security personnel all the way to Geneva when Rolex will happily roll the red carpet for them right outside their mansions in Dubai.

Middle class me can't understand the ways of life of the ultra-rich
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Old 5th February 2025, 23:32   #13
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Re: Roadtrip through Switzerland in a Mini JCW Convertible

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Originally Posted by starlord View Post

I’m glad you offered this advice! I’ll be traveling to the UK for a week in April, with 4 days reserved for a short trip to Scotland and the remaining time spent around London. I’d love to take you up on your offer regarding "Renting a car in the UK" without breaking the bank (I will be glad for a performance car but can settle for a simpler one if the price is too prohibitive). The goal is to complete the Scotland trip by car.

Here are a few key requests:

1. My wife and 2-year-old son will be accompanying me on this trip. Do car rental companies provide baby car seats?
2. What car models and car rental platforms would you recommend for this trip?
3. If you have any suggestions for the road trip, they would be much appreciated.
4. Would I need an International Driving Permit (IDP) to drive in the UK?
5. Any other tips or advice for traveling in the UK would be greatly appreciated.

Best regards,
S
I rented cars from London multiple times and I would recommend to rent from the airport you are flying back out of(most likely Heathrow), and if not flying back immediately, then definitely rent from Heathrow as it has best connections to public transit.

1. Best options I found is to use website kayak.co.in , and put in the LHR airport and just sort by cheapest price. Then remove out the car classes you don't want(I used to remove the smallest, say Fiat 500)

2. Select the rental companies, I would say get Europcar if possible , because through kayak you end up at klook and you get option to booking zero deductible insurance at a reasonable price. While Europcar may seem expensive, but after including insurance it is in fact one of the cheapest. Try to stick to bigger companies like Europcar/Hertz/Enterprise/SIXT or one of their subsidiaries as they do regular shuttle services from all terminals and the cars are handed out from within airport limits.

As for Car models , I would recommend to book A compact (Ford focus/VW Golf) at the minimum as you get good space and decent luggage room as well. I liked europcar as they were flexible depending on the availablity. Eg I got a much roomier MG HS SUV (size of a Tiguan) twice even though I had booked a compact only. but the other 2 times i got compact as planned. Premium cars can be booked but there is considerable difference in price and you can decide if its worth it. Also Manuals are cheaper to rent in most segments.

3. Just follow the rules , especially on roundabouts and intersections and be aware of your surroundings and the Lane you should be in. Its really much easier to drive in the UK than to drive in India. If possible get a car with Adaptive cruise control and lane keep assist, as the drive from London up to scotland is quite boring at times with traffic at times , roadworks and speed cameras, though plenty of fun in scotland.

I did a week long trip to scotland , will hopefully share soon. But just would suggest you to take a car of manageable size. Dont get something like a 5 series/E class as personally there are many narrow roads in scotland and it can get tricky. I loved driving a Golf and a cupra. Get a crossover if looking for comfort

4. Its not required , but you dont know if any company enforces that sometimes. Some companies require IDPs from all non UK and non EU drivers.

5. Take a credit card that works contactless internationally with ease , as that sorts out all your public transit. If zero forex markup, thats the best to save money. And Always carry an umbrella, or even better a light raincoat. It can rain at anytime anywhere, you just need to be prepared. Get a cheap eSIM/physical sim from Lyca/Voxi and you have good data plans to use on your phone.

Hope this helps. feel free to ask any doubts about the UK or the roadtrip.

Cheers
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Old 6th February 2025, 21:54   #14
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Re: Roadtrip through Switzerland in a Mini JCW Convertible

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Originally Posted by agambhandari View Post
I did a week long trip to scotland, will hopefully share soon. But just would suggest you to take a car of manageable size. Dont get something like a 5 series/E class as personally there are many narrow roads in scotland and it can get tricky. I loved driving a Golf and a cupra. Get a crossover if looking for comfort

Hope this helps. feel free to ask any doubts about the UK or the roadtrip.
Super helpful. Can't thank you enough.

Eagerly waiting for your scotland trip update.

I am getting a quote of INR 30,420 for a MG HS from discovercars and an INR 51,353.50 quote from sixt for Audi Q3 for a 4-day rental. I am leaning heavily towards the Q3. Let me know if you think these are reasonable.
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Old 6th February 2025, 21:58   #15
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Re: Roadtrip through Switzerland in a Mini JCW Convertible

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Super helpful. Can't thank you enough.

Eagerly waiting for your scotland trip update.

I am getting a quote of INR 30,420 for a MG HS from discovercars and an INR 51,353.50 quote from sixt for Audi Q3 for a 4-day rental. I am leaning heavily towards the Q3. Let me know if you think these are reasonable.
Prices seem okay. Do check kayak as there may be deals depending on how the demand is. If not strict about the size you can also book a smaller size and upgrade at counter. Do note that the Q3 might be the 1.5 TSI only, as I saw most of them with it. If it's sixt, you can even ask them as they are pretty knowledgeable unlike other companies .
HS was honestly nothing special to drive, just about adequate power, confused gearbox and poor FE. But it was very comfortable, have to admit that.
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