dgruzew

Hi,

I am planning on renting a car in Nice, France and dropping it off in Florence Italy. Does anyone know where I can get some reasonable rates? Hertz says 170 Euros with 330 drop off fee. But E-Vacations says 163 Dollars total - Am I missing something or are they?

Thanks

Vagabond

Try Auto Europe. They always quote all drop fees and can advise on mandatory insurance (if any) or other fees. In 10-years I never used anyone else. I access thru http://www.virtually-there.com/autoeurope.html cuz there's more info available there.

rex

I'd be worried that e-vacations is not disclosing the drop charge. Maybe they have some way of procuring for you an Italian car that is actually delivered to some location in Nice?

It's a short easy train ride from nice to san Remo, and you can rent an Italian car there. It will cost you more per day than a French car, but there should not be any drop charge.

Best wishes,

Rex
[email protected]

shutterbug

I've had no surprises and have been quite happy with several rentals from AutoEurope. All charges (including drop-off) are itemized and paid ahead of time. You can get an all-inclusive quote from their web-site. The only extra charge I ever paid after the rental was a daily tax. I'd use it again.

Patrick

As has often been mentioned here before, if you can't get rid of the high drop fee, you can always take a short train ride to San Remo, Italy from Nice and rent your car there, even driving back to Nice right away if that's where a part of your trip is.
But I agree that AutoEurope is great.

mclaurie

Don't forget to get an International Drivers license (which I never knew was required until reading a recent thread here) particularly if driving in Italy.

dgruzew

What is an International Drivers license? and where do you get one?

Betsy

Another viewpoint: Through the years, we've driven rental cars in England, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Lichtenstein, Switzerland, Italy and maybe another country or two that I'm unable to recall at the moment. Never once have we needed an international driver's license.

rex

An international driver's license is essentially a translation of your existing driver's license. It does not replace it, and is only valid together WITH your up-to-date driver's license. You need a passport photo (or something like that), about $15 and they will you issue you one on the spot at (most?) any AAA.

They're technically a legal requirement, but the vast majority of American drivers renting in Europe do not get them, I think. supposedly mostly useful if you are stopped (rare as hen's teeth) or get in an accident. The car rental agency will virtually never ask to see one.