Driving/riding overseas

Since this is a well travel bunch...

I am planning a trip out of the U.S. Do I need to get an international drivers license or is my stateside license and passport good enough?

 

Where you going?

 

You will not be able to drive in other countries with your US Drivers License.

At least not anywhere i have ever been.

 

well obviously you can't ride on water with a car or bike

 

Here's a good article by Rick Steves. He is an expert on European travel.

https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/rental-car-requirements

 

Where are you going? There are a lot of countries in Western Europe and Asia where you don't need a car; in fact, it's often a bad idea to get a rental car.

 

Yes, But do you need this or is it junk?

http://www.aaa.com/vacation/idpf.html

Thinking of Itally or Swtzerland and riding in the Alps

 

EDIT: Walked away from my desk and posted late. Responding to Fencer's latest post.

You won't need an international driver's license for those areas. I've rented motorcycles and cars in both Italy and Switzerland several times over the last 4 years and never needed them.

That being said - having a document with the info on your driver's license translated into the local language can never hurt. (And Switzerland has four official languages!)

 

I've rented cars and driven in Australia, Spain, Portugal, and England, and never had an international drivers license. Is this a new requirement?

 

I rent cars in other countries all the time. There's nothing an AMEX card can't take care of!

 

Away from the license regs, just talking about the drivers:

Switzerland, you'll be fine driving. Very German, very orderly, people know how to drive, just watch your speed because you'll get fined HARD for as little as 5 kmh over. Like driving in Texas.

Italy: Okay, now you're talking about something totally different. People do not know how to drive, they all think they are qualifying for F1/ motogp, The shoulder, the right lane, the lawn next to the road are all for passing and their hands are NEVER on the wheel, they need them to talk. Plus they will steal anything they can (spare tire, gas cap, the hood, the doors off the car). This is like driving in Atlanta with everyone on meth and cough syrup.

 

An international driver's licence is simply all the info on your US license translated into several different languages. Most European police wouldn't know what they were looking at if you gave it to them.

I have been driving all over Europe for a long time on my US license and never had any issues. That being said you would, obviously, benefit to not have any entanglements with the local constabulary regardless.

You will have no trouble renting a car with a US license either. You will use your passport as primary identification.
Local driving customs will vary from what you are used to in the US. and you may want to familiarize yourself. For example; drive on the right and pass ONLY on the left, use turn signals, and in Italy right of way goes to the person who brakes latest or not at all.
I suggest the chase scenes in "The Bourne Identity" and "Ronan" if you have any questions.

 

Yeah, except don't drive like you're in Texas. They get really, really upset about people who don't keep right except to pass, and right-of-way rules are often different than what US drivers expect.

Troof. Probably not a good idea to rent a car/bike in Italy. France is slightly better, as long as you don't try anything truly stupid like driving in Paris. The federal gendarmes like to hassle tourists driving rental cars, especially in the rural areas. IMO the French Alps are more scenic than the Italian Alps.

 

Speed cameras nabbed me twice in Switzerland this past November; once driving to Fribourg from Geneva and the other heading back. I think I was going ~10kph over (6mph) both times. This resulted in fines of about $275. Oh, and Hertz charged me a fee for having to pass the info on to the local government. Fun times.

It's really not that bad. Compared to DC Metro area drivers, Italians are better.


One thing you MUST observe if you're going to drive in Europe; the left-hand lane on the autobahn/autostrada/whatever is for PASSING. You get in the left lane, you pass somebody, then you move back over. I don't know why we Americans have such a hard time with the concept.

 

I've driven in Germany, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jamaica on a US Drivers License with no problems. Got pulled over in Jamaica and Saudi - still no problem, mon.

 

Take a trip to Costa Rica, they make Italians look like Germans, only 3 wheels on the road over a 200 foot cliff going 60 around a 180 degree turn? No problem! Its been years and Im still clenching.

 

Don't get me started.

 

Ireland, UK, IOM, Costa Rica, Mexico, Jamaica with no drama or international license.

Europe has some interesting insurance demands. Don't assume your credit card will cover it in the country you're traveling in. I know my AMEX does nothing for me in Ireland renting motorcycles and cars, not sure about other countries.

 

Um I rode a motorcycle through switzerland, italy, germany and austria all legal with my US license.

There are laws that deal with visitors making it legal.

 

There is no such thing as an international drivers license. If you look...its just a translation of some shit into other languages. Where you want to go...English is well understood.