International Drop Charges

The cross-border drop-off fees can be daunting. Consider ways you can sneak just barely across the border using public transit, pick up the car and use it within one country, and drop it before crossing the next border, the do that via public transit.

For example, use trains to get around in BeNeLux, and take the train across the border into Germany. Pick up your rental car in the first sizable town, then motor happily throughout Germany. Drive the car to a town just inside the border that has both a car rental agency and a rail line. Drop the car, get on the train, and head for Venice.

I've done variations on this several times. Although it can complicate your trip a bit, you can save a bundle, and still have the freedom and flexibility of the car in the places you need it most (you really don't want to drive in Amsterdam or Venice anyway).

One trip we started in Amsterdam, spent a week or so in Benelux using the trains (Amsterdam -> Bruges -> Brussels -> Luxembourg Ville -> Trier). We picked up the car in Trier and doubled back into Luxembourg to visit the north of that small and delightful country, then drove back into Germany, down the Rhine, into the south (Ludwig's castles), the we dipped down into Austria (Tyrol, Innsbruck/Hall) before turning back into Germany, headed for Munich and dropped the car there (so the car was oicked up and dropped off all within Germany, although we took the car out to Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria and Lichtenstein - and we paid no drop off fee. After dumping the car in Munich, we were back on trains (Salzburg, Halstatt, Vienna). You could just as easily train south to Venice. It worked great for us.

Hope that helps.

If you're planning on traveling in Switzerland try to use the Swiss Pass for train travels because your teenage children will travel for free with you on all Swiss Transportation (Trains, Gondolas, Funiculars, Boats, Buses, etc). It's a great deal especially if you're planning on some of the high mountain destinations like the Jungfrau which can be extraordinarily expensive.

If you're last destination is Venice then training from the Switzerland to Venice is quite easy, and it usually includes a route via Milan.

Oh yes, I've been hit with those rental car drop-off charges, too. They can be staggering and definitely not worth it.

While it is only a guess, the fact that you are entering Italy is a good deal of the problem. There would still be a hefty charge to drop off someplace else, but maybe less. Consider your itinerary and maybe consider a combination of Train and Car. For example, maybe Train from Amsterdam to the Rhine/Mosel area, get a car, do that area plus maybe Bavaria, drop the car, then into Italy by train. Or maybe plan a couple stops with car rentals, whatever interests you. I will add that the brutal truth is that if a small town is not connected with the tourism industry and you do not speak the language, they can be terribly dull with not much to see. Most small towns my brother lived in tended to be bedroom communities for the larger industrial areas. Yes, there can be charming ones, but I think you would find yourself stopping less than you think, partly due to time, partly due to having no reason to stop.

If you can stretch your time to 17 days or more, you can take advantage of the Peugeot Open Europe buy back lease plan.

Roger, have you tried SIXT CAR RENTAL? My wife and I have rented a car from this company with a pick-up in Delft, Holland and drop off at Paris CDG. We will be using this rental for 13 days late April and early May for 423 euros. Dorsey

Depending on how long you are traveling consider a lease. There are pick-up and drop-off charges anywhere outside of France. Even with those factored in (we picked up in Amsterdam and dropped in Rome) it was still a great deal. It has to be at least a 17 day rental. We did 22 days, picking up on the back end of Amsterdam and dropping off on the front end of Rome.