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Driving costs abroad

Pay-as-you-go tolls are charged on most motorways in France, Spain and Italy. You can pay cash (have change ready) or with a credit card.

Examples of journey costs:

Paris to Calais £12.54 (18.50 Euros)
Lyon to Montpellier £14.16 (20.90 Euros)
Tours to Bordeaux £18.83 (27.80 Euros)

In Austria passes are 7.60 Euros (£5.18) for 10 days or 21.8 Euros (£14.36) for two months. All passes can be bought from service stations near the border.

Although these costs may make driving abroad appear more costly than in the UK, the cost of fuel tends to be lower. The following table shows the cost of a litre of fuel in various European countries.

Country Unleaded (£) Unleaded (€)* Diesel (£) Diesel (€)*
UK 0.97 1.43 0.95 1.40
Spain 0.66 0.97 0.67 0.98
Ireland 0.75 1.10 0.74 1.09
Austria 0.75 1.10 0.70 1.03
France 0.85 1.25 0.85 1.25
Germany 0.90 1.32 0.77 1.13

*Exchange rate at the time of writing = 1.47 Euros to the pound.

Next: Swot up on Euro driving rules