Driving in France and Italy
 

Hello, we are picking up a car in Avignon, driving to Provence for two nights (Crillon le Brave), and then driving into Italy - Monterosso al Mare for one night, then San Gimignano for three nights. I realize there is an exorbitant fee for picking up in one country and dropping off in another, but the other alternatives were either equally expensive and/or too time-consuming and inconvenient.

Any general tips about driving, which routes to take, etc? Our rental car is equipped with a GPS.

My only tip is not to exceed the speed limit.

We got a ticket in the mail from a highway camera in France, and were basically arrested in Italy.

They made us get money on the spot, and confiscated DH's drivers license. I could not drive the manual and the cops returned the car to a garage where we had to have it picked up by the rental agency.

A few months later, DH's license was returned with the compliments of a government agency in Campania.

Having GPS is great! My DH often "argues" with it, but we usually find that "she" takes us away from traffic jams and problems along the roadway.

We always have a rental car in Europe and really enjoy driving there.

And yes, follow the speed limits!!! DH has had his picture taken a number of times... you'd think he would learn. :)

<i> Driving in France and Italy
Posted by: Colleen20191 on Apr 13, 16 at 1:46pm</i>

For general information on driving in Europe see http://www.enjoy-europe.com/hte/chap18/auto-1.htm. For specific "trip-tic" like route planning see http://www.viamichelin.com/.

In tourist cities of Italy beware of ZTL!

ZTL's are limited traffic zones where large fines can be incurred. So read the following. Cars are advantage in the countryside, a liability in cities.

http://driventoit.blogspot.com.au/

Thank you! We'll try to limit city driving as much as possible!

On viamichelin it's wise to consider the kms/times on secondary roads [off the "motorway"] where time estimates can be way off, as one may encounter heavy traffic, get stuck behind slow-moving trucks and be reticent to pass. Crillon-le-Brave to Monterosso they give an estimate of 10 hours, the vast majority off the motorway. Plus there well could be a backup getting into town, particularly during the summer when going there at all is ill-advised.

What weeks of the year are you going? Which days will you be on the road -- weekends or weekdays?

Where do you plan to park in Monterosso al Mare?

If you're from the States or Canada, then you're required to have an IDP when driving in Italy. It could get complicated should you be stopped for any reason and the driver don't have one.

Stay on the right lane whenever possible, don't turn on red, be prepared to what you may expect as aggressive driving - mostly a matter of 'just' letting the guy behind get before you ;-)
Pay attention to speedcameras and don't drink above the limit (0,5 in France, don't know in Italy, probably the same).

Italy has more stringent insurance requirements than France, so make sure that the insurance that covers you for driving in France also covers you for Italy.

I just checked viamichelin and the estimate was 6.5 hrs for the Michelin recommended route.

I just talked to the rental car place and they said an IDP is not required.

The IDP is not required in France although the rule is technically on the books, to be enforced perhaps if the police stop a real troublemaker. However, the requirement is enforced more in Italy, from what I have read. Luckily, most cars are never stopped by the police since radar takes care of the majority of the speeding fines, so nobody will be asking to see your papers.

French police are extremely strict if they see a driver using a mobile phone or if anybody in the car (including the back seat) is not wearing a seatbelt.

to respond to above statement that an IDP is needed for Americans,

I've never needed an IDP in Europe when renting a car. Only my regular driver's license and passport. My friends have had same experience.

I've rented in Italy, France, and Croatia so far over past 3 years

Cheers!

Brooke

Yes, the IDP requirement must include all non-European countries of the world to prevent claims of discrimination, but it really only concerns licences in languages or alphabets not generally understood in Europe (Chinese, Iranian, Ethiopian... just to cite a few examples.) European police and highway patrols have seen zillions of American licences and have no problem understanding them.

In any case, if you are stopped and give them an IDP, they will ask to see your real licence instead.

Italian law requires Americans to have an IDP/translation of their state-issued license to present to police when asked, along with your state issued driver's license and national identification document (a passport).

Car rental offices in Italy do not ask to see your IDP/translation of your license to rent you a car. However, your rental car contract -- including insurance coverage -- can be voided if you are involved in an accident or other incident and police report that you were driving in violation of the traffic laws of the country -- and it is a violation of Italian law for an American to be driving with a state issued license but who cannot produce when asked an IDP or an official translation (into Italian) of the driver's license.

kerouac,

Your information is totally wrong concerning Italy. Please don't keep posting it.

<< However, the requirement is enforced more in Italy, from what I have read.>>

You mean it is not enforced, sandralist? Sorry.

I would like to hear from people who have been stopped by the police in either country.

I've just left Italy, having shared a car rental with an American friend for a week, and driven solo for a few days in one last month (to Marche region, from Tuscany) and my personal advice for Italy, Spain, and France is to avoid Autostradas (the freeways that have all of the toll booths) whenever possible if you can. The tolls really really add a lot onto the cost of trips-and often GPS will only route you using the main big highways. I started asking the car rental places directly for their route advice and it made like a 10-20 Euro difference in a day of a few hours driving the few times we could take alternate routes.

:)

Colleen-not sure if you've found a place to stay near San Gimignano but we thought this place was adorable. Great views of the whole area, tucked away up a little road with a couple wineries and other agriturismos, etc and only about a 12 min drive from center of San Gimignano

Agriturismo La Piazzetta

http://www.lapiazzetta-agriturismo.com/

the winery on the same road: Cesani is quite small and has nice wines and you can schedule a tasting (normally with daughter of owner) there is no charge-and the bottles are extremely reasonably priced