Rental Cars

Hi Paul. There's a lot of good info from Rick Steves on this site about renting cars. Click on 'Plan Your Trip', then 'Travel Tips', then 'How to Rent a Car in Europe' Within that section, there is another link to a great section on insurance. Enjoy your trip!

A few of our tips: Take a GPS & map/atlas from home. Enter important addresses while still at home and save to favourites. Don't drive in the left lane except to pass. Do as little driving as possible in the large cities. Park at commuter parking and bus into town. Just because you have a rental vehicle does not mean that you must drive it every day. Stop whenever you feel like it - even just to stretch the legs.
Enjoy your journey.

Hi Bob, Thank you that had a lot of good material. Now for some more questions: Is parking a big problem when you are spending the night at hotels in larger cities? Most highways in France and Italy are toll roads, I'm assuming having Euros is the smoothest way to sail through? Gas Stations, are the majority manned stations (ball park time when they would close) or credit card based self service like in the US? Any issues moving within the EU (between countries) by car? Thanks in advance. Paul

"Gas Stations, are the majority manned stations (ball park time when they would close) or credit card based self service like in the US?" Germany and Austria do not have pay at the pump. Although I usually don't drive late, finding an open station after dark has never been a problem. "Any issues moving within the EU (between countries) by car?" Only in Austria, where you need to buy a vignette sticker to drive on the autobahn. You buy the sticker at the border.

We now use a GPS along with paper maps for overall view, A GPS is a time and mind saver you can drive around small tight towns for a long time before finding what you want, plus many points of interest are included. We got TomTom that includes free map upgrades of US & Europe , I am sure other rans have theses also

Paul for just about everything you need to know on this subject, go to Gemut.com. They are experts in car rental especially for Germany. They have tips like the ones people will post here. And they have a downloadable brochure on driving in Europe. We rented from them last June. We picked up the car in Stuttgart, drove through the Alps in Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland and France, and returned the car to the little town of Loerrach, Germany just over the border from Basel. After you've researched all they have to offer on the website, call them to make the reservations. They can find deals that you can't see online yourself even with the same companies. Have a great trip!

My recommendation is to use Auto Europe for your rental. They are a rental car consolidator here in the states. You get a quote and pay upfront with them but I've had no trouble making changes and in one case there was an additional fee that the Zurich people said I should have paid, but since I had the voucher from Auto Europe and it wasn't mentioned, I did not have to pay it. There ARE some items that they will spell out like "doesn't include airport drop off fee" or things like that. In any case you know exactly how much it will cost you. We also had an experience where the rental company said that we had dropped off the car a week after we were home. Auto Europe did all the back and forth for me with the company and got my full refund. There may be cheaper agencies out there or you may want to use a specific company like Hertz but I really think they are a great company to deal with. Also - we drive almost every trip in Europe and we love it. I use viamichelin.com for directions as well as google maps. I like to get actual paper maps (the one tech thing we haven't gone to is a GPS - we LIKE maps) and the ones I usually get are the Michelin maps, as detailed as possible for the area I want to be in.

Paul, As you're planning to drive in Italy, these are the usual "caveats"..... It's important to note that for driving in Italy, each driver must have the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. These are valid for one year, and easily obtained at any CAA/AAA office (two Passport-sized photos required, which in some cases is offered at the issuing office). Failure to produce an IDP if requested can result in fines on the spot! Have a look at This Website for more detailed information on driving in Italy. You may also want to have a look at some of the other posts here concerning the dreaded Zona Traffico Limitato areas that are becoming increasingly prevalent in many Italian towns & cities ( especially Florence!). EACH PASS through one of the automated Cameras will result in a €100+ ticket! There's also the issue of parking tickets and the possibility of having "The Boot" applied, and high fuel costs, tolls, etc. A GPS along with a good Map would also be a good idea. Be sure to also give some thought to the question of CDW and theft insurance. In Italy, buying CDW from the rental firm is usually compulsory, so coverage provided by credit cards will not apply. Check the Car Rental section in Europe Through The Back Door for further information. You could also download the "Car Rental" PDF Guide from Gemut. Happy travels!

Paul; We've used Gemut to book our rental cars in the past and they have always gotten us the best price. Here is the URL: http://www.gemut.com/ Their site has lots of information that answers a lot of your questions. With regard to parking in the large cities, we find that in most it is difficult. We usually try to stay in smaller towns along the rail line and take the S-Bahn into town.
Happy Travels!