Train from Monte Carlo, France to Portofino, Italy

You're already going to have a car. Turning it in, then picking up another one for a short-term rental doesn't make much sense since the daily cost of the second one will be higher. Additionally, renting a car in Italy means that your credit card insurance won't pick up the cdw. You'll be fine, however, if you rent somewhere else and drive in Italy. The only drawback is that you're going to have to get the car back into France to turn it in or you'll get bitten by a huge second-country drop-off fee. My idea is that it's always best to minimize the changes in modes of transportation. They cost both time and money. The bucks were covered above. By the time you turn in one car, then get another one, you've burned a half day that could have been better spent doing something else. You'll need to factor in parking fees. I figure roughly about twenty-five euro a day for a parking garage in major cities. Portofino will nip you - - as a recall, it's almost that much for a couple of hours. But then, a couple of hours is almost enough - - the place is shrimpy and packed with humanity.

Thank you VERY MUCH. I just fininshed reading a great Internet article about driving in Europe and, although there are plenty of differences from US road rules, I think the driving plan is still the way to go; driving all the way from France to Italy (avoiding the train) is the option I prefer. I will also check in advance on the alternate country drop fees, realizing and accepting the fact that I have to spend $$$ for the comfort and convenience of not having to off-load luggage every now and then when making stops if by train. I now have to check to see if my Capital One Card will cover the CDW in France. The driving plan will be to rent a car after visiting Paris for a few days and then drive from there to Italy, dropping off the car at the Florence, Italy Airport for my return flight to USA. I'll search for car rental companies that offer such a package. Wish me luck. If you have familiarity with rental companies that may do that for reasonable cost, I certainly appreciate your advice and information.

Never, in a gazillion years of renting cars in europe, have I found significant differece between companies on the drop-off fee. What I've done, however, when facing a situation like yours is take a day to get the car back; i.e., it's a four-hour drive from Florence to Menton. In a single day, I could leave Florence, turn in the car in Menton, and take the train back to Florence. You'd be looking at sixty bucks in gas, maybe seventy-five for tolls, and the cost of a train ticket. You could still be back in Florence for supper. Do the math and see how much time you have.