We plan to fly to Barcelona in March, then fly back from Paris 10 days later after exploring the Costa Brava and some of southern France. Is there a good way to avoid or minimize dropoff fees if we rent one way and drop the car in southern France? We'll then take a train to Paris. Thanks for any ideas.

Last summer someone told me that he had to drop his Spanish rental off in Irun, cross the border and pick up his French rental to avoid a $150 drop-off fee. I do not think that the same convenient drop-off pick-up arrangements can be found on the Mediterranean side of the Pyrenees.

Well, I disagree, at least in part. Maybe not right across the border, but a pickup in perpignan is reasonably convenient and then you should be able to drop it anywhere in France.

Best wishes,

Rex

Thanks for the info so far. To make it feasible to drop the car in Spain, how can I find train schedules (and routes) to get from towns in the Costa Brava area to towns in southern France? I have found schedules within either country, but I don't know how to get the same information cross-border. Any help will be appreciated.

jd_dallas,

These 2 sites should provide that info:

www.rail.ch
reisauskunft.bahn.de

Hope this helps,
Andre

It was quite expensive renting in Spain and dropping off in France (or Italy like we wanted to) so we ended up taking the train to Perpignon and renting. There are several car rental places within a block of the train station. Very easy!