What's the best company to go through to rent a car from Italy, through Austria and ending in Germany- for 3 weeks total? Is it much cheaper to reserve three separate cars in each country to avoid drop-off fees? Thanks!
Posted by
Tucson
4161 posts
My advice is to check with Gemut.com for any info on rental cars. Andy there can help you with all your questions and find the best prices for you. Here's the link to their website: http://www.gemut.com/. Read the detailed info in the downloadable booklet, What You Should Know About Renting a Car in Europe: http://www.gemut.com/car-rentals/free-rental-car-booklet.html. Then give him a call for help. That booklet and the website will help you define your questions.
We rented a car through them for an Alps drive and deliberately planned our trip so that we picked up the car in Stuttgart and returned it in Germany just over the border from Basel to avoid those fees. We drove it in Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and France. The booklet and Andy will help you understand your requirements and responsibilities for driving in those countries. There have been posts here where people did not do the things they were supposed to do, like get a special sticker to drive on the big roads in Austria, and ended up with very expensive fines.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8170 posts
You'd do best to rent a car a week at a time to get the best prices. And you will not need or want a car when you're in an Italian city due to ZTL's where cars are prohibited except for business purposes. I'd suggest starting in Rome and pickup a car as you're leaving going out into the Tuscan countryside to stay at an agriturismo for a week.
Then return the car in Florence and take the train up to Munich. After you've toured the city, pickup another car and tour the Austrian countryside in a big circle around Munich--to Salzburg/Hallstadt, south to Innsbruck, west to Neuschwanstein and back into Munich where you drop it off. The Austrian Alps are incredibly beautiful, and the people are great.
I use AutoEurope.com or Hertz.com--depending on the best prices. Often you'll get a Hertz car when reserving through AutoEurope.