Hello - my wife and I will be traveling throughout Tuscany and then into northern Italy (Lake Como) area and then would like to go into Switzerland with our rental car. Is there anything we need to be aware of when crossing borders in Europe using a rental car.
Any tips and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
You'll need to pick up a Swiss vignette if you go on any Swiss expressways.
We went back and forth across the Swiss/Italian border quite a few times last summer. Sometimes the border crossing will be manned and sometimes not - it depends on the size of the border crossing you go through and what time of day or day of the week it is. Once you go into Switzerland though, you do need to purchase a travel vignette. It's a small sticker you place in the lower left-hand part of your windshield that indicates you have paid a fee to drive on the main motorways in Switzerland. You can purchase one online before you leave home (Buy a Swiss Vignette, at the border crossing if it is manned, or at a petrol station once you cross the border. They cost $45. The fine is quite steep for not having one - 200CHF - so be sure to get it.
When you are in Switzerland be sure to obey the speed signs. You will see few traffic cops because many of the roads are "patrolled" by speed cameras. Go too fast and you simply get a ticket in the mail - in your case the rental car company will get it and then will pass it on to you. You'll see no one speeding in Switzerland where speed signs are posted!
One other thing to get is a cardboard clock for your dashboard. Many road maps you buy in Switzerland will have one built in to the back side of the folded map. I have seen them available in petrol stations and in tourist offices as well. When you are parking in a zone that has a posted limit on the time you can park, you place the clock on your dashboard to show the time you arrive. It is checked to make sure you have not parked too long in the spot.
No problem, however mention that to the agency when you pick up the car. There are no restrictions to driving to CH (there are restrictions only for Eastern Europe). The only thing to be aware of is the exorbitant Swiss prices. I'm sure you will appreciate driving back to the Italian side for dinner after being gouged for lunch and everything else during you day trip to Switzerland.
Since CH is part of Schengen, there are no border controls anymore. The vignette is necessary only if you intend to drive on the freeways.
The "cardboard clock" mentioned by the previous poster is called DISCO ORARIO. In areas where required (where parking is limited to one hour or two, for example) you just use it to indicate the time of arrival at that parking spot. It's widely used throughout Europe, including Italy, as a method to enforce timed parking. In America the time parking enforcement is done by marking your tires with a chalk, in Europe they use the "disco orario". You don't need to buy it, as you rental car almost certainly will have one already on the dashboard or windshield. I've never rented a car that didn't have one already.
Fuel in Switzerland is cheaper than it Italy so maybe you should fill up before going back.
