12-day Road Trip around Italian Lakes near Milan. Rental Car - what SIZE/TYPE/MAKE/MODEL?

Check if it will be cheaper to rent two smaller vehicles, in case you don't always want to be tethered to a third person.

At any rate, will an SUV give sufficient hidden storage for your baggage (as you would have in a car with a trunk?

You are going to dred taking so much stuff. My wife and I will be doing the Dolomites, Varenna and Venice for 12 days in June with carry on only. We will be traveling by both car and train. No one will care what you wear. Just enjoy your trip .

jake,

To begin with, congratulations on your upcoming wedding! Wow, that's a lot of luggage to be hauling, especially for a short 12-night trip. Does that include your two flight days?

I assume you're aware of the usual "potentially expensive caveats" regarding of rental cars in Italy? For example.....

Each driver listed on the rental form must have the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. (so you must carry both). These are valid for one year, and easily obtained at any CAA/AAA office (two Passport-sized photos required, which may be provided by the issuing office). You may never be asked for an IDP, but failure to produce one if requested can result in fines on the spot! Failure to pay the fines on the spot can result in the rental car being impounded (which will result in further financial penalties). Have a look at https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/rental-car-requirements for more information on I.D.P's and driving in Italy.

You may also want to have a look at some of the posts on the forum concerning the dreaded Zona Traffico Limitato (limited traffic) areas that are becoming increasingly prevalent in many Italian towns & cities (especially Florence!). Some of these are enforced by automated cameras and some by local police. Each pass through one of the automated Cameras will result in a €100+ ticket and visitors often don’t know of these violations until several months after they’ve returned home. In addition to the actual fines, renters will also be charged by the rental agencies for providing information to the authorities. You may find this website helpful - http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/driving/traffic_cameras_speeding.htm . There’s also the possibility of fines for driving in bus lanes, parking tickets, tolls and speed cameras including the devious Traffic Tutor system which not only monitors instantaneous speeds but also average between two points. Violate either or both parameter and expensive tickets will follow!

That's a lot of luggage for such a short time.
Are you attending formal gala events every night? Is your name George Clooney? I'm asking since you are going to Laglio, where he has a villa.

Check pricing on www.autoeurope.com or www.kemwel.com
Generally a compact car would be sufficient for 3, but with all that luggage you might need an intermediate or a standard (large) car.
Remember that when you rent a vehicle, you are not booking a specific vehicle, you are booking a 'certain category' vehicle. You might think you are getting an Insignia, but you might actually get an "equivalent" vehicle.

Thank you all for your replies. I appreciate it very much.

The reason we're packing lots of luggage isn't "vanity" (i.e. caring about what people think about our outfits), per say. We're getting professional photos done because we're having a big wedding in Paris before this Italian Lakes tour - hence our tag-along photographer friend. This isn't a regular trip for us, with 2.1 children in tow and a trunk full of hiking gear.

And Ken, thank you as well for your kind words! Regarding some of your comments:

1. The 12 days does not include our travel dates. We have 3 more nights in Milan at the end.

2. Of our admittedly large luggage haul, 2 to 3 pieces of luggage will belong to our friend/photographer (the 24" suitcase and a duffel bag). Her personal luggage, and mostly her camera equipment.

3. We've done our homework and both recently applied for the IDP (Int'l Driver's Permit). Thanks for the heads-up though!

4. The only urban center we'll be in is Turin/Torino, when we drive from Lake Orta for an all-day trip (we're going to 'La Venaria Reale' palace for a photo shoot and some sightseeing, then to Turin for some strolling/sightseeing). We will not be driving in/into Central Milan, either. (Not doing Florence, but that's good to know about the ZTLs!)

Does anyone have an opinion whether this brand/make of car will suit our needs? The OPEL INSIGNIA?

Again - here some images of the trunk/boot space of the vehicle:

1. The top-down image of the vehicle (with no roof): https://s1.cdn.autoevolution.com/images/news/gallery/vauxhall-launches-the-insignia-sports-tourer-4x4_8.jpg

2. A shot of a fully-filled boot of the Opel Insignia: https://www.netcarshow.com/opel/2010-insignia_sports_tourer/1280x960/wallpaper_38.htm

Thanks for your reply, Zoe.

Now if I understood you correctly, do you mean to say that a regular carwill have more trunk/boot space than an SUV? I may have to disagree with that, by all accounts I've read/seen. Not trying to be a deliberate contrarian - it's just what I've read, in terms of 'cubic liter' measurements for SUV trunks, vis-a-vis with that of cars.

Roberto da Firenze -

Ha ha, George is my middle name, not my first name. :)

The "gala" events are happening in Paris where we're having a long 'wedding weekend' with an evening visit to a chateau and our wedding reception in Central Paris. So basically, we will just happen to have a pile of black-tie clothing (tux, gowns) in-hand. We figure we might as well make use of these dresses (that she'll admittedly not wear again - including the wedding gown) and get some beautiful photos done in some equally beautiful locations.

I'm sure that seems 'over-done' and silly to some seasoned Italian/Lake Como travelers, but it's our destination wedding/honeymoon, so we're having some fun with it. We've also set aside plenty of time to relax and go sightseeing in our normal clothes, of course.

And you're right about the fact that the agency might replace the Opel Insignia with an "equivalent vehicle". Thank you.

If size is of the essence, than a van will have more room than an SUV. It will also be cheaper. However I think that a 'standard' size will accommodate plenty of luggage for 3 people, also considering the possibility of folding portion of the back seat.

These are the approximate prices for 12 days. I tested a June/July rental (prices go up considerably if you pick up after July 1, however) inclusive of zero deductible insurance.

Compact: $480-$500
Intermediate: $550-$600
Standard (large): $1000-1200
MiniVan or Large Van: $1200
SUV/AWD: $1400

Roberto da Firenze - thank you for your help! Our exact travel dates are June 5-17, so maybe that might explain why the prices I've found were significantly lower - about $600-625 USD for an 'Open Insignia or equivalent' (which puts it in the 'SUV' category), for the 12 day rental period.

What's an example of a 'Standard' size car that's common with Italian rental agencies? I'm afraid that a full-size sedan won't be able to hold two of the large 28-inch hard case trunks we'll have with us.

Anything you can ship back after the wedding in Paris?

As mentioned by Roberto the odds of you getting the exact car your rental contract shows is very unlikely.
They are renting the class of car not the model in most cases (in some larger and luxury cars that is not accurate though)
If it says Intermediate even though the model is an SUV you could end up with a too small a sedan.

I remember seeing a good number of Nissan Qashqai as SUV rentals which is probably big enough for you but could be close.

I would rent a full size car ; which would be like a Volvo S60 and I think have enough room for you and your stuff.

Or pay more and be safe with a full size SUV if they offer such a classification ; which I imagine will be quite costly but definitely have enough room.

Edit: Honestly call Auto Europe and see what they say and book the rental over the phone.

Trunks?

Have you checked with your airlines about not only the size of each bag but also the weight?

The 24" and 28" bags will definitely have to be checked. It's also likely that the garment bag with the large dress will have to be checked. I don't recall ever seeing a garment bag being carried on flying to or from or within Europe.

It's possible that the 20" duffels and the backpack will also have to be checked for the flight from Paris to Milan.

For more good info on renting a car and driving in Europe, go to Gemut.com. There's a great free download that includes descriptions of possible vehicles. We've rented and driven cars in many European countries. We've always gone through Gemut (they're in OR). They use Autoeurope and it seems like they can always find a better deal than I can online. If there are "issues," you can contact either Gemut or Autoeurope to straighten them out. I'd never rent through Kayak or any other similar intermediary. Too many finger pointing options.

I usually use the consolidator www.autoeurope.com, but generally end up selecting their Europcar choice, as it is often the cheapest once the zero deductible insurance is selected.

This is the Europcar fleet in Italy.
https://www.europcar.it/la-nostra-flotta

European car companies generally use the 4 letter ACRISS code to classify vehicles. The first letter indicates the class/size (C=Compact, I=intermediate, etc.). Refer to the Acriss code to see the fleet.

I bet that you can fit everything in an intermediate, once you fold the portion of the back seat not occupied by your photographer. All cars can fold the back seat to increase cargo space, and you only have 1 person in the back, if I understand correctly.

In any case take a look. I don't know where you got your pricing but $600 for an SUV sounds kind of too low for Italy to me. Probably you don't have the full zero deductible insurance at that price. Insurance Deductibles can easily be 1000€ to 2000€ and most credit card companies don't cover that in Italy.

Jake,

One other thing that occurred to me is that the rental may be manual transmission, depending on what vehicles they have available at the time. If you're renting at an airport location, auto transmission may be more available.

We (four college friends celebrating our 50th birthdays) rented an Opel sumpin or another at the venice airport (i was in charge of some of the hotel bookings, NOT the car, sorry i cant be more specific). The four of us each had a bag in the 21-30" category, wheeled, w frames, but not hard sided. We also each had a big purse, tote or day pack. So by my math we had everything on yr list minus one duffle bag & a wedding dress! , assuming yr list covers all of the camera equipment. (Of we had one more adult taking up seat space. ) our Opel Sumpin was a 4 door w hatch back. there was a cloth cover over the hatch that could have been retracted. the 4 suitcases and a couple of totes fit in the back just fine. (i now recall there may have been a couple of plastic shopping bags by then) i kept my purse between my feet in the back seat. Anyway, if you get downgraded , i think you will be fine, tho i agreed w whoever wondered if you can send something home after the wedding. Congratulations & bEST Wishes !! Edit: after looking at some opels on line, what we had might have been an opel Astra Tour sport....which could best be described as a sexy station wagon

Jake,
I am 6'8" and love to drive in Italy. I rent either a Ford C-Max or a Fiat 500L. Both have plenty of room for your needs in a "compact" vehicle and are fun to drive. You can go to a local dealer and check both of them out. I usually rent from Hertz and be sure to get "zero deductible" insurance. Have fun, Lago di Como is to me the most beautiful place on earth.

Sorry, but I do not think a Fiat 500L is going to cut it with that list.
We rented an Opel Mokka last year, which is a sort of mini-SUV. I believe it is smaller than the ones you listed, so they should be adequate. It was an automatic, and we had no trouble parking in small towns with it, plus driving into a city.

Don't think that because your only urban centre is Torino that you will avoid run-ins with the dreaded ZTLs.

Even Varenna (on Como, and really lovely) has one. That often has a police car in it. At least it did when we we there.

I'm a little concerned that you say that you applied for IDPs. That is normally a 10 minute procedure at the counter. Many of the ones on the interwebs are fake. I hope you haven't paid for a scam.

Thanks for your reply & concern, Nigel.

I mailed in an IDP application through AAA, or the American Automobile Association, so hopefully they don't scam us as well as hundreds of millions of American motorists who use them (if they do - my, what a big racket they've got going!). :)

We opted the mail-in method since Southern California AAA locations are often insanely busy, and because we don't want to take time off work to go there on a weekday (Wedding planning = BUSY BUSY BUSY!).

And duly noted about the potential ZTLs in Turin. Will do homework before leaving and exercise due caution.