We are a family of 5 (3 teenage boys) travelling to France/italy in late September/October.
We have 6 nights in Paris (a week to fill in), then Venice (4), Panzano (near Florence) (6), Amalfi (3) and Rome (5) nights. Question - we pick up our leased car from either Paris or somewhere like Avignon and don't know where to go next e.g. up through Vence for a base for day trips before travelling to Venice or do we consider Lakes District also and skip Provence altogether? Any help would be appreciated.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32212 posts
leanne,
If my math is correct, your trip will be about 24 days. Given the distance you're covering, you're going to be enjoying a lot of "windscreen time". For example, Paris to Venice is a considerable drive and I'd normally choose TGV or budget air for that. You didn't indicate in your post whether you've allowed for adequate travel times between destinations?
A GPS unit would be a really good idea, in addition to a good Map for "backup". Also, don't forget that an International Driver's Permit is mandatory to drive in Italy (you can be fined on the spot for failing to produce one when requested by Police). You'll need to allow for tolls on the Motorways as well (in France the toll booths seem to be spaced about every 20-30 minutes).
Are you returning your leased car in Rome?
Hopefully one of the group here will have some suggestions?
Happy travels!
Posted by
Kansas City, MO
113 posts
I agree that you should consider a budget airline (such as Vueling or EasyJet) for the trip from Paris to Venice. It's surprisingly inexpensive and will save you a LOT of time.
Also, I'm not following: are you using Venice as a base for day trips via rental car? That would be somewhat difficult considering that there are no cars in Venice itself.
Posted by
OP
brisbane
43 posts
Thanks for the information.
I need to clarify though - We have a week to fill in after our 6 nights in Paris - we're thinking of getting a TGV to Avignon, picking up the car there and using somewhere like Vence (approx 1/2 hr from Nice - in the hills) as a base for a few days.
Also have thought of staying at farmhouse near Vincenza (approx 1hr drive from Venice) instead of actually staying in Venice for 4 nights.
The thought is that we may see more. Also as we have leased the car we could utilise it more this way. With the car lease we are obligated to have it for at least 17 days and with 5 of us this seems to be a more economical option overall (even though we will be using TGV fro Paris to Avignon.
Thanks
Should we still stay in Venice? WE would like to drive to Triese one day (approx 200km from Vincenza).