Train Pass v. Driving for a family

Look into leasing a car. You can lease a car for any period over three weeks. For the five of you this may make best sence, and it certainly gives you freedom. You can also save money by staying a bit outside big expensive cities ( hotels are cheaper there) and taking public bus/train into city centers..

I have not done this, but my dad and his wife regularily do,, they use AutoEurope, but there are likely other companies that are just as good if not better.

Leasing is definitely a good option for having a car all the time. It sounds from your question that you are looking for choices for several long trips (Paris, Venice). Car rentals for only a few days are a little more expensive (per day) and you also have to factor in fuel, tolls and parking. For the larger cities, expect at least 20E/day to park. You can research these costs. Www.bahn.de can give you train fares for the trips you might want to take. www.autourope.com can give you car rental rates to estimate periodic rentals vs. a long term lease. www.viamichelin.com can give you driving times with estimated fuel and toll costs. And, of course, this site (click "railpasses" above) can help you decide if railpasses are a better deal than simply buying tickets once you're there.

A lease through AutoEurope is for a 17 day minimum, so that would fit into your plans. I used them for a lease and it was great. With that many people it will be less expensive. I leased a 7 passenger minivan because I was transporting between 4-7 people. Remember to have room for your luggage when you choose a vehicle. I got rid of the car when I arrived in Paris, but I agree with the person who said you can stay out of town and take transportation in. We did that in Amsterdam and it worked out great.

Beth,
You may also want to compare the buy back program offered by Peugeot and Renault. Since you will be there for over 17 days you would qualify for this program and the longer the term(maximum 175 days) the better the daily rate becomes. With this program you get a brand new car tax free. You have fully comprhensive, zero deductible insurance at no extra cost, 24 hour road service and you can pick whether you want a gas or diesel, standard or automatic. You can get a gps on some models (or take your own gps if you have one with Europe maps) and choices of different sizes of cars. As long as you pick up the car in France and drop off in France there is no pick up fee at airports or train stations. If you drop off in another country there would be a drop off charge and I would think it would be high. Sounds as if you could pu and drop off in France based on where you will be staying. I would imagine you could pick one up in Nice. These plans are availbale though Renault eurodrive, Kemwell, Auto Europe and Auto France. Here are a couple of links to two sites.

http://www.autofrance.net/peugeotopeneurope.html

http://www.renault-eurodrive.com/

Thanks for all of your help. I have a pretty detailed trip planned, but I think the lease/buy back sounds like it will have a lot of freedom for us, even if it is more than I was hoping to spend. Gas is so spendy, etc. We are swapping houses with a friend in Paris, who has parking in his building, so driving into the city should be OK. We'll be going with our friends to Venice and be a group of 9 between us, so renting a van that can handle that many may be a real luxury, too.

Beth, be careful about trying to drive a van in Italy that fits that many people. We were just in Italy with a minivan that seated 7 (6 of us), but it was a European minivan and substantially smaller than the one I drive here. After driving in Italy, I would never want to drive anything bigger. The parking garage in Venice was spacious enough but the one in Bolzano about gave me an anxiety attack! It's no impossible, just warning you that it's not the same as driving on I-5 (however, my worst parking experience EVER was at a garage across from Safeco field at the Exhibiition Center.)

I did generally find driving cheaper for us and the kids than the train- and for the most part, less stressful (we only had our car the first nine days, then switched to train for the rest of our trip.)

Beth I have never seen a rental agency that has 9 seaters available. I think each family will have to get own car.. but really if this family is only joining you for Venice they could just take train there right?

I have found two agencies that will rent "people movers" - passenger vans. I wouldn't be driving it, my friend, who lives there, would be. They already have 2 cars, so my rental doesn't need to be 9 passenger, it would just be nice to travel together. I am still considering all my options. Thanks for all your advice and thoughts. I am going to have to carve out an afternoon to figure out our point to point tickets v. car lease and see what transpires. I had hoped perhaps there would be a clear cut answer out there somewhere that I hadn't yet stumbled across.
If I rent the big van, it would just be to drive us all from Vence to Verona, where we will be camping on Lake Garda and then day tripping into Venice via train. If I were to take a long term lease (17+ days) I would be looking at a Kangoo or estate wagon, something in that range.