knollw

Hi Fodorians,

I was looking for opinions on the scenario that my fiance and I, as well as another couple (4people), want to travel to multiple countries in Europe. Is it worth doing by car? We don't have a real issue driving as four of us can take turns, we have almost a month in late September -October. France> Switzerland> Germany> Italy>? The lease for a car we were quoted looks too good to pass up.Thoughts, suggestions, possible pros and cons?

Thanks Guys!

Traveler_Nick

In general a car is useful for visiting smaller towns/villages away from rail lines. The bigger the city the less a car makes sense.

All those countries have fairly good rail lines.

To cut it short what stops are you thinking of making? Tell us where you're going and we'll be able to give a better answer on car or no car

thursdaysd

What Nick says. Impossible to answer without an itinerary, although you almost certainly don't need/want a car in Switzerland. For loads of info on European train travel see seat61.com.

PalenQ

Yes to all Nick says - many folks first time to Europe normally gravitate to large cities like Rome, Florence, Paris, Munich etc and for those trains are best as many cities now restrict entry tocity centres for private vehicles. So, if just going straight between A and B and C cities on busy autobahns use trains - to meander thru the countryside in between large cities cars can be great. Many Swiss Alpine places simply ban cars to parking lots on edges of towns and you can't drive into the Alpine areas.

And cost of cars has to include tolls and petro and parking. For lots of info on planning a train trip check www.seat61.com; BETS-European Rail Experts and www.ricksteves.com. And car rentals picked up in one country to return in another may cost a lot -leasing programs may require you to return car where you picked it up? 4 people and bags requires a larger car.

So yes what are you planned stops?

StCirq

Naming a list of countries doesn't give us a clue whether your plans are sensible or not. If you are planning mostly on visiting cities, a car is a terrible idea, and it's pretty terrible as a general rule in Switzerland. If you haven't researched train fares and routes, you can't really determine if the car lease is "too good to pass up" by comparison. And if the car lease means you have to make a full circle from arrival in France to departure in France, it might be quite a bad deal as opposed to flying into France and out of your last destination (open-jaw tickets)>.

PalenQ

I any case, cost should not be the deciding factor - trains can be really cheap if booked online yourselves well in advance to get limited in number discounted tickets but could be cheaper overall than car whose total costs are hard to figure - but again costs are not the main factor to consider but efficacy with proposed itinerary. Trains can be faster too- with many now going up to nearly 200 mph on Europe's many high-speed rail lines.

Jean

Driving in Italy isn't as simple as the others. Just about every town, of any size, has a limited traffic zone (ZTL) that you can't drive into without a very good chance of getting a ticket (some rather expensive). Small towns, approached at low speeds, are fairly easy to figure out, but big cities can be a bit of a nightmare. Any GPS you use will not identify these zones or help you avoid them.

https://www.italybeyondtheobvious.co...with-ztl-zones

Four people means you have to rent a rather large car, large enough that all of the luggage can be stowed out of sight. So, make sure your lease quote is for a vehicle that has adequate cargo space. When researching hotels, look for parking and whether there is an overnight charge.

janisj

>>The lease for a car we were quoted looks too good to pass up<<

If it is too good to be true . . . it may be.

It almost ENTIRELY depends on your itinerary. What will you do with the car if you are visiting a lot of cities? In many places cars are not allowed in the site-heavy city centers. And in some there are large fines for driving or parking in central zones (and the rental company will report your details to the authorities when notified of an infraction). Will a lot of the savings be eaten up by parking charges? Or will you have to park on the outskirts and lose time and money commuting in/out by pubic transport.

On the other hand, if you are spending most of your time in very rural areas with little or no rail service, a car is often the easiest way to get around.

suze

Be very careful with "too good to pass up" rental car pricing. Likely you don't have the whole story. If you decide to do this do read reviews, and all the fine print and red tape that is involved so you understand the real deal you are signing up for.

For me the answer depends on where you want to go. I don't like to rent a car where I don't speak the language and have never driven before, so I plan trip that can be done by train. I think it's a lot less stressful. Your group may or may not agree.

PalenQ

Getting to hotels in city centers will be a challenge not just by driving but finding parking as many hotels offer none and many Italian cities don't even allow cars in their centers except to go to a hotel to unload and then have to park at remote lot - if bent on driving staying at chain motels on edges of big cities near urban transit station could be fine. Hard to convince Americans that cars are not the way to go as they are in America.

annaatas

If you are going for a month and planning to pickup your car in France and return in Italy then it's a no brainer go with a car lease as there are no one-way fees. There are no pickup fees in France just a small drop-off fee in Italy, they have Milan and Rome. Some of the countries you listed such as Italy require you to have a collision insurance which costs a lot with rentals but with a car lease you get it automatically. You can find more news and information on leasing here Renault Leasing in Europe | Renault Eurodrive Car Leasing Information

Enjoy your trip and let us know how it goes.

5alive

Choose the mode of transportation that makes the most sense for what you want to do. See remote monasteries and villages? Then drive. See cities primarily? Then train.
Here's why:

1. The biggest cost of your trip will be your flight.
2. The second biggest cost will be your lodgings.
3. The difference between trains versus a car rental will not be the thing that breaks the bank.

Some cost information: Currently gasoline is about $6.15/US Gallon in Italy. If you get a ticket in Italy, the photo will be sent to the car rental company and it WILL be charged to you, plus a handling fee by the car rental company.

A link for gas prices:
https://www.globalpetrolprices.com/I...soline_prices/

kja

IMO, Having a car can offer a freedom not otherwise available and a chance to see places that are not readily visited via public transportation, and certainly, there are times when I choose to rent a car, too! But in Europe and many parts of the world, trains and buses provide a viable alternative to having a car, even if one's goal is to visit "smaller" towns and villages. And there are disadvantages to having a car, too. For example:

- Some of those “oh, doesn’t that look charming!” places aren’t actually that charming, and by the time you get back on the road, you can end up with less time than might be ideal for visiting the places that were your priorities.

- Driving can be stressful – and I say that as someone who loves driving! But some roads are challenging, unexpected detours or GPS failures can be a bit daunting, and driving into cities (and finding parking) can make the last part of a long trip less than pleasant.

- Driving – or at least responsible driving – poses constraints on the driver. For example, the driver may be unable to truly enjoy spectacular scenery, as s/he needs to pay attention to the road -- sometimes, very careful attention! And depending on how much one eats and one’s size and and how long one relaxes over a meal, even a glass of wine with lunch may carry risks.

- Driving is generally not a particularly green choice – and for some of us, that is a worthy consideration.

- One of the best things about taking public transportation is that it can sometimes give you wonderful opportunities to interact with (or just observe) people from the area, or gain insights into local norms and traditions.

- And, if there is any chance that you will have jet lag, it will not be safe for you to drive for your first night or two. Although many people are not aware of it, there is mounting evidence that driving with jet lag is just as dangerous -- to yourself and others -- as driving drunk, and nothing you can do will prevent the microsleeps (which you might not even notice) that are the apparent culprit. And please note – microsleeps aren’t dependent on getting sleep or not, they result from shifting your waking / sleeping cycle away from the one to which you are accustomed. Seriously -- NOT a good idea, no matter your other constraints and no matter your prior experience!

Michael

In terms of cost, a rental is most of the time cheaper than a lease, but with some differences. If you are willing to have the CDW carried by your credit card, which would mean, in case of accident that yu pay for the damages done to your car and then make a claim with the credit card, the a rental is definitely cheaper, even if dropping the car off in another country, thus incurring a cross-border drop-off fee. The lease also has such fees when you pick up and drop off the car anywhere but in France. But a car whose CDW is carried by the credit card cannot be driven in Italy because insurance rules are different in that country. Also, it is possible that a rental car cannot be taken in what was Eastern Europe.

The convenience of a lease is that everything is covered within the cost of the lease contract. However, my experience with one lease is that if something goes wrong with the car, it will not be replaced like a rental might be because you essentially own the car. We had problems getting our car repaired, although thankfully it still could be driven while we arranged for repairs farther along our trip.

Check out Autoeurope.com or Kemwel.com. These agencies handle both rentals and leases as brokers. You can check the costs and terms of contracts before making a final decision.