An increasing number of American families now take their vacation in Europe. It is possible, but expensive, to have your car flown out too if you want to drive around Europe. A better bet is to book yourself a car with a rental agency before you fly out and preferably when you book your flights and accommodation. Austria is a country that requires non-European residents to carry an International Driving Permit or IDP along with their personal driving identification.

You can get such a permit before you take off on your vacation and your insurer should be able to advise you on this. It is a fairly simple obtaining an IDP, you take two passport sized photos and a $10 fee down to your local automobile club and they will issue you the permit.

Nobody who visits Austria should miss the city of Vienna as it is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Austria has a long, regal past and you can still find plenty of evidence of this as you drive around that country. If you have your own car flown out and it breaks down while you are driving around Austria then you need breakdown vehicle recovery insurance to get your vehicle returned to the United States.

It’s always advisable to check with your insurer before you go abroad as you may be lucky enough to have picked one of the few that will give you temporary international cover for a raised premium during the period you are away. If you are only away for two weeks you will probably still have to pay at least one month’s higher premium to get the cover – but that is just a drop in the ocean compared ot trashing your car and having to pay to get it back to the States.