Will be in southern France and would like to go to Orvieto Italy for a couple of days and return home via Rome airport.
Problem is that the rental car fee is alot more expensive if I pick up the car in France and drop of in Italy.
It maybe cheaper if I drove back to France and fly out of there, but I will need to consider at least two more days, a hotel night, rental fee and gas.
Should I consider dropping the car off in France, take train or something to Italy and pick up another car there. This would avoid the drop off fee but might still cost more in the long run long run.
What do you think?
Posted by
lexington, il
4105 posts
Fastest and least expensive would be fly Nice-Rome on budget carrier. Then train to Orvieto. Look @ Rome2rio for other options.
Posted by
OP
Rockport, Maine, USA
98 posts
Sounds good, but would also like to have a car in Itsly to see surounding sites.
Posted by
OP
Rockport, Maine, USA
98 posts
Sounds good, but would also like to have a car in Itsly to see surounding sites.
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23547 posts
Generally dropping a car in Italy is expensive. Sometime the car rental will prohibit taking the car to Italy. If the car is critical, then dropping at the border and crossing into Italy is a good option. Whether it is more expensive or not, just a matter of pricing it out.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32320 posts
Bill,
As you've found, renting a car in one country and dropping in another come with some steep charges. The easiest option is the one suggested by Gerri in the first reply. Fly from Nice to Rome and then either rent a car at the Rome airport or take the short one hour train ride to Orvieto and rent there. Have a look at easyJet as they offer flights from Nice to Rome (one per day, AFAIK).
Note that for driving in Italy, driver's require the compulsory International Driver's Permit which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. You'll also have to be vigilant to avoid the dreaded ZTL (limited traffic) areas which exist in most Italian towns these days (hefty fines!). There are also some potentially expensive "caveats" to be aware of when using trains and other public transit in Italy.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8299 posts
The Hertz office in Orvieto is directly across the street from the train station. It's a popular place for car pickup and delivery for those going to and from Rome.
Posted by
Los Angeles
1825 posts
There is no good way to get between France and Italy by ground transportation, it is the reason for very different cultures and language. It is faster and cheaper to fly and gives you several options you may not have considered. I would look into flying into Florence and then traveling South through Italy. Between trains, buses and car rental you can easily visit many places leading to Orvieto which is a great place to drop a car before taking the train to Rome.
On my last trip I picked up a car in Siena, drove through Chianti and Tuscany and dropped the car in Orvieto. Taking my own GPS made driving a pleasure.
Posted by
Brisbane, Australia
7175 posts
You don't say how much time you wish to spend taking this journey.
I would take the train from the south of France (Nice) to Genova and pick up my rental there.
This gives you options for Cinque Terre, Pisa/Lucca, Siena, Florence, before your reach Orvieto.