My wife and i will be going to Europe for 4 weeks beginning Sept.20-Oct. 18,2010. We will land in Paris and spend a week -no car. On Sept 28 we leave Paris for the south of France. We plan to take a train to get there. Once in the south of France we hope to rent a car to travel in the area and then travel to Italy. We really could use some advice re who to rent a car from and what it might cost to do so. We will eventually fly out of Zurich on Oct 17 to return home. We think a car would allow more flexibility as we would like to stay in small villages along the way and avoid tourist traps and big hotels. Any thoughts? We are real novices. Thanks so much!
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9371 posts
When you start pricing various companies you are likely to find that the surcharge for renting in one country and dropping off in another is astronomical. You might be better off to drop your French car before crossing the border and re-rent in the next country. Or you might consider a low-cost flight, though that would mean missing all of the scenery in between.
Posted by
Oakville, Ontario, Canada
81 posts
If you could really swing it, lease a car in France. Either through Renault or Peugeot. We just leased a car in April from Nice for 3.5 weeks and no hassle at all. All insurance included, new car. There is a surcharge to drop off outside of France but you may work around that if you are flexible with your schedule. Had no complaints at all with the Clio 86hp diesel. Loved it.
Posted by
Myrtle Beach, USA
12315 posts
We also leased. Picked up in A'dam, dropped in Rome. It was a really good deal. Flying out of Zurich, you can either drop the car in France on your way to Zurich, and train from there, to avoid a drop charge or drop in Zurich. The drop charges may be less than a couple of train tickets. You need to keep the car more than 17 days to lease. If that fits your plan, you should check it out. It's a French option. Puegeot and Renault have programs. We chose a Renault because they had the better car for our needs.
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
There have been recent discussions here about driving in Italy, especially in Italian cities. If you haven't driven before in Italy, you might want to browse these discussions. Driving in Italy is not like driving here.
Posted by
Dallas, United States
707 posts
I recommend autoeurope.com which is a broker and deals with various rental companies in Europe. They also offer the Peugeot buy back plan that others have recommended. You can use their website to see the costs of different pick up and drop off locations. And you can easily telephone them with your questions[INVALID]they are in Maine. I have found them very helpful. Good luck!