lantran

We're taking our 11 & 14 year olds to Italy this Summer and plan to drive from Tuscany back to South of France beginning of August. Is it worth the drive? Ideas anyone?? Big thanks.

bobthenavigator

Why?
Where do you arrive in Europe?
Where do you depart?
How many days in France?
Would you drop the car in France?

No way we can answer without the facts !

nytraveler

For us to provide a sensible answer you need to tell us more about your trip: itinerary, total number of days and what airports you will be flying in and out of.

Also what are your major interests? We love the south of France - but others might be happier other places.

nytraveler

Sorry our DDs - a couple of years older - loved South of France. But we don;t know the genders/interests of your kids.

StCirq

I don't do "is it worth it" questions, because they are useless, as everybody has different tastes in travel. I will let you know that picking up a rental car in country X and dropping it off in country Y will cost you a mortgage payment.

Surely you've been looking carefully at maps and guidebooks and have something of a plan outlined? If not, time to do that.

lantran

Hello all. Thanks in advance for all your inputs.

We will visit Venice, Rome & Amalfi Coast for 11 days, then plan to spend 3 days exploring the Florence/Tuscany area. From there we will either take train or drive from Florence to Nice, and then train from Nice to Paris. We love road trips and like to explore, and are trying to decide whether it's worth driving from Florence to Nice, especially with an 11 yr old daughter & 14 yr old son in tow. We love history, nature & interesting local food, so if there are places worth stopping by, we appreciate your sharing.

lantran

And yes, we plan to rent the car in Italy then drop off in South of Fance. If there's a better option, love to hear it. Thanks.

HappyTrvlr

Many possible stops en route- Cinque Terre, Santa Margherita Ligure, Camofli, Noli to name a few. Are you aware that you'll pay a hefty drop fee when returning a rental car to a different country?

greg

Do you "love road trips" in Italy from experience? Or are you assuming that driving in Italy is like somewhere else where you "love road trips?" Of the places you mentioned, in case you are driving, you are not allowed to drive into Florence during day time, not allowed to drive into city core in Rome, there is no car road in Venice, and parking and traffic along the Amalfi coast are PITA in summer.

klondike

3 days is not a lot of time for Florence AND Tuscany. A car if you are staying in Florence is a minus, but it is a great benefit if you want to see Tuscany. Do you have specific things you want to see or do in Tuscany? Maybe stay at an agriturismo on the outskirts of Florence for a different experience where you can train/bus in to Florence?

Train connections aren't great Italy to Southern France and, as others have mentioned, there is a hefty fee for returning a rental car to a different country. Also Nice parking is astronomical. I would drive to the Italian border, turn in my rental car at Ventimiglia, and train the remainder of the way to Nice.

Michael

Financially it is probably not worth it. For one thing, there is the stiff cross-border drop-off fee. For another, a car rental in Italy is probably more expensive per day than in France. It might be better to drive to the French border, drop the car off on the Italian side (San Remo) and take the train to Nice.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...a_Liguria.html

neckervd

11 days are the minimum for a somewhat decent visit of Venice, Rome and Naples/Amalfi. 3 days are by far not enough for Tuscany. I suppose it might be better to spend more time in Italy and to fly directly from Pisa or Florence to Paris. There is also a overnight train from Florence to Paris.
Compared with the places you plan to visit in Italy, Nice isn't very spectacular anyway.