My sister is going on a 2 week tour around Italy. My wife and I were going to go with her 2 weeks before her tour and were wanting to travel Portugal, Spain and parts of Italy, ending in Rome for her tour. While she is on her tour, we were wanting to travel through the rest of Europe and meet up with her tour fly home. Any suggestions on if a car rental, train or flying is best?
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16563 posts
It depends on your itinerary. Travel between larger cities is best done by train. Travel within a city is best done by public transportation (bus, subway, taxicabs) and walk. Travel of rural areas and small villages is best done by rental car. To go from the Iberian peninsula to Italy (or viceversa) you will need to fly. Also from Portugal and Spain, flying is the best option in many cases as train connections between the two countries are not that great and distances are often significant, as the Iberian peninsula is big.
Posted by
Washington DC
28967 posts
If you end up with an itinerary starting in country X and ending in country Y, a car rental will involve a very high international drop charge, so keep that in mind and investigate the details before walking too far down the car-rental road.
Posted by
Calgary, AB, Canada
622 posts
I haven't done this, but from all I've read if you want a car for a length of time and between countries, leasing is something to look into. https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/car-leasing.
I believe drop off fees for a car in a different country can be high, and at least in the past you needed a different transponder for toll roads in Portugal vs Spain.
In Italy itself, the train and bus system is good enough for us and prefer that over trying to drive into small villages etc. In Portugal, we did enjoy having a rental car ( outside of Lisbon and Porto, where it is not needed).
I would comment that I think trying to see Portugal, Spain and Italy in two weeks is quite rushed. We have done several two weeks trips of only Italy or Portugal. It might be helpful to have a sense of where you want to go in those countries to better advise on which transport to use. For example, if you dropped Spain, you could fly into Lisbon, rent a car for the time in Portugal, fly to Milan and train from there.
Posted by
Massachusetts, USA
1937 posts
Trying to see Portugal, Spain and Italy in 2 weeks is too rushed. You will spend most of your time traveling from place to place and not seeing and experiencing each place very much. Also, what do you mean by wanting to see "the rest of Europe" while she is on her tour? That is obviously impossible.
Maybe spend the first 2 weeks in Spain, and then spend the last 2 weeks in Portugal or Italy while she is on her tour. Italy would make the most sense. It would take less travel time to meet up with your sister at the end of her trip.