Taking a rental car from Austria to Slovakia

We%26#39;re planning on flying to Vienna and then taking a rental car into Slovakia to visit family for a few days before returning to Austria and Germany - will taking the car into Slovakia present any problems? Will we have to pay an additional fee for taking the car there?

Or would it be better to take a train from Vienna over to Trencin, then take the train back and get the rental car from there? There will be 6 of us traveling, so a van is the best way for us to travel. But if taking a car into Slovakia is a problem, we can take the train.

Thanks in advance!

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I would suggest contacting major rental companies. Each has their own regulations regarding which category car would be permitted to enter certain central and eastern countries. This is a result of numerous car thefts that have occurred in previous times.

Generally I think that smaller, non luxury cars would present no problems but a van is probably the best for you and you can check that it could be rented.

Note that a drop off fee would probably be charged if you rent in one country and drop-off in another.

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Thanks, vertical - I knew one of the Vienna experts could help me out. :)

I%26#39;ll start contacting rental companies today - I didn%26#39;t know that some vehicles couldn%26#39;t be taken into eastern or central. We priced 2 cars and it%26#39;s much cheaper for us to have a van, plus we only have one person who%26#39;s willing to drive. ;)

No wonder the gasthouses in Slovakia comment on whether they have fenced parking or not, I didn%26#39;t know car theft was so bad there!! We%26#39;ll be sure to stay somewhere with secure parking, thanks for the tip!

I read about the drop-off fee for dropping off the rental car in another country, but with our itinerary we%26#39;re willing to pay the fee. We%26#39;re pretty spread out from start to finish.

Again, thanks a million! :)

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Look at Auto Europe. I read that many use their service.

www.autoeurope,com

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I just printed out info from AutoEurope! I heard they had the best rates.

Thanks again, vertical! :)

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Also Europcar has most of the time better rates than others (Sixt, Hertz, ...)

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www.europcar.at or www.europcar.com

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actually a lot of co in germany ask you not to take the car even into italy! because of theft.

there can be vandalism and %26#39;partial%26#39; dismount of some parts ;) - if you leave it in the parking lot in eastern europe. van could be a major target - they%26#39;re very expensive in europe. there%26#39;s a lot of gypsies in slovakia specifically - there are problems on trains even , overnight from vienna - they get on, get into your coupe and demand valuables - then get off on the next stop. beware!

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Thanks, RobbieAustria, I%26#39;ll check out that rental company as well. :)

Oxy, now I see why they would not let some cars into other countries! Hopefully I can find a company that will let us take a van into Slovakia, and I%26#39;ve already found a hotel with fenced-in parking.

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The theft problem may not be as bad as some here would advise- but reasonable care should be taken.

It is best not to leave things in the car / van and especially if they can be easily seen.

This pertains not just to Slovakia but everywhere.

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Also check with gemut.com. Bob Bestor is great to deal with and has good rates. Great customer service and he will go to bat for you with the rental company if you have any issues with rates etc.

Good luck.