Before the first drive: what to organise and what the hire company provides

Between booking and departure lies a manageable list, and the good news first: with a hired motorhome, most of it is already done or the hire company’s job. What remains is mostly handled online. Only two things need real lead time, and both hang on the number plate.

Documents: fewer than you think

• Driving licence: category B covers practically every hired motorhome. The details are in their own article.
• ID: identity card or passport, depending on the destination, for everyone travelling.
• Credit card: the deposit is usually held on a credit card. Which card is accepted and how much headroom the limit needs is in the hire agreement; sort that out before departure, not at the counter.
• Vehicle documents and proof of insurance: come with the vehicle — that is the hire company’s job. At handover, just check they are on board and have them show you where.

Vignettes: digital, tied to the plate, from the official operator

Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary require vignettes, and these days they are mostly bought digitally: no sticker any more, but a registration of the number plate. That is exactly why the number plate is your most important piece of advance information: ask the hire company for it as soon as the vehicle is fixed, then you buy the vignettes calmly from home. Buy them only from the official operators, for Austria, for instance, on asfinag.at; resellers often charge a mark-up for the same vignettes. Also watch for waiting periods between online purchase and validity: in Austria, according to ASFINAG, 2-month and annual vignettes bought online are only valid from the 18th day after purchase, day and 10-day vignettes immediately (as of October 2026).

Two things the vignette does not cover: special toll sections like the Brenner cost extra, and in countries like Italy, France or Croatia you pay at toll stations instead. How the systems fit together is explained in the toll article; which of them lie on your route, the planner works out for you.

France: the Crit’Air sticker needs lead time

Many French cities have low-emission zones for which a Crit’Air sticker on the windscreen is mandatory. You can order it through the official site certificat-air.gouv.fr of the French environment ministry at the official price, for foreign plates too; third parties often sell the same sticker at a mark-up. It comes by post, so don’t order it at the last minute. For a hired vehicle, the same rule again: first ask the hire company whether the sticker is already on. In fleets that often go to France, that is not unusual.

Whether your route passes through a low emission zone at all, the planner shows you: it marks the zones on your route and adds the sticker to your checklist when you need one, in France as in other countries with zones. What else changes at the border, from speed limits to required equipment, is on the page about the rules abroad.

Ferries and the first night

If a ferry is firmly on your route, book early: the price depends on the length and height of the vehicle, and spaces for large vehicles are limited. The planner shows you where your route uses a ferry, but does not itself state fares or departure times; for those, the way leads to the ferry operator or a booking portal.

And plan the first night conservatively: collection is often only in the afternoon, followed by the briefing and loading up. A destination one to two hours away is more realistic for the first evening than an Alpine pass, and in the school holidays a reservation for the first and last night is cheap peace of mind.

Equipment: ask first, buy later

The urge to empty a camping shop before the first tour is understandable and mostly unnecessary. Much of it comes with a hired vehicle or can be booked on cheaply. The list for the conversation with the hire company:

• Bedding and towels, or are you bringing your own?
• Basic kitchen kit: pots, crockery, cutlery
• Camping table and chairs
• Gas bottle: filled on board, is there a second one, and who pays for refills?
• Hook-up cable with CEE plug plus an adapter for ordinary sockets
• Levelling ramps for standing straight and a fresh-water hose
• Toilet chemicals and spares for the cassette toilet

The mandatory kit such as warning triangle and vests travels with the vehicle — that too is the hire company’s job. What you genuinely organise yourself is manageable: food for the first evening, a torch, and the composure to get out twice during your first manoeuvre.