Driving through France and returning car in Italy

You will want to research how much the "drop fee" is to rent in one country and return the car in another country.

We did a France/Italy car trip in May, picking up and returning the vehicle in Nice. After researching many options - - leasing, paying the drop fee so as to be able to fly home from Rome, dropping the French car in Nice and getting an Italian one in San Remo - - I found that the most advantageous plan was to do a figure 8 itinerary. We started in Nice, drove through Tuscany, returned to France, drove around Provence and the Cote d'Azur, and ended in Nice. That wound up saving us around $1000, not chump change. You can similarly explore your options on the AutoEurope and/or Kemwel sites. One thing to be aware of is that there is a fairly hefty fee if you pick up or drop off a leased car outside France, which pretty much negates the financial advantage of leasing for your relatively short jaunt. As to GPS, depends on the level of car. GPS's have gotten so inexpensive that it's generally more cost effective, for a 4 week trip, to buy your own here. You, then, can preload destinations, and become familiar with it.

The key with Rosalyn's results above is not necessarily picking and dropping in the same city (Nice) but at least picking and dropping in the same country (France). The fees should be pretty clear when you compare rental cost through Auto Europe/Kemwel or leasing costs through Europe by Car. GPS will cost extra.

The drop fee is usually several hundred Euro when done across country borders; we lucked out last time, renting a car in Amsterdam, driving up the Rhine then into Alsace and Provence and returning it in Paris because we were given a Paris car that needed to go home and thus didn't get a drop fee. Otherwise we were looking at about 350 Euro.

Be sure to confirm that your rental car agreement even allows you to take a car from France into Italy. Most often folks drop their French car in France, take the train into Italy and pick.up another car there.

I agree with Carolyn. Most rental companies don't want you to (Won't let you) take their car into Italy. They get real picky about that sort of thing. Italy is unique in many ways while renting a car. Double check everything for a car rental in Italy. We've rented many cars in Italy and Loved driving in Italy, but more than likely it is best to rent an Italian car in Italy. Have fun driving in the most fun country in Europe.

I don't know where people are getting their information about not being able to take a French rental into Italy. Of course, you should check; and it's easy to do. However, we have rented cars for almost every one of our 20+ trips to Europe. The only restrictions that I have ever seen is on taking the car to eastern Europe or on ferries. And while I'm at it, I'll add that I've never had to pay a fee to drop a car at a different city in the same country where I rented it.

Most rental companies don't want you to (Won't let you) take their car into Italy.

Horsefeathers!
The statement is easily disproven by messing around with any car rental site with a pickup out of Italy and a drop within Italy -- they all will. If you want to check something, check with your credit card outfit and see if they'll cover your insurance while driving in Italy with an external pickup and drop - - all three of mine do and I've checked a bunch of times.

I've never had to pay a fee to drop a car at a different city in the same country where I rented it.

It's become fairly common in the UK in the past few years. Not a big chunk of change but something to think about - - maybe fifty bucks net after you figure the gas to get back to somewhere.

I agree that there will be no drop off fee for picking up a car in one city and dropping it off in another. Our issue is picking up the car in France and dropping it off in Italy. I'm going to check again and see what the fee is, if any. I really think we should leave the French car in a town near Charmonix and take the train to Milan (skipping the drive in that part of Italy, visiting Milan for a couple of days and then renting an Italian car for our drive to Rome. Does anone know what town would have a direct train to Milan?

"I agree that there will be no drop off fee for picking up a car in one city and dropping it off in another. "

That is not necessarily true. Some companies charge an extra fee for picking a car up at an airport or train station. Some charge a one-way fee.

I'm renting a car in France next month. With Europcar I have to pay an extra €40 to pick up at a train station. I'm picking the car up in Paris and dropping it in Avignon. Europcar doesn't charge a one-way fee. Hertz doesn't charge extra to pick up at the train station, but there would be a €65 one-way charge for the drop off. I've been happy with Europcar in the past and I'm going with them.

Have you considered leasing instead of renting? For a trip of that length, you might save a bit of money.

When renting, it's normally worth it to drop off the car near the border, take a train, and then pick it up another on the other side.
However, renting a car in Italy is significantly more expensive than in France due to the required insurance.
In addition to looking into leasing, I would price it both ways with your favorite rental agency, and take in consideration that you'll pay rail fare for the border crossing, but not gas or tolls. I'd spend up to $100 more to avoid having to turn in the car and get a new one; you'll more than make that it up in the time you save.

I've leased a car and it was a good experience. We leased through AutoEurope. One thing to note about a lease - if you pick up or drop off outside of France you will pay an extra charge. In your case you would have to pay extra to drop it off in Rome. It would likely be much less than the fee you would be charged to drop off a French rental in Rome. Another thing to consider is that with the lease you are fully insured. If you rent separate cars for France and Italy you will have to get full coverage insurance for your Italy rental. You would have to do the math to see what would be best for you.

With a lease you get the exact car you order, and it will be a new car. The price is set and there are no hidden fees or charges such as road taxes. I would imagine you can order one with GPS, though it may or may not be less expensive to bring your own.