Hi
I am planning to do a 2 weeks trip in August 2017. I want to hire a Car in Paris and drive to Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and then return it Back in Nice, France. Will there be any extra charges apart from the One Way Rental Fee charges or are there any restrictions regarding this? Please share your experiences. Appreciate your help.
Cheers
Hammad
I think you'll just have to check with the rental car companies. you have to tell them you're planning on taking the car into different countries.
Like a Swiss vignette. Get an IDP as well. Just don't drive into any big German cities which require a German pollution sticker, or Italian cities without reviewing the individual city ZTL.
You will also need to review that the car contains compulsory equipment for all countries you visit.
Hammad, We used Europcar in 2012 and had no problems, inexpensive, good company. Good travels.
Did a similar trip and had no problem with a rental car from France in other countries. Try and pick your car up outside of Paris and away from the airport.
I would recommend using gemut.com, a us company. You will have the assistance of a person to help you.
As mentioned earlier, if you don't have an E.U. Driver's License, each driver listed on the rental form will require the compulsory International Driver's Permit for driving in Italy, and it's also highly recommended in France.
Again as mentioned, you'll need a Highway Tax Vignette for driving in Switzerland, which you can normally obtain at the border. If your route from Germany to Switzerland takes you through Austria, you'll also need a Highway Tax Vignette for there. There are hefty fines if you're caught without the Vignettes, with fines usually payable on the spot!
In Italy you'll also have to be vigilant to avoid the dreaded ZTL (limited traffic) areas which exist in many Italian towns. Again, hefty fines for each pass through one of these zones, which you may not know about until several months after you return home. You'll also have to contend with speed cameras including the devious Traffic Tutor system in Italy which measures not only instantaneous speed but also an average between two points. Be sure to budget for tolls on the motorways.
Happy motoring!
Let the rental car co. know where you plan to go before making a reservation.
They may have geographic restrictions.
Of course you read your paperwork but we have taken cars into several countries on one rental and even managed to pick up in one country and drop in another twice without paying a drop fee (very lucky, we arranged to drive cars that needed to be returned to their country of origin and so didn't pay a drop fee -- one of those we picked up in Amsterdam, drove up the Rhine through Germany and then into Alsace and Provence and dropped in Paris) The one I would be careful with is driving into Italy -- some credit card insurance and some rentals restrict taking cars there and would also be careful about driving into eastern Europe without explicit permission.
In 2012 I didn't need any special license or permit to rent and drive in France using Europcar.
