Car Rental in Northern Italy

Your trip sounds fabulous, Shari! We did a similar trip in 2022.

I would rent the car at the Milan airport and then drive to Varenna. You will have a better selection of cars at the airport.
You can return your car then at the Venice airport. It is very easy with great signage. We have rented from Sixt & AutoEurope previously without an issue. We usually get an international driver's license at AAA though we have never had to produce it.
We feel the price is worth the hassle if we were stopped.

From the Venice airport, you have a choice of water taxi, Vaporetto, bus or taxi to Venice. Since there are 4 of you, I would choose the water taxi as they will take you directly to the stop nearest your hotel or rental. And it's pretty cool to go down some smaller canals in a boat! You will have to walk a bit to where the water taxis pick up and let off, but again with good signage at the airport, you should have no problem.

I hope you will stop in the Dolomites for some hikes - we stayed in Ortisei, took the cable car up to the meadow, and had an enjoyable hike. If you have any questions about the area from the Dolomites to Venice, be sure to ask.

On one of our trips, we arrived in the afternoon, picked up our car and drove to Stresa. We avoided toll roads, and it was an easy drive.
It will be easier to rent from the airport, although more expensive. We have, for the majority of the trips done airport pickup and it has worked well.

I have never dropped off a rental vehicle in Venice, so I cannot be of much help. I would suggest that you return it, if possible to the in Mestre, which is on the mainland near Venice. It is an easy train ride into Venice. I would avoid going out to the airport if possible.

You need an IDP. We have been stopped and having the permit and our local license have been sufficient. Take your chances if you wish, but it is required.

We have used an USA company called gemut.com to assist with renting cars in Europe. They work with you, and I have found them to be helpful. They will select the best deal so the actual car rental company is beyond your control.

1. It makes more sense to rent at the Milan airport and drive from there. There is no rental companies in Varenna (the closer would be Lecco). Milan has 3 airports so I presume you fly to Milan Malpensa airport (MXP). From there to Varenna you will be driving in part on the A36 Pedemontana freeway, which is a toll freeway but with no toll gates. Basically your car license plate will be photographed at the entrance then again at the exit. Then you go on line and you pay by credit card or other digital payment. You will need the license plate number to access the specific payment page for your car.
   https://pedemontana.com/

2. If you stay in the city of Venice a few days, it make sense to return the car at PIAZZALE ROMA. The rental car companies all use the multistory City Parking Garage. Save the above location in your phone navigator. If you plan to stay at the airport hotel, then it makes sense to return the car at the airport.

3. Yes, you will need to have an IDP, or International Drivers' Permit (mandatory in Italy). You may not need it to rent the car at the car rental desk (they rarely ask for it), but if you get pulled over for a traffic violation or even a random police check (very common in Italy), they will ask for one. The fine for not having one is 408€. You can get an IDP for $20 plus 2 photos at any AAA office. It take 10 minutes to get it. You can also obtain it online on the AAA website.

4. I use www.autoeurope.com (a broker based in Maine) for all my rental needs in Europe. They work with the major companies operating in Italy (Avis, Budget, Hertz, Europcar, Sixt, etc)

Auto Europe and Kemwel merged several years ago. Just thought I would mention this in case you have heard of Kemwel. So you can google either name, and you will get the same company. They are based out of Portland, Maine. We have used them for at least 10 years, or more, and we have always been very happy with their service. Through Auto Europe/Kemwel, we have used Sixt, Europcar, Hertz and Avis.

You guys are amazing, thank you so much! I just applied for my IDP online and I will start researching car rentals (out of MXP) today!

Gail, we are staying at the Hotel Grones in Ortesei and we are so excited for the hiking around there! I may follow up with some other questions as we start planning our days there.

Thank you!!!

I agree, pick up at the Milan airport and return in Venice at the location Roberto recommends. We went the opposite direction a couple of years ago, picking up at the Venice airport and returning at MXP. (There was an Allilaguna stop by our hotel so it was easy to get to the airport.) We rented from Avis and had no issues. Good luck!

I suggest that you go to the www.Pedemontana.com website I posted above and maybe download their app. You will need to register. Last time I used it a few years ago (pre-covid) I was able to pay toll by card, but I'm not sure how the payment is done nowadays. A lot of public entities in Italy use the PagoPA platform which is available only to banks participating to the PagoPA platform (none of which are American banks/cards, AFAIK). If the website does not allow you to use an American credit card, you can probably use PayPal. PayPal has partnered with an Italian bank and I think makes it possible to pay with the PagoPA network. In any case I suggest you do the app download or at least the registration (you will need an email address) ahead of time. You can actually upload in their app/website the license plate of the car ahead of time, and they will charge the card automatically, if you want. Obviously you won't have the license plate number until you actually pick up the card at the airport. Once you pass through the toll cameras they send you a notification to your email with which you have registered, and they give you 15 days to pay without penalties. If you don't pay timely (or ever) I think they send the much larger bill to the rental company and they probably will charge your credit card they have on file.

Just a caution, if you choose to drop the car in Venice at Piazzale Roma, be very conscious of your speed going across the causeway. The speed varies depending on the part of the causeway, and if say 90 km/h is posted, they mean 90, not 95 or even 91. Otherwise you may get a souvenir in the mail a few months later. A good number of visitors comment about speeding tickets on that bridge.

In general, it would be wise to read up on Italian traffic laws, speed cameras, and ZTLs.

Thank you all! I will check out Pedemontana too! I am a bit nervous about driving in Italy, primarily because I do not speak Italian, but I still think it is the best option for our family. Thanks!

For driving you shouldn’t need to speak Italian or even read it beyond place names. Road signs follow the international standards, so a red octagon means “stop”. The country roads in the mountains will resemble those of the Catskills, driving in central Milan would be like lower Manhattan but more confusing, and the motorways will look more like the Bronx River Parkway than the Cross Bronx Expressway! The one thing I recall that’s really different from the US is the narrow streets in small towns, but even then you just go slow, and don’t hesitate to go back and forth a few times to accomplish a really tight turn. Good luck!

Thanks Johnt for putting my mind at ease!

No need to know the language. European signs are not like American signs where commands are given in English. European signs use symbols which are often straightforward and self explanatory.
Learn them below:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_signs_in_Italy
Pay attention in particular to the No Parking sign, the No Stopping Sign, and the Restricted Vehicular access. Those are not self explanatory and are not used in North America.
The last one is used before entering Limited Traffic Zones (ZTL), historical cores of town where only residents with permit and service or emergency vehicles can enter.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limited_traffic_zone
The majority of American travelers get fined because of the ZTL unauthorized entry and also no parking.
Another place where Americans get zapped by cameras is on bus only lanes. There are signs like the one below to indicate the beginning of one.
https://images.app.goo.gl/HDxUkdMjRVE1taUK9
Bus la es also have yellow stripes on the left side, sometimes on both sides. They are enforced hidden by camera so don’t enter one even at night when no cop is around because those phone cameras don’t sleep on the job.
https://images.app.goo.gl/4LUhzAcDiq9bJWp46

Thank you so much Roberto!