Rail Pass vs Car Rental

Do you know much about a short-term car lease? I heard the fees with them are a lot cheaper then a traditional rental car?

Even if the rail pass costs a little more, I just like the idea of the convenience of the pass, the efficiency of the European rail system, and the fact that I can sit back, enjoy the scenery, rest up for the next part of the trip, not have to mess with maps, and let someone else do the driving.

I go back and forth probably three times a year for a month at whack. I always rent a car, since it suits the way we travel and the places we go. For the two of us, the rental car is cheaper if you figure per person; when I go alone, it hits my pocketbook on the p/p cost of the trip. I periodically explore the lease possibility, but never have found it to be advantageous (which may be due to the way I handle insurance).

Yes, you can park in the big cities. Parking garages on the periphery of Paris cost about twenty-five euros per day. Parking in Amsterdam jumps to around fifty. Using cars within a big city is stupid, driving's not so bad, but just finding a place to park for a couple hours can take seven evers -- metro is the only way to go.

Parking in smaller cities and the towns is uneventful.

This is perhaps the most common question posted here.

In general terms here is the most concise answer to your question;

Point to point rail tickets cheaper than a pass unless all your pass trips would be very long, expensive legs.

Car is cheaper only if you limit it to rural/small town use (in cities it is insane to have a car) and only if you get the most economical rental options (small car, no extra insurance) and only if you pick up and drop off in the same country.

Crossing borders is no problem, but you have to bring the car back to your country of origin. Driving is easy & sometimes cheap, but never in cities.

I'm not sure about a rail pass vs car rental, but I'm pretty confident that point-point tickets, particularly using regional passes and advance purchase discounted tickets will be less expensive than either a car or a rail pass.

In 1988, when a rail pass was a "no brainer", I used one for two weeks in Germany (at $10/day). So, when I want back in 2000, I just automatically got a rail pass. When I got back, I looked up the full fare for trains I had used and found I had just barely come out ahead. However, if I had used a few less expensive trains, I would have saved money and used only slightly more time. Since that trip, I always calculate my rail cost and compare it to a pass. A pass has never shown to be cost effective. After a recent trip with my wife, I added up what I had actually spent ($272) and compared it to a Saver rail pass ($480). I saved almost 50%.

Before each of my last four trips, I have gotten car rental quote(s) and added Michelin's fuel estimate for my travel and compared it to rail and bus tickets. I've always found a car would cost me 2-3 times as much. In all cases, that was renting and returning the car to the same place.