We will be traveling in Spain, Italy, and possibly France this summer. What is
the best way of getting around? Train, rental car, or plane.
Posted by
Cincinnati, OH, USA
768 posts
Karen:
My wife and I are dealing with the same choices for a visit to France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and Germany in April and May. As the earlier posting noted, we agree trains are the best choice, at least when the distance between the origin and destination is less than 300, maybe 400 miles. We even use the train for day trips (from larger cities) of up to 150 miles each way, so long as the trains run early in the morning and late in the evening. This eliminates the hassle of moving luggage from place to place and allows fewer lodging changes during the visit. This has an added benefit of providing the opportunity for conversations with residents of the various countires which you will visit.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32353 posts
karen, It's difficult to provide an any advice without knowing which cities you're planning on visiting and other details. Generally speaking, I usually prefer trains (especially fast trains such as the TGV in France or others) as that's the most efficient use of my valuable travel time and the fastest way to get from one city to another (NO cars can legally travel at 300 kmH!). If you're primarily going to be visiting cities, using a rental car is not a good idea, as you'd have to deal with the issues of horrendous traffic, expensive CDW, parking issues, ZTL areas (Italy), tolls and high fuel prices. I tend to use rental cars for short term use for specific purposes. Using rental cars is also not a cost efficient method for one person. Budget airlines are a good idea for long distances (ie: Paris to Rome), as those trips by train take MANY hours! I'd rather maximize my touring time rather than be stuck in a train for the better part of a LONG travel day. Happy travels!
Posted by
Oak Park, Illinois
4535 posts
Unless you are visiting small towns and rural areas, trains within each country and probably planes between each. Spain is not well connected by train to France so those are long trips from say Madrid or Barcelona to Paris. Rome to Paris would also be a long trip. But from Milan is ok or if you want to stop in the Cote d'Azur then trains would be the way.