Travelling by car allows you to experience our destinations at your own pace. It enables you to visit places and explore sights and villages which could otherwise be difficult to reach. It could be scenic roads, viewpoints or small islands and villages. We have a selection of self-drive tours where the journey itself is part of the attraction.
Explore our self-drive tours in Europe and Scandinavia
Will I meet a representative from Authentic Europe during my trip?
Can I book my flights before I receive my tour confirmation?
The tour price includes hotel accommodation with breakfast. Rental car, in category compact elite auto (Mercedes A class or similar) with automatic transmission, unlimited mileage, airport access fee, third party liability, road fund license, theft protection, VAT and collision damage waiver for the duration (x 24 hours) as specified under `services included´ on each tour. At a supplement a GPS and excess protection are available. Certain tours may also include ferry crossings and/ or rail tickets as specified under `services included´ on each tour.
As we offer tours to multiple countries throughout Europe, we do not have staff available to meet with you in person. Please rest assured, however, that we are always available on the phone and email during office hours and through our emergency phone outside of office hours should you require assistance during your travels.
Yes, a compact elite auto (Mercedes A class or similar) with automatic transmission, unlimited mileage, airport access fee, third party liability, road fund license, theft protection, VAT and collision damage waiver for the duration (x 24 hours) as specified under `services included´ on each tour. GPS and excess protection are available as a supplement.
You can start the self-drive tours any day of the week during the travel period (this is usually from April /May until October).
Road maps are not provided as part of the travel documents. We do, however, provide a detailed day-to-day travel itinerary with an overview map showing each day´s drive. A GPS is available for rental at a supplement.
Driving in Europe, UK and Ireland may differ from your previous experiences due to the fact that many roads are very narrow and for the best experiences we try to avoid much driving on motorways in our itineraries. This means that driving time per day may be longer than you expect by looking at the distance in kilometres. We have specified both the distance and expected duration per day for each tour on the itinerary to give you a better understanding of the driving involved per day.
Free parking is generally included at all the hotels in countryside locations. In cities, you will have to pay for parking locally. Parking is either in the hotel’s own car park or in a public parking garage close to the hotel. Generally, the hotels have agreements with these public parking places so they can offer a reduced rate for guests. The nightly rate varies, we will inform you about the charge in the travel documents.
Any person with a valid driving license issued in their country of origin is permitted to drive in the United Kingdom, Ireland and in France for up to 12 months. The minimum age for driving in Europe is generally 18 years of age (17 in the UK). To rent a car in Europe the minimum age is usually 21 years and if you are under 25 years of age there may be a supplement to pay.
Extra nights can be added when submitting the tour reservation through our website.
Extra nights before the start of the tour or after the end of the tour can also be added until the due date of the final payment by sending an e-mail to info@authentic-europe.com
Please note that there will be an amendment fee of EUR 50 for adding extra nights and/or overnight experiences in the middle of the tour once the tour is confirmed. The amendment fee also applies if adding an extra night after you have received the travel documents.
Should you wish to exclude any hotel overnights included in the tour we ask you kindly to specify this in the remarks field when submitting the reservation through our website.
It is not possible to take out the majority of the overnights included in the tour price. For tours including only 2 or 3 nights, no nights can be removed.
To get the amended tour price please contact us through the request form during the online booking process or by sending an email to info@authentic-europe.com
There is normally a 50% child reduction on our self-drive tours when 1-2 children are sharing a room with two fully paying persons. The age the child reduction applies to is usually up to 12 years, please note that not all of our hotels have rooms with space for four. To find the exact price for all travellers for a specific tour please enter a travel date, travellers, room type and hotel category.
We highly recommend for you not to book your flight tickets before you have received the tour confirmation from us. All of our tours are subject to availability, meaning we cannot guarantee availability until we have sent the tour confirmation. We always do our utmost to send the tour confirmation within 48 hours (Monday-Friday).
All travel documents will be sent by e-mail approximately one month prior to travel and after final payment has been received.
Included in the travel documents are a detailed travel itinerary, an address list, travel vouchers and ferry schedules. You will receive a travel voucher and/ or e-ticket for each service included in the package tour. These vouchers /e-tickets are your proof of payment and must be presented during your trip.
Explore our self-drive tours in Europe and Scandinavia
Trude joined the Haman Group in 2005, and has built up Authentic Scandinavia since the very beginning in 2008. She is now happy to share her time between Authentic Europe and Authentic Scandinavia.
Swedish born with many years in the travel industry, she has lived in UK, Switzerland & Spain. Lis has been with Authentic Europe from the start and is responsible for product development.
Emmanuel is native French and responsible for our tours to France. He has been living in Norway since 2014 and loves to explore the world on his bicycle. Emmanuel joined the Authentic Europe team in 2019.
As the CEO of the Haman Group Anette’s days are not your typical 9-5 job but she very much enjoys it! Anette is the one who made the dream of Authentic Scandinavia/Europe possible.
Orijana is born in Bosnia and Herzegovina but came to Norway in 1994. She has been in charge of Authentic Scandinavia's accounts since 2011. In 2013 she became the Chief Accountant of Haman Group.
After developing a fascination for Scandinavia, Natacha, originally from Switzerland, relocated to Oslo in November 2019. Her love for travelling, reading, and all things creative keeps her inspired and engaged.