My husband and I are planning a road trip in Septemeber, 2007. I have this idea: fly into Nice, rent a car, travel the coastal regions of France and Spain, and fly home from Madrid. I am looking for any and all suggestions from anyone who has done something remotely similar or who has any insight regarding the towns in which we%26#39;re interested. We plan to bring our laptop, and therefore WIFI access is a must, preferably free and from the room. Our initial plan is to stay in Nice, Marseille, Montpelier, Barcelona, Alicante, Marbella, Grenada (maybe), and then a couple of days in Madrid. We%26#39;ve already been to Grenad and Madrid ... so, that%26#39;s not the priority. Places other that already mentioned would be appreciated. Our time frame is 4 - 6 weeks. We%26#39;re more interested in being near great restaurants, bars, shopping areas than the beach. However, we love the accessibility to water. Perhaps, there%26#39;s a better location nearby that is worth a look or a drive through the countryside. Thank you in advance for any suggestions.
Louise
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Louise,
Before you do anymore planning/dreaming checkout the rental car companies - go to their web sites - Hertz, Avis, etc. and explore the %26quot;can we drop the car in another country? question. It may have changed, but that used to be impossible. Additionally, some companies allow only a very limited inter-city drop off, and the charges can be crippling.
If you can%26#39;t do it by rental car, take a look at the rail system. My husband and I did France, Portugal, Spain, back to Paris and on the Amsterdam this way and it was a great trip. Periodically we rented a car for local touring and the rest of the time relied on public transportation. It was a great vacation.
If you%26#39;re going to tour by rail, go to www.ricksteves.com and download his rail pass file. It will tell you not only if a rail pass is a good idea for your trip, but which of the many passes wil be the best. And, since you live in the US, you can order the pass directly from his site.
Don%26#39;t you just love the planning?
Have a great trip.
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Drop off charges may not be as bad as you think. Call autoeurope on their 800 number. Trying to glean information from multiple rental company websites is a waste of time.
However, I think you would be better off dropping the car in Montpelier and taking a train to Barcelona--that is unless there are stops you wish to make along the way. Personally I%26#39;m not big on the coastal areas between the two, especially if you are going to Alicante and Marbella.
I have enjoyed exploring the inland areas.
Viamichelin and mappy are handy for working out driving routes.
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