We are flying into Germany in July and plan to visit Austria, Italy, Swiss, France and back to Germany by Car or rather mini van. We are a family of 8+1. Is there any good site where I can rent such a big van?
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Hi Joe 789,
some can be found here...
tigercarrental.com/fleet/germany-fleet.htm
or here...
weekrent.com/deutschland/…rentalcar.php
or here...
www.en.cars4holidays.com/auswahl.html…
or here...
http://www.emietwagen.de/SearchResults.do;jsessionid=13C5C1A662831E26485CA562A2BB1B91.node5
Bye
Zap
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Thanks Zap! What kind of cars could I use for such long travels? I have the options of Opel Vivaro, Mercedes Vito, VW Craville, Mercedes Sprinter and Ford Transit. Can I fit 5 to 6 big luggages in these cars with 9 people in it? Also how feasible is it to drive around in big cities with these? thx.
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The Mercedes Sprinter is the largest of all those, the VW Caravelle is 2nd largest. I suppose the Vito would be a bit smaller than a Vivaro and a Transit. If they all cost the same I%26#39;d go for the Sprinter.
But then the Sprinter is a real van whereas the others handle more like big cars or SUVs.
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Hi,
I am not working for any of these companies :-)
But I guess with Ford Transit or VW Multivan you are on the safe side concerning space and reliability (also spares service on your way).
Make sure that the model you get is the one with long (!) wheelbase but I guess all 9-seaters have that anyway.
Driving in major cities:
- no issue except you probably will not be able to use city-center parking garages. But there is most of the time a %26quot;par%26amp;ride%26quot; ride possibility.
- %26quot;par%26amp;ride%26quot; = you park your car outside the city at a subway or bus-station (especially prepared for that purpose i.e. also for commuters). Then you take the subway or bus to city center. This is anyway ~10 times faster than to take the car :-) and you do not need to bother finding a parking space.
Driving on highways:
- all highways are perfect for use of Van%26#39;s.
- make sure the engine you choose is not too small. 2.5 Diesel engines are ok but more is of course better.
Driving on country side:
- depends. Most roads have no %26quot;issue%26quot; with big cars. They are used by trucks anyway. But some roads are forbidden for trucks i.e. those you will also avoid.
- Driving in mountains depends a bit on the country but in principle the roads are getting more narrow the higher you get. Probably you know the %26quot;hairpin bend%26quot; that is quit common in Europe%26#39;s mountains.
- you can try to rent also a %26quot;TomTom%26quot; navigation system. Easy to use, nice voices and knows all the roads....
More?
Bye
Zap
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With a large van you will certainly have parking problems. First, most parking garages are out because the van may be too high. Parking spots on the street and in regular parking lots are usually on the small side and many will not be suitable for such a large vehicle. Also, there will be few signs to direct you to suitable parking places. You will quickly become aware of these potential problems and will have to come up with a plan to deal with them. Outside of parking, the only other potential problem is that some streets may be too narrow for such a wide vehicle but that shouldn%26#39;t be a real problem if you watch for potential diffculties.
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Thanks for your advice guys! One of the main reason I was planning to traveling by van was one of them in my family cannot walk much. How difficult is it for the senior people to get onto the trains?
So, its better to park at the train station closer to the city and commute by train from there to the city and probably take a cab or something to the places we wanted to visit. Also can I find any info as to where to park before hand and plan out the route.
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Don%26#39;t do trains if you have a person that doesn%26#39;t walk very well. Some times there are stairs without any elevator or escalator (or if there are they may be out of order). With a car or van you can drive the group right to where you want to go - and not just to the next best train station where you%26#39;ll have to wait for some bus or so...
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If you are planning to do all this in the lake Constance to Salzburg region-- probably not too difficult, although you will be pressed for time if you try to travel to the interiors of these countries.
Make sure that, if you are traveling on Autobahns in Austria that you purchase a windshield %26quot;vignette%26quot; (available at most German gas stations near the border) before driving on an Austrian autobahn. NOT necessary if you use roads other than autobahns. Ditto Switzerland.
Many of the German light rail systems make some accomodations for those in wheelchairs (not everywhere but they are working on it).
I do not know about some of the cities in Germany, but Munich has gone out of their way for handicapped access and stopping at a Park and Ride (P%26amp;R) and taking the train in is a definite good idera in Munich. Sites that you will find useful if you go there are:
Handicapped accessible stations on Munich S/U-Bahn (and marks P%26amp;R sites): mvv-muenchen.de/web4archiv/objects/download/…
Same but for entire region
mvv-muenchen.de/web4archiv/objects/download/…
This page shows actual layouts of the individual train stations. Must have popups enabled. Click on desired station on the pop-up and another will appear showing locations of ramps, lifts etc
mvv-muenchen.de/en/…index.html
.
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%26quot;One of the main reason I was planning to traveling by van was one of them in my family cannot walk much. How difficult is it for the senior people to get onto the trains?%26quot;
If a person has problems walking, many things will be difficult to do. Visiting a place lke Neuschwanstein palace will not be possible because of the stairs, ditto other places. If you confne your travels to more rural places then parking and handicap access may not be such a problem. Also, try to visit places that offer wheelchairs to visitors. I know in Wlhelma zoo-botanical gardens in Stuttgart that there are wheelchars available at the entrance. As mentioned previously, it is naive to expect all train stations to be accessable without stairs, and I know from personal experience how frequenly elevators or escalators may be out of order.
In your circumstances, I think that I would scale back your plans and spend longer times at interesting places. Then the disabled person could sit back and enjoy the surroundings while the others went to see and do other things that are more strenuous.
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