Fuel Prices When Driving in Europe

With ever increasing fuel prices, driving holidays are becoming more expensive than they once were. Many Britons who decide to travel abroad with their own car, or even a rental car, may find that the petrol prices cost more than it would to use public transport or to fly. The trick with managing your fuel prices abroad is to start to plan before you leave and stick to a relatively tight schedule if you can.

Planning Ahead for Fuel Prices

Before you go on holiday there is plenty of planning to be done. Generally you’ll find that you’ll plan hotels, stops, routes, sight-seeing and other important parts of the trip, but not many people budget and work out petrol prices beforehand. If you know how many miles you’ll be travelling, it can be quite sobering to work out a general costing of the fuel you’re likely to need. There are a few easy ways of doing this:

• Work out the miles you’ll cover and then how many miles your car does on a full tank
• Work out the distance you’ll be travelling and find out how many miles to the gallon your car can do
• Always remember to adjust this dependent on road conditions, weight of the vehicle and weather
• Average out fuel costs in the countries you’re going to and multiply this by the gallons or litres you’re likely to use for your trip. Always add on a little extra for ever changing fuel costs

Where to Find Information on Petrol Prices Throughout Europe

There are a number of excellent places that will provide you with up to date petrol prices throughout Europe. If you won’t have Internet access on your trip, you should print out the general prices before you go and take it with you. If you are able to access it while travelling, you’ll get new prices as they alter and will be able to accurately work out your petrol budget. Some of the best websites for watching petrol prices throughout Europe are:

• AA European Petrol Prices
• Karzoo Petrol Prices

Consumer Complaints About European Petrol Prices

One of the biggest complaints when it comes to petrol prices in Europe is that they seem to be much higher than many other places in the world. Even when the price of oil drops, it’s often the case that petrol prices don’t follow suit. The UK is well-known as one of the most expensive places in the world for petrol prices and this is mainly due to high taxes.

Other countries where petrol is expensive around Europe are Norway and some of the other Northern European countries. Even though Norway is considered to be one of the richest countries in the world due to their oil production, their petrol prices are still extremely high. You could always opt for LPG gas if you’re planning to travel around Europe, however you should be aware that many service stations may not provide this as commonly as petrol so you would need to know in advance where to obtain it.