ROAD TRIP ITALY-FRANCE: THE ROUTES, THE RENTALS, THE COSTS

This year’s Road Trip was not a last minute decision. It was actually a decision taken right after our return from our 1st road trip, last year. If you’ve experienced a road trip once, you’ll be more than willing to go on to the next one without hesitation. So did we..
 

It was the past summer when we decided to skip visiting the Greek islands, pass the chance of a few dips into their magical sea and, instead, pack up our things, load the car and start for our very first road trip. Destination: Montenegro and Croatia. It was surely worth it – a trip full of incredible views, endless blue sea, paved streets, old cities and impressive fortresses. A few minor setbacks – like an ankle strain that kept me away from strolling around at the Plitivice Lakes – weren’t enough to overshadow the valuable experiences and incredible adventures I wouldn’t have lived if I was laying down on a sun bed all summer long.

 

This year’s plan? We would cross both the Italian and French Riviera.
 

Though the original plan was to fly to Italy, drive towards France and finally end up in Spain, a few practical issues concerning the car rentals, made us reconsider and adjust our trip accordingly. And since we decided not to have a car in Barcelona, I won’t consider it a part of the Road Trip - it’s a huge part of this amazing trip across 3 different countries though.

 

Of course, as you might have guessed I didn’t take this trip alone. It was the four of us – myself, my other half (#happyhoppers), as well as a friendly couple (oh, and a baby girl in the belly – proof that mamas-to-be can easily take such trips!)
 

If you follow me on Instagram, then you have already seen my posts from the trip under the hashtag #MaryhopOntheroad – somewhere over there you might have seen my little gang too!

WARNING!
 

EXTRA LARGE POST WITH SUPER-ESSENTIAL INFO FOLLOWS!
 

On this very first Road Trip post, I’ll be explaining a few things about our route using detailed maps for each country, as well as, refer to some of the procedural problems we faced while on the road. Consider it a broad introduction to the details of this trip that will help you sort some things out, in case you consider taking a similar one. The upcoming posts will be about each country and destination individually with loads of photos too!
 

Such a trip demands you to be extremely well-organized, that is why I chose to provide you with some general info before anything else.

We chose Florence, Genoa (though not a good option, unfortunately) and Nice as our main bases to explore 15 cities (16 if you add Barcelona). Using a city as a base saves valuable time, you would otherwise spend in booking hotel rooms or apartments and you should really value time on such a trip. We did the room-switching thing last year on our road trip, and although it was fun to experience, we knew it was extremely time-consuming.
 

If you’re planning to visit the Riviera during summertime, you should definitely make your bookings ahead of time.

Our route went as such:

 

Day 1
 

• Athens – Rome by plane / Pickup of our car in Rome

• Rome – Siena

• Siena – Florence

• Overnight in Florence

 

Day 2
 

• 1-day stay in Florence

 

Day 3
 

• Florence – Pisa

• Pisa – Portovenere

• Portovenere – Riomaggiore

• Riomaggiore – Genoa

• Overnight in Genoa

 

Day 4
 

• Genoa – Portofino

• Portofino – Chiavari

• Chiavari – Genoa

• Overnight in Genoa

 

Day 5
 

• Genoa – Nice by train / Car delivery in Genoa / Pickup of a new car at Nice

• Overnight in Nice

 

 

Day 6
 

• Nice – Monaco

• Monaco – Saint Paul de Vence

• Saint Paul de Vence – Nice

• Overnight in Nice

 

Day 7
 

• Nice – Cannes

• Cannes  -Saint Tropez

• Saint Tropez  - Nice

• Overnight in Nice

 

Day 8
 

• Car delivery at Nice

• 1-day stay in Nice

 

Day 9
 

• Nice – Barcelona by plane

• Overnight in Barcelona

 

Day 10
 

• 1-day stay in Barcelona

 

Day 11
 

• Barcelona – Athens by plane

THE CAR
 

Considering Athens as your starting point, you have two options concerning the car: you either take your car and travel to Italy or fly to an Italian city and rent a car there. Both options have pros and cons.

 

Option 1: Travel by boat
 

Pros: Firstly and most importantly, you get to have your own car, meaning limitless luggage, no rental cars and everything that comes with that – insurances, guaranties etc. – and the freedom of traveling with your car.

Cons: Most importantly, time. Time spent traveling by boat to Italy, traveling all the way to Barcelona and then back to your base. In addition, you’ll have to schedule your route likewise, in order to visit different countries on your way back. And of course, money – as many low cost companies offer extremely great deals on airplane tickets – even better than those of the ships sometimes.

 

Option 2: Travel by Plane
 

Pros: You’ll save valuable time and have a better trip.

Cons: Coming in terms with the fact that you’ll be changing cars as you change countries will be difficult – as using different means of transport to pick up or deliver rental cars and of course, to cross countries.
 

My opinion
 

Having experienced both options (last year we travelled with our own car, this year with rental car), I’d advise you to bring your own car, even if you’ll have to go all the way back using the same route or schedule two completely different ones. And that is because rental cars are a huge hassle to be avoided.

 

THE RENTAL CAR
 

You better start writing down all the obstacles and troubles you’ll experience along the way.
 

• Only for Greeks: The Greek driving license is valid and can be used in any country of the world – since it is approved by the E.U. and Greece is a member of the Union. Even if you own the old version of the Greek driving license that is valid until 2033 – not the new, credit card-like one - no company can deny you a rental car under any circumstances. We had a terrible experience with EuropCar in Nice, where we were told that both Greek and Arabian driving licenses weren’t valid in France due to the non-Roman font. Not accepting an E.U. approved public document is an offend that can be denounced to the police at any country, after a notice at the Embassy. Never accept it or else you’ll lose both time, your patience and of course money, as we ended up renting a car at Hertz and paying a last minute fee, of course.
 

• You can book directly for the car rental company or use a price comparison website and book the best deal while enjoying excellent service (there was a refund of course). If you’re interested to know more about the website, feel free to email me.
 

• You’ll DEFINITELY need a GPS for this trip, so make sure you book one together with your car – there’s a 5,00 euros per day fee, so have that in mind when renting your car. Or bring your own GPS but make sure you update it to European maps before leaving home.
 

• The driver of the car should be the same as the card holder that makes the payment. If you want to add a second driver, there’s a fee too (starting from 4,00 euros). Make sure you have enough balance in your credit or debit card, as you’ll be charged with a guaranty too.
 

• About car insurance: If you go with a full insurance, you’ll be charged a smaller amount as a guaranty while with a basic insurance that same amount is usually bigger. To book using third party websites, means you’ll have the option to choose full package insurance or not – this way you’ll have to pay for any accident or damage but you’ll get money back through the booking site. Otherwise, you can have the car rental company insurance – which is usually more expensive.
 

• In order to rent a car using the old version of the Greek driving license you’ll have to have an ID with Roman font or a passport.
 

 

THE ACCOMMODATION
 

We chose to have 4 cities as our bases along the way: Florence, Genoa, Nice and Barcelona. We went for apartment rental instead of a hotel room – we spend only one night at a hotel. It not only was less expensive overall but gave us the feeling of living an adventure all 4 of us together.
 

Keep in mind that if you choose to have a base, like we did, it should be at a nodal point in order not to waste valuable time between trips. If you choose to stay at a different hotel in every stop, go for it, just note that you might need to spend a few extra days.

THE COSTS
 

That isn’t quite easy to estimate, since there is not a fixed amount of money you’ll be spending on such a trip. It depends on many things such as personal preferences, whether you’ll use one or several cars, the type of car you’ll choose, gas and toll expenses, accommodation etc. Rental car prices also vary from country to country. We skipped going all the way to Perpignan as we planned just because a plane ticket from Nice to Barcelona cut the expenses at half.
 

Also, by travelling in a group of 4 - instead of 2 - did help in splitting in half the cost of both accommodation and transportation. If you’re planning to use any means of transportation other than the car, do book your tickets in advance – especially during summer.

SUMMING UP...
 

To sum up the essence of this otherwise huge post, I want to remind you that a road trip isn’t like any other trip. It is truly unique to have the chance to change countries, cross borders, get to see so many places and images in such a short amount of time. Pick your road trip company really carefully – there are gonna be setbacks and difficulties that you’ll have to deal all together. It is crucial that you have with you the right people in order to live a real adventure – not a nightmare.

 

More posts from every city we visited will follow – and they’re gonna be loads of them! Until our next dream comes to reality – a Road Trip across the U.S. Make sure you check out my 10 reasons you need to take a Road Trip – there will be a part II and maybe III coming up!

 

So, stay tuned as a ton of posts with even more photos will follow (taken with the amazing Sony Cybershot – the most practical camera for such a trip – great zoom, wifi and gps were included) filled with tips and advice on where to eat and drink and everything you need to know before hitting the road!
 

Ps. I cannot help but thank you for reading this lengthy post!


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First Stop: Siena, Italy