Driving Tour
 

We are considering driving from Nice to Rome next spring. What books should I be reading for info? Open for any tips at all. There will be 2, possibly 3 couples who will be driving individual cars. Rental agencies? Drivers licenses etc.

You are unlikely to find a car rental company that will let you return a French car in Italy without a hefty drop charge.

The easy place to take a train to pick up a car is San Remo. Spend a night at the Nyala Suites, if that fits into your itinerary.

It's often said that the website www.autoeurope.com is all you need to check to find the best deal/servic in auto rental brokers (i.e., they don't rent cars,; they get you the best deals from companies that do). But i still do comparison shopping - - - www.its-cars-hotels.com or www.kemwel.com or travelocity etc.

The drive is weird geographically for the first 100 miles. Tunnel, bridge, tunnel, bridge - - over and over and over. 154 times. Seriously. The geology is as if there are plates and plates and plates of rock, and they just drilled through one after another, and built bridges to connect the tunnels.

The drivr's license from your home state will be honored in France or Italy, but there are some merits for getting an international driving permit from AAA (basically just a translation of your own driver's license - - not valid by itself; only WITH your drivr's license).

Last of all, search "walkie-talkie" here on this forum. We have found them VERY useful for one car to talk the other (buy then IN Europe to make sure you get a legal frequency set).

Best wishes,

Rex

That's great! My wife, daughter (will be two), and myself plan to fly into Nice, stay on the coast for two - three days, then work north towards Lake Geneva, drive to Milan, Venice, and from there south through the great Italian cities -- ultimately arriving in Rome for a stay and then flying from there back to NY.

I am trying to come up with a driving route/plan. My biggests concerns are: from who and how much for a car, where do we want to stay in the Alps area, and where should I drop off the car at the end of the trip. I think it might make sense to drop off the car before our 3 - 4 day stay in Rome.

All in all, I think we are looking to spend anywhere from 15 to 22 days on the trip.

Any thoughts? We have never been to either France or Italy....

You will likely want some more input from others on these fairly complicated/ambitious objectives - - I can propose a pln, but it involves (in part) some territory I have never actually traveled.

I would rent in Nice and then make a circle trip, involving coming up the Italian side via the Col du Larche into the Queyras (where Hannibal crossed the Alps, according to legend) - - perhaps make your ultimate destination Briancon or even Grenoble. Then, return south via the Route du Napoleon (passes through Barcelonette, I think) - - this is the part of the circle that I have NOT traveled.

While you could go all the way to Geneva (or Annecy/Talloires), and onward to Italy via Chamonix or Lugano - - you would be stuck with returning your French car in Italy, with that big drop charge.

So I would return the car to Nice - - and thus, not make such a big northward circle in the process.

Then you might end up wanting to just do all train for the remaining (8? 10?) days in Italy.

With your ambitious plans, I would probably advise skipping Milan, so that you can have time to include Florence or Verona.

But how to allocate your time depend on whether you have more like 17 or more like 22.

And maybe you WANT to drive in Itly (which I will say, I do enjoy). If so, how about rent in San Remo and make a path to Rome in the first 5-7 days (3-5 of those IN Rome) - turning in the car upon arrival in Rome. Thn when you are ready to leave Rome, train to Venice, and fly home from there?

Bringing this back up "to the top" for you (marltash) - - since it is your first post here ever...

I would encourage you to post your own quesrion rather than tag on to someone else's, a full month old. And give it a message header that fully indicates what info you would like to receive.

Best wishes,

Rex