Rental Cars Milan MXP

Don't do it if that is your itinerary. The highways are easy to drive and generally in much better condition than in North America. However, besides gas you will spend a lot on tolls, even more on parking fees. All of this will make cheap high speed train fares (bought in advance) a bargain.

Gas in Italy is about $6 a gallon but that shouldn’t determine whether you rent a car or not. Your itinerary goes from city to city all served by rail. Having a car in those cities is an expensive and inconvenient proposition. Though I believe Stresa doesn’t have one, Rome, Verona and Milan have ZTL’s which restrict car travel. Parking in the cities is pricey and you risk wandering into a ZTL. Tolls on the Autostrada aren’t cheap either and there’s always the danger of traffic cams and speed tutors. I doubt that renting the car (does it come with $0 deductible insurance?) would save much in any versus the train.

According to ViaMichelin, tolls would cost about $147 and fuel $138.

I’m returning to Italy for 3 weeks later this year and am renting a car for 2 days to drive through the Dolomites and then for 4 days to visit the wine towns in the Piedmont because this can’t be done by rail. All other travel will be by train.

Cars are nice to have in some areas but definitely not in cities. So the best strategy is to rent a car for the portions of the trip where it’s needed and travel by public transportation elsewhere.
It would be helpful to know you exact itinerary, however at first glance, I would say that it would not be a bad idea to rent a car at the airport and go to Stresa by car. You could also drive the car all the way from Stresa to Rome (long drive though), unless you prefer to drop along the way (Milan Central station?)and take the train. But for sure once you get to Rome, you should get rid of it, because you won’t need it in Rome, Verona, or Venice, actually it would be an expensive nuisance to have one in those cities.

Demi,

Given the other stops on your Itinerary, a rental car does not make sense, despite the price. There are some potentially expensive caveats to be aware of.

Note that each driver listed on the rental form will require the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. The IDP's are valid for one year and can be obtained at any AAA / CAA office for a small fee. Failure to produce an IDP if requested can result in hefty fines payable on the spot!

As others have mentioned, you'll also need to be aware of the ZTL (limited traffic areas) that exist in many Italian cities these days. Each pass through one will result in hefty fines, which you may not know about until several months after you've returned home, and unexpected charges start appearing on your credit card.

You'll also need to consider tolls on the motorways, parking costs, expensive fuel and speed cameras including the devious Traffic Tutor which measures not only instantaneous speed but also average between two points. Exceed either one and expensive tickets will follow!

Given the fact that all of your stops are in cities, I would not suggest renting a car!

One other factor. At least on the Milan-Rome corridor, the autostrada speed limit is 130 km/hr, but the specially designed railroad tracks allow the trains to run at over twice that speed. With only 2 stops along the way at Bologna and Florence, you'd be sipping your first espresso in Rome while the guy in the car is negotiating his way around Florence.

Thanks for all the great info- based on the above have decided not to rent a car- trains it is!!😀