ADAC and ANWB the European AAAs

We recently learned that ANWB will give you discounts on certain items in their store (i.e. maps) if you are an ADAC member. It may work the same way the other way around. Of course, it never hurts to ask!

ADAC is like the German AAA. Most people end up using ADAC for their towing service. The yearly dues costs about the same as a normal towing service, but ADAC will take your car to the nearest garage instead of the nearest exit. They also sell maps and guides of Germany. My favorite are the Motorcycle guides, which give you around 15 routes per region. FYI: You can buy the maps and guides without a membership. You can get a full listing of services provided by an ADAC membership here.

Just in case something does happen, and you don’t have a membership, ADAC will sign you up on the side of the road if you need them. Just call them at 22 22 22 on your cell phone in Germany or +49 89 22 22 22 if you are out of country and press 1 for an operator.

Our Recent Experience

On a busy holiday weekend, my husband was driving back from Garmisch on his motorcycle when it abruptly stopped working. Police made sure he safely made his way to the side of the highway, and called ADAC for him. We already had an ADAC Plus membership (about 90 euro/year), so he gave the ADAC office our membership number and they headed to his location with a trailer. The driver drove him and the bike to the nearest ADAC highway office, where he was given a rental car to make his way home. The bike was returned to our house two days later, where they then put the rental car on the trailer to take back to their highway station. A few weeks later I received a letter stating that these services would have cost us over 1000 euro if we had not had an ADAC membership. ADAC made the whole ordeal so much easier to handle and saved us hundreds of euro.

Closest ADAC Office (Garage)
Strangenhäuschen 16
52070 Aachen
Mo.- Fr.: 09:00 – 18:00

ANWB is the Dutch version of AAA and offers many of the same services as ADAC. Both have memberships that can cover you and your car throughout Europe. If you need help, call +31 (0)88 2692 888.

Closest ANWB Offices
Rosmolenstraat 40
6131 HZ Sittard

Honigmanstraat 100
6411 LM Heerlen

Sittard and Heerlen Opening Hours
Mo: 13.00-18.00
Tu-Fr: 9.30-18.00
Th: to 21.00
Sat: 9.30-17.00

Hoogstraat 150
6373 HZ Landgraaf
Mo: 13.00-17.00
Tu-Fr: 10.00-17.00
Sat: 10.00-16.00

Remember, this blog is not getting paid to say this. I’m just letting you know these services exist if you’re interested in using them. Call or visit their office to get all of the info.