Originally Posted by
UAPremExecflyer
OP starts out with an incredibly ambitious itinerary that involves spending most of the available daylight hours sitting in a car ... crossing international boundaries ... and involving five different languages (and road sign conventions) overall ... and four different currencies in the first three days.
Then scales back somewhat. But never having driven in Europe suggests it's no different than driving in the US.
It seems, unfortunately, the OP falls into what I would describe as the woefully misguided category ...
In terms of practicalities not already addressed, is the OP planning on renting a manual (stick shift) or automatic car?
Pricing differentials between the two in the peak summer months are likely to be quite significant ... Also what size vehicle is the OP proposing to rent?
Depending on the choices there, that is another factor to consider when it comes to driving ... and parking.
As others have suggested, focus on a couple of locations ... have an actual holiday/vacation ... not a stress-inducing time period trying to cram in too much in a short period of time ... and recognize you are going into completely new environments.
Thank you for the info.
Here is more input from my side.
1. I will rent an automatic transmission vehicle - The last time I drove a manual shift was 20 years ago. I am willing to pay more for an automatic transmission vehicle.
2. I am planning to rent a mid or intermediate size vehicle. Based on my internet search, BMW 1 series vehicles are classified as a mid size vehicle. Rent price is around USD500 for a week including theft insurance and CDW. I am planning to take additional super coverage, as well.
3. I will rent a vehicle from one of the major rental car companies. I usually rent from Hertz, Avis, and Alamo/National in US.
My new tentative itinerary is
Day 1 Venice-Dolomites (170km)
Day 2 Dolomites
Day 3 Dolomites-Fussen (280km)
Day 4 Fussen
Day 5 Fussen-Interlaken (360km)
Day 6 Interlaken
Day 7 Interlaken-Milan (300km)
Day 8 Milan-Venice (280km)
I can see my itinerary still has a lot of driving.
My wife wants to include Interlaken and Fussne (non Italian tourist attractions) since we will have 4 days in Rome and 7 day mediterranean cruise before this road trip.
Thank you for your advice.