Can anyone suggest a reasonable itinerary for a driving trip from Barcelona along the coast to Nice or even the Cinque Terre? Have been to Barcelona and Nice, but unsure of mileage and driving times between areas. Would probably fly home from Nice. Thanks!
It's a long drive to the 5 Terre. Driving time from Barcelona to 5 Terre is about 10 hours plus pit stops and the distance is about 1000km (600 miles). Nice is maybe 3 hours less (650 km=400miles).
I suppose you are aware that if you rent a car in one country (e.g. Spain) and drop it off in another (e.g. France) the drop off fees run into the hundreds of Euro (about 400 to 600 euro).
To find estimated driving times and costs (tolls, gas, etc), use ViaMichelin: http://www.viamichelin.com/
As Roberto said, the big cost not shown on that site will be the drop charge for a car rented in one country and returned in another. Also, the times assume continuous driving; remember to add time for bathroom or meal stops.
I would only drive if you plan overnight stops at towns along the way. Otherwise, flying from Barcelona to either Nice or Pisa is usually cheap on budget airlines; see www.skyscanner.com.
I would train from Barcelona to Montpellier in France and pick up your hire car there.
Stop off at Marseille and St Tropez on your way to Nice.
Make sure you get to Nimes, Arles, Avignon, Aix-en-Provence.
From Nice to La Spezia (Cinque Terre) it's a further 300km !!