Getting from Bellagio Italy to Antibes France and other things

Does it cost a lot extra to rent a car in Italy and return the car in France?

Yes! You’ll lose a day traveling from Bellagio to Antibes but riding the rails is best. Make sure you take a train that does not require more than two transfers: https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html.

From Bellagio to Antibes by train, you will first take a ferry from Bellagio to the Varenna (across the lake) train station. The station is approx. ¼ mile walk up a slight hill from the ferry station. From there your route will likely go to Milan, then to Genoa, then to Ventimiglia, then to Antibes. So you may have 3 transfers. The transfer in Ventimiglia is certain, as this is the cross-over station between Italy and France where you need to change trains to a French train. In this scenario you would walk to the ferry in Bellagio, walk to the train in Varenna, and transfer trains at three stations (Milan, Genoa, and Ventimiglia).

Alternately, you could check if it is possible to rent a car in Como (it is; there are rental agencies, but not sure they have a one way available for what you want) and drop off in San Remo (San Remo being the closest city to the French border with car rental place to drop off), and then catch the train from San Remo to Ventimiglia (yes its still required even though these two cities are so close) and on to Antibes. You can catch a bus from Bellagio to Como, and it is a beautiful and unique ride. In this scenario you would walk to the bus stop in Bellagio, walk from the bus stop in Como across Como to the rental agency, and then walk from the rental agency in San Remo to the train station in San Remo (about ½ mile). And then make the one train change in Ventimiglia.

Finally, you could investigate how much it will cost to drop a rental car over the border, but you would still need to rent the car in Como, as there is not an agency in Bellagio, so getting to the Como agency would still be part of the journey.

Ive done all if these so I can answer questions.

I would travel like this:

• Bellagio - Como. Either bus or taxi.

• Como - Milano - Ventimiglia - Antibes. This you best book on Trainline as this trip involves both Italian and French trains.

This summer Trenitalia is also planning on running direct trains to the French Riviera again. These should operate on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and would give you a direct train from Milano to Antibes. Schedules however are not yet known.

It occurs to me that I travel more cheaply than others on the forum, so you may prefer to take a taxi from Bellagio all the way to the car rental agency (more efficient, less walking). I would search on Autoeurope to see what's available for rental cars. Sometimes the pick up and drop off locations limit your options: for example, we found that we can not get a one way from Ravenna to Como, but can get a one-way from Bologna to Como, so had to adjust our plans.

Thank you for your helpful suggestions. Much appreciated.