How much of a hassel is it to rent a car in one country and then drop it off in another? Would it be easy to rent a car in Switzerland and then take it into Italy or would it be better to take a train to Milan and rent a car? How about using the Rail and Drive? Same thing?
EDIT - Also has anyone driven in Switzerland? How is it?
Think trains, Bryan.
It's no hassle. It may not be cheap, however. Many rental companies tack on a drop-off charge to leave the car in another country - especially Italy.
It's easy to research. Go to Autoeurope.com to see what their rates are. Once you know where you want to pick up and drop off you may want to call them to double check on the drop-off charge. For some reason, that's not always listed on the web site.
It will probably be easier to train into Italy and pick up the car there. But driving in Switzerland is no problem.
I haven't done it but I did think about it when I was in Italy last year. Hiring a car in Italy and dropping the car off in France. It was during the train strike in France and I could get to the border and no further. I was told my by Italian business associate that I would have to pay very high charges to do this and it really wasn't worth it. He suggested a cab to Nice from the border would be cheaper so that's what I did. I'd suggest a train into Italy and then hire your car.
Our drop charge for renting in France and dropping in Switzerland was 200 Euro...that's in addition to the rental cost and insurance.
To answer the second question first - driving in Switzerland is fabulous. Excellent, well-signed roads.
As for the first question, there is a hefty drop-off charge if you return the rental car in a different country, but none if you return it in the same country.
