MarkyP

Hi.
We are driving to Hungary in just under 2 weeks for a bit of house hunting and just need to check what vignettes/tolls would be involved. We are driving to Zalaszentlászló from Dunkirk using toll roads & the route takes us through a tiny bit of France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, then into Hungary. According to Google Maps, we only need a vignette for Austria on that route, though we will buy one for Hungary as we will be travelling about. Is that all we need? We have already bought the vignettes through Toll Tickets website. The Austrian one will be posted & the Hungarian one is just a receipt (e-vignette). We will also be stopping off in Regensburg on the way down, & Frankfurt on the return journey. So, have I got everything sorted or am I missing something? I have all the car kit too (warning triangles, jackets, spare bulb kit, first aid etc). TIA.

Peter_in_Hungary

Don't forget the paperwork - log book, insurance documents and MOT cert. Consider breakdown cover. If you are based in Zalaszentlászló then you can probably do without a Hungarian motorway ticket unless you are going to Budapest and even then consider public transport as parking up there is a pain. So plan where you are going before you buy a Hungarian ticket. You can set google maps to avoid toll roads.

BritInParis

I would get a 1968 IDP from the Post Office for anyone who will be driving as an insurance policy against a ‘no deal’ Brexit.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/internat...-28-march-2019

Szeged

Just in case anyone is interested, we took a family of five holiday last summer whereby we stayed in Italy for a week before heading off to Hungary. Here were our return trip details -

1. Petrol - £500
2. P&O Ferry - £180
   3 Adults, 2 Children.
3. Toll (Matrica/Vignette) Tickets - £34.28 / 12,467 HUF / €38.65
   This was made up of: €10.56 (Hungary) + €15 (Slovenia) + €9 (Austria) + €4.09 (Italy)
4. 60 Hours of Driving.
5. 5,100 Km of Driving

We bought our Vignettes either 1 stop (i.e. one service station) before a border, or no more than one stop after the border. Our 60 hours of driving considered the following:

Heavy Rain, slower speeds, other weather conditions, roadworks, etc - all of which added extra time to our overall journey, so do not believe the times quoted by Google Maps and Sat-Navs for example. We had to wait coming towards the Austrian/Hungarian border for example just because some customs officers decided to carry out spot checks and on that day Austria was p*ssing it down with really heavy rain (never experienced so much heavy rain all through the Austrian drive through).

MarkyP

Our car is a motability car. We just had to contact RAC and they supplied us with all the necessary paperwork & breakdown cover. I have driven down to Malaga a few times, so used to long journeys & bad weather (it once rained non stop from Malaga to Calais! We will also be back a day before one of the new Brexit dates on Aprl 11th.

Peter_in_Hungary

In that case the blue UK disability parking badges work here - at least until Brexit

MarkyP

Oh yes, forgot about that.

scrubbedexpat0105

If you drive in any city in Germany, you technically need an emissions sticker, and if you have an older diesel or absolutely ancient petrol-engined car, you won't be able to enter some cities at all with it.

You can get the stickers online in advance.

Some motorway sections in Austria are private and are not covered by the vignette. You pay for them at the toll booths. I don't think there are any such sections on the route via Vienna, but there are two short sections on the route via Graz, cost around €5 - €8. So have some euro handy, or at least your credit card, if you decide to take that route.

MarkyP

Thanks. So, as we are staying in Regensburg & Frankfurt, does that mean we will need emission stickers for both places?

jetblackonetenth

Once you have a emissions sticker it is valid in all cities

MarkyP

Thanks. Despite the fact I knew about the emission stickers, completely forgot about the fact that we were stopping off in the centre of Frankfurt! Will order one online but delivery will be very tight. Needs to arrive within 8 working days from Germany. How easy are they to buy in Germany?

scrubbedexpat0105

You can also buy them at TÜV SÜD service centres.

MarkyP

What about Austria? Been reading about emission zones there too, but getting contradicting advice online. Is this for lorries only?

scrubbedexpat0105

https://www.umwelt-pickerl.at/en.html

A sticker is currently compulsory in Austria only for trucks and small commercial vehicles.

Most of the zones that exist restrict access to vehicles with Euro 2 and above.

MarkyP

Thank you.