Car Rental from Spain to France to Italy

Veronica,

To answer your original question, the "most economical way" is likely slower regional trains. However as one of your objectives is to see the "coastlines and countrysides", the rail option might not achieve that (keeping in mind that in some cases the trains follow the coast).

Aside from the horrendous fees to drop-off rental cars in a different country, another point to consider is the time aspect. Travelling by car is generally slower than by train, so if you only have a limited time to travel that's something else to consider.

A reminder that for driving in Italy you'll need the compulsory International Driver's Permit which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. The I.D.P.'s are easy to obtain - a passport photo and a few minutes at your local AAA office will take care of that. A GPS unit along with good Maps would also be a really good idea!

I suspect the most practical method would be a combination of rail travel, along with short term car rental in some locations. Without knowing more details of your trip, it's difficult to offer more specific suggestions.

Good luck!

Not by car unless you're going to take it back to Spain. A ten day rental in Barcelona on kayak costs out at $324. The same period with a Rome drop runs $1858. Not much sense in noodling the tolls and gas prices after that whopper.

Explore cheap flights or trains.

Not renting a car for the whole time. You will pay hefty drop off charges to rent in one country and drop off in another.

If you must have a car you could rent a car in Spain, when you are done there you could turn in the car and train to France. Pick up another car there, drop it when done, then pick up another in Italy.

You could also take a train or fly from Barcelona to Nice, and Nice to Rome. Flying would probably be the fastest and most economical.

Agree with the above. Unfortunately, train connections between the three cities can also consume a lot of time, and be expensive. Spanair flies Barcelona-Nice four times a week, while Easyjet has one flight/day from Nice to Rome. The farther ahead you book, the better price you will get...just watch the luggage and checkin procedures and restrictions.

Thanks, everyone! Our goal is to see the coastlines and countrysides of each country, so I think the pick-up/drop-off method in multiple countries is our best bet.

One option you didn't want to think about is to take the car back from Rome to Spain. I've made Barcelona - Milan in ten hours with a couple of stops. Cutting down early to Rome would add about another four hours including a gas stop. Certainly not ideal, but a day of hotels and food is cheaper than the drop charge. A super-wild guess on the gas would be a bit over $125.

Veronica, think carefully about a bunch of short-term rentals. The daily rate is going to sky rocket.

Make a matrix of all possibilities and see what works the best in terms of both time and money.