Car Rental in EU

Hello all,

As a follow up to my "Trip to Italy" thread, we'll be in Rome for several days, then Cinque Terra for 2-nights. Our plan is to drive from Rome to Cinque Terra, then drive to Marenello, then drop the rental off in Milan on our way out of Italy.

Has anyone rented from autoeurope.com before? They seem to have better rates than I can find on Orbitz, Expedia and the other big trave sites. They also have an office near our Hotel in Rome (near the Vatican). I've looked through everything carefully and all the rate quotes include the taxes, insurance (required in Italy), and other fees (Wow, there sure are a lot of them).

I will be getting an international drivers license from AAA to use on the trip.

The distance is ~400kM. I know the train will get me there, but we wanted the freedom of a car (stop and eat where we want to, wineries in Tuscany, etc.) vs 5-boring hours on a train.

Thanks

 

There prices are no better than Hertz and that means spendy. Try these guys, best prices I have found. http://www.alamo.com/index.do?action=hotDealsTemplate.do&msg=deal_upto20_europe_index

 

The rate for the same car on that page, by the time all the taxes and drop fees are added in, is E319. or ~ $380

The rate at auto europe was $280+ road tax of ~$7 + a drop charge of ~$45 for a total of $332. I skipped the Airport tax of 14% b/c i picked it up down by the Vatican (which would add 40). I could not find a local pick up at the alamo link. Only Fucimo (FCO). Am I missing something?

 

Only thing I can think of is the type of car you choose. The full size cars are almost twice as much between the two.

 

Picked a Ford Fiesta 1.2 or similar for both cases.

 

We spent last weekend in Italy for the San Marino GP and on all our trips to Italy we either rent from Avis or Hertz, Avis being the most widely used as we collect the airline miles received from them and prices are a tad less. Besides, Avis rents Alfas! We carry International Driver Licenses, but have never been asked to show same. If you come A1 or A14 thru Bologna, just be prepared for slow traffic thru there - the display on the overheads will alert you to traffic backup - it's really nice to see the end of restrictions on the boards! Last weekend even with the race traffic from and to Imola and the fact that Monday was a holiday there, the traffic was still not all that bad. Malpensa airport in Milan is extremely easy to navigate. If you are spending your last evening in Milan, we've found the best place to stay and closest to the airport is the Best Western Jet Hotel. We found some really wonderful restaurants in Maranello this trip that are not the Cavallino and Montana norm (did however have a wonderful dinner with our friends from London Saturday at Montana - we arrived at 7:45 pm and were the next to last table to leave at 12:45 am. - great place, great hosts there). Also found another wonderful restaurant off the beaten path on the ss9 just out of Imola enroute to Bologna - lots of the motogp groups frequent there.

Can't wait to go back again soon! Enjoy your trip.

Carol

 

Sean,
i do not know where you plan to stay in Cinque Terre, but be aware that you cannot easily reach them by car. By far the best way to go there is by train. You can have a fast train from Rome to La Spezia, then swap for a local train and reach your destination. The car is not an added bonus in that area (I have been there four months every summer for 20 years...).
Reaching Milan from Cinque Terre is again very easy by train. Just go to Genova, then another train to Milan. Again, you can reach Malpensa (Milan airport) from downtown Milan by train.
Ciao
Eugenio

 

fair prices, great service ..never a problem

 

Eugenio,

Thanks for the info. I know how good the trains are, but I had a friend here tell me that while the car does cost more, she liked it better. On the train you don't see much of the country side, you cannot stop and eat where you want to, etc.

We will be in Monterosso which is a little easier to get to than the other smaller areas. It just looks like it will be easier to get where we want to go, leave when we want, etc. with the car over a train.

 

Autoeurope is just a broker cooperating with the rental companies.

For our last summer holiday in Portugal we booked with Autoeurope. IIRC we picked the car up at Avis. This year (Italy ...) I am going to use Autoeurope again.