Southern Europe road trip

There are huge drop off fees to return a car in another country. For Lisbon to Barcelona we were quoted 1000Euro drop fee. We dropped the car off at one side of border and picked up a new car on the other side, took taxi between .

Assuming you are renting, be aware of the exorbitant fees you will incur by renting in one country and dropping off in another country, likely hundreds of Euros.

Make sure you know the rules of the road for each of the three countries, including traffic enforcement stops, demands for immediate payment on speeding tickets (it's happened to many of us), and ZTL restrictions in many Italian towns and cities.

You will need a good map (Michelin makes the best) and will need to be careful concerning parking.

I drove a 19 foot long motor home from Paris down through Provence and into Italy. It was a lot of fun, but I returned it to Paris on my way back. Gas/diesel costs a fortune, but it is just the price of doing business.

Have you guys been to Europe before? Just asking because I think as Americans, we often take our own preconceptions with us. I love a "road trip" as much as any other 'Merikun, but I see some potential troubles with what you're describing.

Yes, to the warnings of the drop-off fees. They can be crushing.

One other thing is that having a big car in the old cities can be a real headache. Hope you're planning to rent a small one rather than a big, US-style Gunboat.

Also, if you're thinking about a very long, liesurely road trip, be sure you know about the Schengen area limit on how long you can stay.

We did a mix of road trip and train for 5 weeks in southern Europe (drove through France, trained through Italy). Consider that getting around Italy via train is quite easy, and that having a car in cities and small towns can be a big pain in the butt (parking, parking fees, traffic...). Perhaps rent a car as needed in Italy (if you plan to tour more remote areas like Tuscany or the northern lake region for example). Then you could rent a car in Nice, and use it for the France portion of the trip, and drop it off as close to the border of Spain as possible (Nantes?), and then train into Barcelona. Having a car in Provence is better, imo, than relying on train and bus, for example, but I would not want the car while IN Nice because you dont need it, etc
Because public transportation infrastructure is SO much better (no comparison) in Europe, it can be easier and more efficient to use it in many places.

First thing to do is to map out your proposed route. Determine where you want to go and what you want to see. Then use an app or website such as Via Michelin to get an estimate of time, distance, fuel cost and tolls. I was just checking rentals from AutoEurope and Kemwel. The good news is for a three week rental, a compact car would cost about $500-$600. The REALLY bad news is the drop off fee alone would be $1,700-$2,400. So the “affordable” thing to do, as suggested, would be to drop the car at the border and pick up a new car in the next country.

The one thing you never want to do is to drive into any large city unless you are a masochist. Congestion, restricted zones, parking. On the road, you have to constantly be aware of speed cameras. Speeding can be an expensive addition. As far as navigation, I personally like using the Waze app on my smart phone. I’m not a in favor of paper maps and have retired my Garmin GPS. Buton this trip I would definitely advise getting the Michelin Europe Road Atlas and perhaps using a GPS if you are uncomfortable using a smart phone app.

Thanks for the swift responses!
We did a road trip in '03 from Rome to Siena, Cinque Terre, Lake Como, up to Grindelwald, then back down over to Venice before returning to Rome. Rented a C class Mercedes turbo diesel sedan, which was a good size. Only white knuckling was getting out of and back into Rome. When we left Rome, W was arriving for some kind of deal and lots of blocked roads. How about GPS on your phone?

Just now read to comment about Waze. I like that app a lot.