Hi everyone!

My mother and I are flying into Paris and flying out through Barcelona. We're going to explore Provence and travel south to Spain. We'll obviously need to rent a car and drop it off along the way somewhere, but we haven't figured out where. We are also looking forward to riding the train whenever we can.

My question is: Can we (and should we) rent a car in France and drop it off in Spain, or will the cost be much more exorbitant than just taking the train from Marseilles or another town?

THANKS for your help!

You should check it out and see if the extra cost is worth it to you. It's quite high.

You can rent a car in France and drop it off in Spain but you will pay dearly for this. Check out drop off fees on various rental web sites to verify the amounts. We rented in Marseilles , did Provence, returned the car in Marseilles, rerented on in Spain and flew out of Madrid..Trains in Spain are great and the trains from Paris to Marseilles are again just fine. Do some checking..Eurocar, Avisa, etc. Having a car allows for much more flexibility and we always like this but you can't do it all so try to plan for speedy trains between areas of interest.

Drop the car in Perpignan (30 km from the Spanish border) and take the TGV to Figueres-Vilafant where you'll take a local Spanish train to Barcelona. See www.tgv-europe.com for timetable

Would you recommend we get International Driving Licenses? I didn't when I went to Iceland and did not run into a problem, but the car rental websites seem to all include a word about it...

An IDP is not required for France or Spain.

YAY!!! Thanks!

The IDP, International Driving Permit, is required by Spanish law. If stopped and you are not fluent in Spanish, you may need it. The IDP is even required for foreign visitors to the U.S., but France doesn't care.

http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Foreign-Vi...-Driving.shtml

Is that a relatively new requirement, Robert? I've never seen Spain listed as a country that requires the IDP, but I just googled it, and it seems to be the case.

Interesting comments. DD is in Spain @ schoolfor the year and had her driver's lisc. stolen along with her back pack. We were able to drive for 3 weeks with a copy of the lisc. and the IDP that she had..Invalid Dr. lisc but ok LDP. for the small cost of IDP get one..You could save alot of frustration.

We're both from Puerto Rico, and so we're fluent in Spanish. Nonetheless, I think I'll follow the earlier suggestions and drive the rental only in Spain, then take the train from Perpignan and rely on rail/bus in Spain. So no IDP needed in France? Superb!

OOPS, drive the rental only in France.

That isn't a new requirement for Spain, it has been that way for many years. Maybe forever, for all I know, but I know it has been required for at least five years as I checked that long ago.