• HOME
  • WORK WITH ME
  • CONTACT
  • DISCLAIMER
  • HOP AROUND
    • EUROPE
      • England
      • Belgium
      • France
      • Germany
      • Denmark
      • Greece
      • Switzerland
      • Esthonia
      • Iceland
      • Spain
      • Italy
      • Croatia
      • Montenegro
      • Hungary
      • Poland
      • Russia
      • Sweden
      • Chech Republic
      • Finland
    • Africa
      • Morocco
      • Botswana
      • South Africa
      • Seychelles
    • Middle East
      • Oman
      • Jordan
      • Dubai
      • Iraq
    • UAE
      • Dubai
    • Asia
      • Asia Tour
      • Japan
      • Indonesia
      • China
      • Singapore
      • Sri Lanka
      • Turkey
    • North America
      • U.S.A.
    • South America
      • Brasil
    • Caribbean
      • Saint Lucia
      • Cayman Islands
  • FLIGHT ATTENDANT
  • LIFESTYLE
    • FOODHOP
    • BEAUTY
    • FASHION
    • HEALTH & WELLNESS
    • CAREERS
    • DECO
  • GET INSPIRED
    • TRAVEL TIPS
    • INSPIRATION
    • POSTCARDS
    • ROAD TRIP STORIES
    • CRUISE STORIES
    • MARYSHOP
  • REVIEWS
    • HOTELS
    • AIRLINES
    • AIRPORTS
    • RESTAURANTS
    • PRODUCTS
    • CRUISES
  • VIDEOS
  • ABOUT
    • MARYHOP
    • PRESS
  • ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ
  • WHO IS MARYHOP?

    Who is Maryhop?
    Hi, I am Mary, a five-star lady who lives, breathes and dreams travel! Follow my hops around the world, as I wander and experience the finer aspects of life! 

  • FOLLOW ME ON

  • WORK WITH ME
  • CONTACT
  • DISCLAIMER

A Luxury Travel & Lifestyle Blog by Mary Kalymnou
  • HOME
  • HOP AROUND
    • EUROPE
      England | Belgium | France | Germany | Denmark | Greece | Switzerland | Esthonia | Iceland | Spain | Italy | Croatia | Montenegro | Hungary | Poland | Russia | Sweden | Chech Republic | Finland |
      Africa
      Morocco | Botswana | South Africa | Seychelles |
      Middle East
      Dubai | Oman | Jordan | Iraq |
      UAE
      Dubai |
      Asia
      Asia Tour | Japan | Indonesia | China | Singapore | Sri Lanka | Turkey |
      North America
      U.S.A. |
      South America
      Brasil |
      Caribbean
      Saint Lucia | Cayman Islands |
  • FLIGHT ATTENDANT
  • LIFESTYLE
    •  

      FOODHOP

       

      BEAUTY

       

      FASHION

       

      HEALTH & WELLNESS

       

      CAREERS

       

      DECO

  • GET INSPIRED
    •  

      TRAVEL TIPS

       

      INSPIRATION

       

      POSTCARDS

       

      ROAD TRIP STORIES

       

      CRUISE STORIES

       

      MARYSHOP

  • REVIEWS
    •  

      HOTELS

       

      AIRLINES

       

      AIRPORTS

       

      RESTAURANTS

       

      PRODUCTS

       

      CRUISES

  • VIDEOS
  • ABOUT
    • MARYHOP
    • PRESS
  • ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ

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

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!




road-trip-maryhop-italy-france
Just the four of us, plus a baby in the belly, arriving at Rome airport!


 

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.


THE ROUTE
 
11 Days – 16 Cities – 4 Apartments – 2 Cars – 3 Planes – 1 Train – 2 Buses
 
You got 2 options for this road trip – considering your starting point is Greece: you either reach Italy through sea, along with your own car or fly to Italy and rent a car when there. Both options have several advantages and disadvantages I’ll be further analyzing later on this post – under the sub-category Car.
 
We chose option number two – to fly to Rome and rent a car on the spot. It was a time-saving option but it did give us a bit of a hard time. Renting a car from one country and delivering it back to another is not a viable option – economically speaking. Special fees are applied even if you choose to leave the car to another city at the same country. Just so you got an idea of what I mean, if we followed our original plan and rent a car from Rome, only to leave it to Barcelona we would pay an extra fee of around 1000 euros, plus the standard one.
 
After that, we were left with the option of switching cars as we switched countries on the way. We rented a car in Rome, kept it while we were exploring Italy and left at a city close to the borders with France – Genoa that is. We then passed on to France by train, only to rent our next car at the airport of Nice – which we delivered 4 days ago. A flight to Barcelona followed, where a car wasn’t necessary at all – we walked a total of 22 km without minding!


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
 
 

road trip- italy
Our routes in Italy




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



roadtrip-france
Our routes in France


 

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.
 


portofino-maryhop
Exploring Portofino with the gang!




 
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!


READ HERE:

First Stop: Siena, Italy



 
Maria Kalymnou

Creative Commons License
The content on this blog is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

You may not republish, copy or modify the content without my consent.

road trip italy france rental how to get there what to know cost
Share

READ ALSO

ROAD TRIP STORIES
13 ROAD TRIP ESSENTIALS
13 ROAD TRIP ESSENTIALS
17 July 2018
ROAD TRIP STORIES
ROAD TRIP ITALY-FRANCE: PISA, PORTOVENERE, CINQUE TERRE
ROAD TRIP ITALY-FRANCE: PISA, PORTOVENERE, CINQUE TERRE
26 October 2015
ROAD TRIP STORIES
ROAD TRIP ITALY-FRANCE: 2nd STOP, FLORENCE
ROAD TRIP ITALY-FRANCE: 2nd STOP, FLORENCE
15 September 2015
ROAD TRIP STORIES
ROAD TRIP ITALY-FRANCE: FIRST STOP, SIENA
ROAD TRIP ITALY-FRANCE: FIRST STOP, SIENA
07 September 2015
ROAD TRIP STORIES
ROAD TRIP ITALY-FRANCE: THE ROUTES, THE RENTALS, THE COSTS
ROAD TRIP ITALY-FRANCE: THE ROUTES, THE RENTALS, THE COSTS
31 August 2015
ROAD TRIP STORIES
ROAD TRIP MONTENEGRO-CROATIA: DAY 5, SPLIT
ROAD TRIP MONTENEGRO-CROATIA: DAY 5, SPLIT
29 July 2015
ROAD TRIP STORIES
10 REASONS TO PLAN A ROAD TRIP
10 REASONS TO PLAN A ROAD TRIP
03 February 2015
ROAD TRIP STORIES
ROAD TRIP MONTENEGRO-CROATIA: DAY 4, DUBROVNIK
ROAD TRIP MONTENEGRO-CROATIA: DAY 4, DUBROVNIK
10 October 2014
ROAD TRIP STORIES
ROAD TRIP MONTENEGRO-CROATIA: DAY 3, KOTOR-DUBROVNIK
ROAD TRIP MONTENEGRO-CROATIA: DAY 3, KOTOR-DUBROVNIK
01 September 2014

COMMENTS


comments powered by Disqus
  • WHO IS MARYHOP?

    Who is Maryhop?
    Hi, I am Mary, a five-star lady who lives, breathes and dreams travel! Follow my hops around the world, as I wander and experience the finer aspects of life! 

  • ARCHIVES BY MONTH

    • 2020
      • February 2020
    • 2019
      • October 2019
      • May 2019
      • February 2019
    • 2018
      • November 2018
      • September 2018
      • August 2018
      • July 2018
      • June 2018
      • May 2018
      • April 2018
    • 2017
      • December 2017
      • November 2017
      • October 2017
      • September 2017
      • August 2017
      • July 2017
      • June 2017
      • May 2017
      • April 2017
      • March 2017
      • February 2017
      • January 2017
    • 2016
      • December 2016
      • November 2016
      • October 2016
      • September 2016
      • August 2016
      • July 2016
      • June 2016
      • May 2016
      • March 2016
      • February 2016
      • January 2016
    • 2015
      • December 2015
      • November 2015
      • October 2015
      • September 2015
      • August 2015
      • July 2015
      • June 2015
      • May 2015
      • April 2015
      • March 2015
      • February 2015
      • January 2015
    • 2014
      • December 2014
      • November 2014
      • October 2014
      • September 2014
      • August 2014
      • July 2014
      • June 2014
      • May 2014
      • April 2014
      • March 2014
      • February 2014
      • January 2014
    • 2013
      • December 2013
      • November 2013
      • October 2013
      • September 2013
      • July 2013
      • June 2013
      • May 2013

  • LET'S SOCIALIZE!

  • ITALY

    ICELAND

    AFRICA

    BEAUTY

    WELCOME

    AWARD

    COSMOPOLITAN BLOG AWARDS 2015

    BEST LIFESTYLE BLOG NOMINEE

    PTBA MEMBER

  • LIKE ME ON FACEBOOK

    loading
  • TAGS

    extermination camp tour deco london trip beijing best spot for photos andover arms gallery wall maryhop Sushi-Arisugawa watches christmas busaba kerbisher and malt mary kalymnou sushi mary kalymnou fashion


  • FEATURED POSTS

    • 5 TIPS TO MASTER THE PERFECT GALLERY WALL
      25 Feb 2019
  • POPULAR POSTS

    • INTERVIEW AT CNN: CONFESSIONS OF A VIP FLIGHT ATTENDANT
      31 May 2019
    • TRAVELING TO JORDAN: 20 THINGS T0 KNOW BEFORE YOU VISIT PETRA
      25 Feb 2019
    • HOW TO BECOME A SUCCESSFUL FLIGHT ATTENDANT IN 5 STEPS
      19 Feb 2019
    • 9+1 TOP SHOPPING STREETS AROUND THE WORLD
      27 May 2015
  • MY FAVORITE BLOGS

    Madame Ginger
    • LET'S SOCIALIZE!


  • DMCA
    PROTECTED
  • MY TEAM
  • WORK WITH ME
  • CONTACT
  • DISCLAIMER
Created with love by kalytheo © Copyright 2023 maryhop.com

We use cookies to provide you with a better service. By browsing you agree to this. View our cookie policy.