And the Question Is.....

Posted by jim (st. louis, mo, usa) on 05/28/09 08:51 PM

What would you do if you had 4 days, a car, and were leaving Munich with the end destination as Cinque Terra? Keeping in mind that this is not a slow-paced trip...we will have a maximum of about 2-2.5 days in one place.

Anyone have a take on the Dolomites as far as worthiness to see on a 16 day driving tour of Europe? I am struggling with the middle section of our itinerary: the North is set (with Rhine River, Romantic Road, Munich) and the South is set (with Cinque Terra, Florence, and Rome). The problem is what to do with Europe's mid-section! Interlaken and Gimmelwald are too isolated and a gamble if the weather isn't clear, Venice causes us to have to criss-cross Italy to get to Cinque Terra, and so on. My wife and I somewhat have our hearts set on staying in the CT for a couple days, but am open to suggestions. One thing that I am seeing is that somewhere in this middle section of the trip, there is bound to be a long drive or potential leave-the-car-take-overnight-train-rerent-car thing that will occur.
Thank you all for your help.
Jim

Posted by Doug

Portlandia

05/28/09 09:53 PM

3313 posts

Please consider dropping your car in Germany. The places you mention in Switzerland are easily seen by train and almost impossible by car in Italy. Add the Swiss road fees, Italian tolls and parking restriction, and the staggering drop charge you'll pay in Italy and you have a lot of expense and hassle.

Posted by Travel Boss

Myrtle Beach, USA

05/29/09 05:31 AM

12313 posts

I would probably stay one night in Salzburg before heading out. Lunch and a walk around the center of Hall in Tirol before continuing over the Brenner Pass into Italy. If you're interested you could make a stop to see the Ice Man or continue into Verona for a night. I probably wouldn't cover much of the Dolomites or travel to Venice in that time frame because you are heading away from CT. After Verona, You could do a Northern route, Milan, Genoa and into CT or you could go more directly through Parma and into La Spezia (probably the better choice on your schedule).

Having said that, I would choose the Dolomites and Venice over CT, then on into Florence and Rome. If you choose that direction. Park outside Venice and train in. I made the mistake of driving in. Parking was an expensive and time-consuming headache. It would have been much easier to park and ride in.

Florence isn't rental car friendly. I didn't end up with any fines but we did park a mile or so from our hotel and carried our bags from there. If I did it over, I'd find a place outside of town where I could park my car with public transportation access to downtown for the sites. You will save money across the board and more than likely end up with far superior accomodations.

We dropped our car in Rome (FCO) after a day at Ostia Antica.

Since you're doing a 16 day driving tour, is it possible to make it 17 days of driving and lease rather than rent? We leased for 22 days of a 28 day vacation and it was a bargain.

Posted by Andrea

Sacramento, California U.S.A.

05/29/09 09:17 PM

10597 posts

Brad mentioned a lease and I wanted to comment on that. A lease is a fantastic idea for the period of time you will use a car. The minimum is 17 days, but as long as you pay for that time you can always drop it off early. I dropped my car after 15 days with no problems. It is generally more economical to lease than to rent. The price includes all taxes, insurance, etc. You might at least compare the cost of both. With a lease you receive a brand new car, just the way you order it. You will have to pay a little extra for picking it up and dropping it off outside of France, but that cost is likely less than a rental charge for dropping it in another country. I leased through Auto Europe. Have a great trip!