Driving in Alps of Italy, Austria and Germany -

You don't necessarily need to take the rental company's expensive CDW insurance unless you're going into Italy. It's required there, but insurance is relatively cheap on cars rented in Italy. Expensive otherwise.
Except in Italy, I avoid purchasing CDW insurance as I'm covered on my Gold Card and my home insurance policy covers me in most other countries.
And you'll have to get a vingnette (paying a tax) in Austria before you get on any of their 4 lane major highways. When you get inside the country, look for a drive in market/gas station.

I'm not a high tech guy--not depending on GPS's or cell phones anywhere. Only person I care to talk to is in my passenger seat.
I usually go on GoogleMaps.com and look at the local maps--and take notes on highway numbers, etc. So I'm not much of a source of info. on that subject.

You might consider staying around Innsbruck and taking day trips into Bavaria, Northern Italy and Western Austria. The Grossglockner High Alpine Highway south of Zell-am-See is the most breathtaking scenery I've ever seen--in the world. It ends in Lienz, Austria that's just on the Italian border. You can go west of there into The Dolomites. Eventually go north through the Brenner Pass and you're back in Innsbruck.

We had sunny days in the Dolomites exact same time a couple of years ago

you buy the austrian vignette at a service station near the border ( we bought one the other day) 10 days for about 9 euro and stick it on the inside of your window. just try a service station very close to the border. the service station attendant knew exactly what we wanted before we even opened our mouth. they are based on the number of days, not like the swiss vignette that is for a year.
we were in the dolimites in may and had generally nice weather. we really enjoyed the cable car at funivia sass pordoi, the driving through the passes in that area and the small towns are great.
hope this helps.

Thanks, all.

Has anyone used their US phone for GPS while driving in this area? Just wondering how accurate it is, whether it's worth paying for a data plan, or whether you downloaded maps beforehand.

Thanks!

For upcoming trip I've downloaded Maps.me which lets you download maps to use with GPS while offline. I'm getting a data plan because I have an addiction, but my research suggests that Maps.me with downloaded maps will work with phone positioning even in airplane mode.

Thanks, Max. I'll look into maps.me!

Theresa,

Any other tips.....

Note for driving in Italy (and I believe Austria also), 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. 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). Failure to produce an IDP if requested can result in fines on the spot! Failure to pay the fines when requested may result in the rental car being impounded, and further charges for towing and storage. Have a look at https://it.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/transportation-driving/ for more information on I.D.P's and driving in Italy.

You may also want to have a look at some of the other posts here concerning the dreaded Zona Traffico Limitato (limited traffic) areas that are becoming increasingly prevalent in many Italian towns & cities especially Florence, which is almost saturated with automated ZTL cameras. EACH PASS through one of the automated Cameras will result in a €100+ ticket, which you won't know about until several months after you return home! This website provides more information - http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/driving/traffic_cameras_speeding.htm

There's also the issue of parking tickets, high fuel costs, tolls and automated speed cameras including the devious Traffic Tutor system which measures not only instantaneous speed but also average between two points. Violate either or both parameter and expensive tickets will follow.

You should check with the rental car company what insurance they provide when you take the car out of the origin country of your rental.

It is a 99.99999999% certainty your US auto insurance does NOT cover you in Europe.

The CDW ( collision damage waiver), is for damage to the rental car. If you rent the car in Italy, there is a basic CDW that is included, but has a deductible of 1000-3000 euro. For a daily fee they offer a 'super coverage' which can reduce your responsibility to zero.

Check with your credit card company for what, if any coverage, they provide for rental cars in the countries you are going to.

Are you used to driving mountain roads?

The questions you ask with just a week or so to go, cause me to wonder how well prepared your are for driving in foreign countries. These seem to be issues that should have been addressed well before now. Hopefully my perception is off on how well prepared you are.

Thanks, all.

To answer a couple of questions - Yes, we are used to driving mountain roads - maybe not as tall of mountains, but windy, curvy roads. We drive in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina all the time.

We already planned on getting the driving permits - we actually went to Italy two years ago and got them from AAA then, so know all about it.

I don't think we'll be driving into any of the restricted areas since we're only staying in small towns. Is there a link online telling which cities and towns have them? Of course, I know about Florence, but we aren't going there.

We will be arriving and departing from the Venice airport in Italy, and staying a few nights in the Dolomites, which is why I asked about the CDW. Thanks for the answers!

As for being prepared, it seems the more questions I ask and the more answers I find, the more questions I have. Not sure I'll ever feel totally prepared, but we have been trying. It's hard to imagine what we'll find without ever having driven there before. But, we figured out the train system last time, so I'm hoping it'll be the same with driving. All I know is that we will not speed. And, no worries about the driver using the gps or phone - there are 4 of us, so the driver will just be driving.

Thanks again to everyone! If there's anything else you can think of, I'd appreciate any advice!
Theresa

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"I don't think we'll be driving into any of the restricted areas since we're only staying in small towns. Is there a link online telling which cities and towns have them?"

There is online ZTL information for some towns, but from what I've found that's generally not the case for smaller towns. The best idea is to become familiar with the ZTL signs, and I believe one was shown on the "Slow Travel" website that I linked earlier. In some cases ZTL areas may apply at certain hours or on workdays, and that will be specified on the sign.

You may find this website helpful - http://www.grandvoyageitaly.com/piazza/the-truth-about-ztl-zones-avoiding-tickets-in-italy