/The things I learnt when driving in Europe

The things I learnt when driving in Europe

Coming from the South East of England meant that each and every day I could see France, that’s a fact that some people struggle to believe but trust me I could see our neighbour’s coastline on a daily basis! The Dover ferry port was only twenty minutes away so my friends and I would use any excuse we could to take a day trip over to Calais and beyond. Of course we always used to bring the car along with us, I mean who wouldn’t? There’s tastier food, cheaper wine and lots more for you to bring back home! Having done the trip on several occasions I can tell you that I learnt some essential things about driving over on ‘the continent’ some of which I wish I knew before we headed off.

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I know that heading off with your car to Europe is very exciting and something that we all look forward to but that’s no excuse to forget about safety and make sure that you are fully prepared for the trip ahead. Some of my advice might seem very straightforward and simple, you would however be very surprised how many people make these mistakes. The best way to have fun driving in Europe is to make sure that nothing goes wrong so here are the things you should definitely not leave off your checklist!

The driving licence

Yes, quite an obvious one this for most people. There are a lot of us who may not have it on us when we drive at and therefore will forget to take it with us before we hop on the ferry, you cannot forget it! If the police stop ask then you must be able to show it and if you want to hire a car then it goes with out saying that it is one hundred percent essential.

Check your insurance

More often than not car insurance will cover you for short periods of time when driving abroad usually that’s 14 days or so, but you have to check your cover before you leave and make sure that it’s valid for all of the countries that you will visit. I learnt that you should always add an extra drive to your insurance for the trip, you never know when you will be too tired or even ill to drive.

Get your breakdown cover in order

Nearly everyone has got some form of breakdown cover for when they are in the UK, this doesn’t mean that you will automatically be covered in Europe. We always chose European breakdown cover from the AA, always fantastic and always reliable. Having that extra peace of mind when you are driving to the hotel or stock up your boot is well worth it!