Driving to Italy

Even some huge rental corporations, like Hertz, won't let you take some cars outside of Germany. Anything in their "prestige" collection, for example, cannot be driven outside of the country. Some will let you drive but not drop. I've never had an issue with not being able to use credit cards in Italy, but my old credit union wouldn't allow their debit cards to be used in ATMs there...once had to make sure I had enough Euro before leaving Austria.

Why not just train from Munich to Florence with a nice stop in the Swiss Alps along the way. Do your rental car thing for Florence/Tuscany, drop off, then train back?

Different companies have different rules on where you can take their cars. Anytime an area creates high losses (whether due to theft, vandalism, or traffic accidents) some companies will decide not to allow their cars to drive there. Most of the former Soviet-block countries have had at least some rental car restrictions (no Mercedes into Hungary, as a purely made up example). I've heard some bank cards won't do business with Italy, so I wouldn't be too surprised if some rental companies are saying no to Italy now too. When you rent. Make sure you are clear about where you plan to drive. If a rental company doesn't allow their cars to drive somewhere along your route, it's much better to find out about it before you book - and waaay better than finding out when you pick up the car.

Europcar will let you drive into Italy from Germany. You are smart to be returning the car to your point of origin. You're going to avoid the hefty "one way" fees that you'd incur if you returned the car in Italy. As Brad pointed out, if you're going to rely on third party insurance, such as a credit card, make sure you'll be covered in Italy.

It sounds like you're mixing up the rental companies and the credit card insurance business. I've never heard of a rental outfit that won't let you take the car into Italy - - I do it rather frequently. There are some, however, that imposed restrictions on taking a car into the old soviet bloc. None of my credit cards will cover cdw in Italy (or Ireland, Isreal, and a few other places for that matter). However, none of these companies have a problem covering me if I rent elsewhere and drive into Italy. Thus, I've never rented a car in Italy since it costs much more than renting in France or Germany and simply driving down. The train and rental idea wouldn't work for me. In addition to the above problem, the shorter term of the rental might just cost as much as the longer term, even if the Italy insurance cost were not considered. Additionally, the cost of a bit of gas and the Swiss road tax would probably be a good bit less than a couple of train tickets.

Thanks guys for all the comments. The train was never an option for me either. Thanks for clearing that up for me!

Michael makes a valid point about "prestige" cars. A related issue is that most credit card coverages specifically exclude coverage of expensive or exotic cars. If you're going to rely on credit card insurance, you need to be aware of the "covered vehicles" fine print.

Here is an excellent article that addresses all sorts of issues regarding renting cars in Europe. It comes from www.Gemut.com. http://gemut.com/Carrentalspecialreport7.pdf

I checked with my credit card company for cdw when I picked up in Stuttgart and drove into Italy and was ok to do that. As Ed wrote I would not have been allowed to pick up in Italy and get the coverage. I went through Gemut and picked up the car from Avis and they were going to upgrade me from a Peugeot to a small BMW. I explained to the Avis employee that I would be driving into Italy. His response went something like this, "AHH, you would be ok to take the BMW to Italy but when you park it and come back to get the car it would be gone." Maybe it would have or maybe not but his point was made and I stuck with the Peugeot. If you have an AMEX card you may want to check with them on their premium plan for $24.95 or $17.95 which normally allows for some prestige cars. I am not sure if that would apply going into Italy however. You could check with them. The premium charge is per rental, not daily, and has increased coverage over their basic CDW free coverage.

One thing that nobody has mentioned about Italy is that the Italians require you to have an International Driving Permit, it is not suggested. Be aware also that the Italians do random traffic stops on secondary roads. I know a lady who ingored my advice on an IDP. She got stopped and handed over her US driver's license and got it flung back in her face with the words, 'the gray one' (IDPs are gray). What followed was not brierf, pleasant or cheap.

Thanks for the reminder Irv. The IDP has been a subject of much debate over the years here. I think most of us do get one when driving in countries that require one but some use the argument that they have never been asked for one therefore they do not bother. Some have asked if anyone has ever been asked by the authorities to show an IDP or does anyone know of someone who has actually been fined for not having one. You have cited a case where they were asked for one and were fined for not having it. Better safe than sorry.

Being a cop myself, I always play it safe. I take an IDP every time I travel to Europe.