Would i be crazy to rent a one-way car to get from Lake Como down to Cinque Terre? I have looked into trains and it is about 6 hours whereas driving will take about half that time. We will drop off in La Spezia, not looking to keep the car once we are there. Has anyone driven this?
Thanks
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
12843 posts
Where on Lake Como are you coming from and is there a rental agency there?
By the time you do a car pick up, refuel and turn in, some of the time savings will evaporate.
Posted by
martinez, ca, usa
2675 posts
hey hey dverdy
many think it’s easier and faster by driving a car. you will need an IDP for each driver (aaa.com/idp) in italy, it’s
mandatory.
where in lake como to pickup car, look if extra fee drop off at another city, where in cinque terre. read about signage, rules of road, tolls if required.as joe32f mentions may add time to drive then riding a train city center to village/city center. what’s the difference in cost of car versus train. hope all works out
slow down, enjoy the train ride. we pack some goodies to have fun like a picnic
aloha
Posted by
Paris
7594 posts
The only towns with car rental offices (allowing one-ways) around Lake Como are Como and Lecco.
It takes respectively 4.5 & 5 hours to get from there to Levanto or La Spezia by train. About 3.5 hours by car nonstop with a risk of traffic especially around Milan, plus ~30 min for rental car proceedings, ~15 min for refuelling, short break en route: really not worth it.
Posted by
Vermont
31 posts
We rented a car to go from the Italian Lakes to the Cinque Terre. We parked it in Monterosso for four days and picked it up to continue our trip around Italy.
Posted by
Wengen
3352 posts
Como - La Spezia is about 4 1/2 hours. Don't know where you get those 6 hours from.
And you are not going to La Spezia, you are going to the Cinque Terre, so you should look at eg. Como - Monterosso, Which takes just a bit over 4 hours.
Renting a car just to avoid taking a train rarely makes sense.