S Europe Travel

» karenbryan - Renting a car in Italy?

I find it hard to answer this question. It depends on your character and on the type of holiday that you want to take. I think you have to be a pretty calm and unflappable person to drive in Italy. Personally I don't find driving on the right hand side that hard to get used too, especially in the hire car. One of my biggest problems is the poor road signs. very small, perhaps only one sign close to the exit.

If you are planning to visit mainly large towns or cities, forget the car. If you want to explore or stay in smaller towns and the countryside, particularly if you are staying in self catering accommodation, then a car will be very useful.

What are your experiences of driving in Italy?

-- posted by karenbryan

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» Barbara Rogers - Renting a car in Italy?

In response to Renting a car in Italy? posted by karenbryan:

Because of where we live and how we travel, we don't have much choice but to rent (or lease) a car while we're there, but we also minimize our road exposure by using Italy's excellent rail network and city buses.

Verona has an excellent bus system (although it confounds us constantly by changing all the routes on weekends) and is on the main Milan-to-Venice train line. And as long as you are traveling to major cities the train works well.

But we spend a lot of time roaming around in the back country -- the hills of Valpolicella, the Euganian hills, the villages of the Dolomites and the Piedmont and the towns around the lakes. A car is the only way to see these areas, so we brave the mountain roads and the legendary Italian drivers.

As scary as driving amid the high-speed drivers on the Autostrade are the narrow mountain roads that are little more than a niche carved into sheer cliffs. Guard rails are rare, and you can be driving on hairpin curves with absolutely nothing but air between your car and a river hundreds of feet below.

Being Americans, we at least don't have to get used to driving on the other side of the road, which would make it even harder.

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» Stillman Rogers - Leasing a car in Italy?

In response to Renting a car in Italy? posted by ciaomondo:

How hard is it to lease a car in Italy? And how long do you have to stay? Would it make sense for someone who is not living there?

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» Barbara Rogers - Leasing a car in Italy?

In response to Renting a car in Italy? posted by tr6:

Leasing a car is quite easy, although there is some paper work that must be completed ahead of time and reservations must be made 30 days in advance. The minimum period is 17 days and the price includes all insurance without a deductable, so there are no surprises like the Collision Damage Waiver. The longer the term of the lease, the less the cost is per day, but at the minimum time it compares favorably to renting a car.

Other advantages include no maximum age restriction, a minimum age of 18 (not 23 as for most rentals), no fees for additional drivers. The catch for Italy pick-up is a $200 delivery and drop-off fee to Milan, but you can avoid that by picking up the car in Nice, France, or Geneva, Switzerland, and driving over the border. Either one is close enough to Italy to be a practical pick-up point, and delivery to either place is free.

For complete details visit www.renault-eurodrive.com.

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