Hello,
I'd really appreciate comments/tips on our planned road trip in Europe this Summer. My wife, 3 daughters (ages 9, 11 & 12) & I will be flying to Nice, France in Mid August and be returning after 15 days from Munich. I rented a car for the whole trip and we're already decided to spend 3 days in the Cote D'Zour area then drive to Cique terre to spend 2 days. We also decided to spend the last 3 days in Munich. The question is how to plan the 7 days between both ends of our trip. We thought of 2 options, 1st in to drive from the Cique terre to Venice to spend 1 day only then drive to lake Como to spend 2-3 days then end it up with a visit the Neuschwanstein castle (we figured 1 night is enough here) before we move to our final destination, Munich. Our 2nd option was to go from Cique terre to Florence to spend 2 days then a 1 day visit to Venice then drive north to Vienna with a 1 day stop in Graz and possibly stop over by Hallstatt in our way to Vienna. With this route we plan to spend 2-3 days in Vienna then drive west to Munich. Does that sounds too ambitious? I estimated most of the drives between the different points are within 2-3 hours so should not be to bad. Thank you, Sam
Posted by
Reston, Virginia
403 posts
I concur about the drop-off fee. Also, you really do not need or want a car on the Cote d'Azure; you can't bring a car into the Cinque terre, but must park outside it; and you cannot drive into Venice proper, but must park at a large lot or garage near the train station. Given all that, you might consider changing the car rental to a one week, beginning at the Venice train station and ending at Munich. To me, the logical itinerary for that week would be to drive Venice to Innsbruck to Bavaria to Munich. But the drop-off fee would still worry me. Perhaps you have already checked it out and found it to be no problem. In any case, good luck with your trip.
Posted by
OP
Columbus, USA
4 posts
Thanks much Je & Roe for your valuable comments. I shopped around for the car rental and for some reason found that the drop off charges much higher if I rent from Italy than from France. I reserved a Peugeot 3008 for 15 days for a total of $622 including the drop off charges which s calculated at $8 per day. I like your idea Roe but do you think that travel by train from Nice to Cique terre then to Venice is practical and easy for a family with 3 children? Thank you
Sam
Posted by
OP
Columbus, USA
4 posts
Just to experiment further I tried to book a car from Venice train station to drop off in Munich airport and the difference is amazing. I again went through Sixt car rental and even picked a smaller car (Opel astra), this time only for 8 days, however the one-way fees are calculated at $235 per each day making the total rent $2,243 which is almost 4 times what I reserved for 15 days rental starting in Nice!!!
Posted by
Ann Arbor, Mi
3696 posts
I would try every car rental company as each one can be so different.... as for all this driving (and I am most definitely a car person) I would try to figure out a bit of a different plan. The car in CT is a pain, and are you going to spend the night in Venice? or outside of the city? I would try to cut down just a bit, because each 2-3 hour trip can easily take much longer given traffic, stops, etc...and the kids might get really sick of the car.
I would consider more time in Venice and less in CT. For some parts of the trip the train makes more sense, and with 3 girls who can all carry their own luggage it should be great fun. Just don't overpack.
Posted by
OP
Columbus, USA
4 posts
Many thanks Terry for your valuable tips. So far all the hotels that I resevred in Nice, Cinque Terre, Lake como & Munich do provide on site free parking. In CT I reserved 2 nights at the Agriturismo Villanova which is in Levanto. I was told this hotel is close to the train station that we can use to hop around the 5 CT towns. In Venice I will have to leave the car in the parking at either the airport or train station. To minimize the time wasted on the road as you suggested I'm considering canceling the stop at Lake como which is far to the west and either spend a couple of days in the not so far Lake Garda area or just drive North from Venice to Salzburg for 3 nights then spend the last 4 days in Munich. Does that sound more reasonable? Thank you Sam