Renting a car for two weeks in northern Italy?

Where are you flying into? If it’s an international flight, I don’t recommend getting the car right away. Jet lag is no joke, and you want to be alert for the drive.

If you are flying into Venice, there is a bus to Cortina. That’s an option.

For Lake Como, if you stay in a town like Varenna, with a train station and ferry dock, you really don’t need a car. Just take the ferry to explore other parts of the lake.

In Milan, you really don’t want a car. It will be a hindrance. And could be very expensive if you drive when/where you shouldn’t. Central Milan is easily reached by train from Varenna.

Are you going to Como (the city) or to lake Como?
If you are going to the lake I would consider staying in one of the towns in the midlake (Varenna, Bellagio, Menaggio). Of the above 3, with a car, I prefer Menaggio because it is more car friendly more parking) and it’s an easy drive to Lugano in Switzerland if you care to visit it (45 min drive). You don’t say which airport you are flying in and out of, so I will presume it is Malpensa. I would rent a car at Malpensa, and head straight to your destination at the Dolomites, be aware of the fact you will be jet lagged and therefore not in the best driving conditions. You will probably need the car there. Then drive to lake Como (via the Stelvio Pass?). You can keep the car there.
Finally drive to Milano and drop your car at a city location upon arrival. Milan city center has a congestion charge to enter the city center and parking is expensive, therefore a car is useless there. If you stay in Milan the last night before the flight p, I would stay close to the Cadorna station from where you can take the fast Malpensa Express train to the airport.

To rent cars I use AutoEurope (www.AutoEurope.com, www,AutoEurope.eu, www.Kemwel.com). I recommend checking prices in all 3 websites since prices vary.

You say you are hiking thenAlta Via 1 for 6 days. What section will you hike—-where do you start and finish? I would be surprised if it is cost effective to rent a car to drive there and park it for the time you are hiking the Alta Via, then have to return to the starting point to retrieve the car. There is good bus service to trailheads throughout the Dolomites.

Have you ever been to Europe? Possible, probably not.

Europe is not like the US. The car situation is completely different.

There are reasons to rent and not rent a car:

To rent:
1) 3+ members in the party
2) Lots of time in the country
Not to rent:
1) 2 members in the party
2) Most time in cities
3) Have never heard of ZTL

You are 2 members in the party, and will spend a lot of time in specific locations.

Before committing to a rental car, learn about ZTL. Next, determine when you will drive. Can you do things by train (usually yes)? How much would a car cost vs a bus/train? How much time is involved with finding parking? How much is gas? Are there automated speeding cameras?

Many people say they want a car to visit wineries in the country. So, they plan to drive to wineries, drink wine, and then drive to other wineries. Gee, is this a good idea? Possibly not - Italy has laws about impaired driving too.

Wow! So many great replies already, thank you so much!

We are two and haven’t bought plane tickets yet, but will fix that in the next day or two.

Because arrival times and costs are a wash, we were going to do multi city and arrive in Venice ~ 5pm on a Saturday. Fly out of Milan Saturday, two weeks later.

Arrive Venice. Transfer to Cortina. Start Alta Via the next day. We booked a “self guided tour” with MONT Trekking so all the refuges and one night before/after are booked.

One night in Cortina. Six days, five nights hike, stay own night in Belluno before leaving.

Three nights around Como (destination TBD, looking for a nice AirBnB on the lake) and three nights in Milan (sightseeing and shopping for her).

We wanted to stay a night in Trento en route to Como but if we don’t have a car and skip that is okay.

So we have time and flexibility still! Just Alta Via is booked but we want to fix that asap.

Thank you all!

Aaron

That is helpful.

I looked at the MONT Trekking website and found your route—it looks good. We were hiking in the Dolomites last September, including some sections of Alta Via #1 and #2. I enjoyed seeing the photos of these beautiful places on the website. You will have a great time.

Are they arranging to transport your luggage from the start at Cortina to the end at Belluno? Or does your Cortina hotel store it for the week and you return there to collect it?

Either way, you will definitely not want a rental car for the hiking portion of your trip. But it would be nice for your Lake Como time—-giving you maximum flexibility in choosing a place to stay. Otherwise you are limited to places with train or ferry access, such as Varenna and Bellagio.

If you cannot find a rental you like T Lake Como consider looking at Lago di Garda, the northern part.

I suggest that after your hike, you return to Venice from your endpoint and pick up a rental car there. From Belluno there are several trains a day to Venice Mestre, or you can take a bus. From Cortina it will be the same bus or shuttle service you used to reach Cortina for the start of your hike. The rental car locations at Venice are at both the airport and at Piazzale Roma. Either one is an easy transfer from the Venice Mestre train station.

In Italy, there is generally no drop charge if you rent at one place and return the car at another. We have done that several times. So you can rent at Venice, drive to Lake Como (with a detour to Trento on the way if you like) and then head to Milan to return the car. You will not want it in the city.

I'd be very concerned about arriving in Venice at 5 PM and starting a tour with prepaid arrangements the next day. So much can go wrong with a flight. I'd be flying in a day early.

I agree, that is too tight a connection. What if your plane into Venice is late and you miss the transfer to Cortina? It is quite possible—-travel arrangements are not wholly reliable these days. Many of us who have traveled to Europe recently have faces issues—-schedule changes, canceled or delayed flights, strikes . . . . all fairly common.

As an example, we went to Italy for a month this spring. Our British Airways flight from Seattle tomLondon left on time and touched down on time. But then we had to wait on the tarmac for a gate to open up. When one did, we had to wait for airport staff to come and operate the jetway that connects to the plane. Then we deplaned and walked through the tube into the terminal, only to find a locked glass door. So we had to wait for someone to notice our waving and whistling, and open the door. All of this due to staffing shortages.

As a result we an hour late getting off the plane, cutting into our time to transfer to our connecting flight to Rome. Fortunately it departed from the same terminal (T5), the lines at security were not bad and . . . The Rome flight was itself running late. So we made it.

Our return flight from London back to the US was nearly 4 hours late departing, due to a “Maintenance issue” with the plane, and the lack of a second pilot. If you happen to be flying on an A380:watch out—-they have been having lots of problems, leading to delays and canceled flights.

It would be much safer to fly in to Venice one day early so you have a buffer in case of problems. And if there are none, count yourselves lucky and enjoy a night in Venice.

A car is a big hindrance in Milan, don't do it. Public transport is so much easier. Keep in mind for Como that the ferry is often faster than your car due to the shape of the lake. It takes a long time to drive around the lake.

Are you used to driving in Italy? Italian drivers can be quite agressive and the roads can be very narrow and steep. So if you aren't comfortable with passing other vehicles in narrow spaces I'd just take the ferry and the train in Como.

Hopefully you're spending some time in Venice?
My last two international flights were significantly delayed - one 24 hrs and one by 6 hours. You really need some extra time at the beginning.
Open jaw flights are highly recommended, as you're doing, to eliminate backtracking. And, it's much easier to fly into Venice than flying out of Venice, due to many early morning flights.
IMHO, three nights in Milan is too much- perhaps use that extra night in Lake Como!
Have a great trip!