I have driven a rental car from France into Spain and back again a number of times. It's not a probl

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Hello! My boyfriend and i will be renting a car about the 19/20th of August from Bilbao and traveling to France. Our first stop will be in Bordeaux. (Any problems crossing the birder in a rental car frim spain?) We then want to head south and travel the coast, stopping, sightseeing, and beaches and then turn around about Monaco to head back. We have about 7-8 nights but need to be back in Barcelona the 28 where we are thinking to drop off the car. Any suggestions avis rent a car system inc on itinerary would be great. We are early 30s, love the sun and water, good food, and beautiful sights. Thank you!
We really liked Cassis, and there is an extremely scenic drive between La Ciotat and Cassis called the Route des Cretes. There are various stopping points along the way where you can pull over to enjoy the amazing views. One of the most beautiful drives I ever have taken - I highly recommend!
From Bordeaux you could head east toward Pau, Toulouse, Carcassonne or perhaps towns and villages along the Canal du Midi. There are some beautiful cross-country drives, for example down through Limoux (good for wine tasting) to Perpignan or further south.
Bilbao-- Bordeaux (2 nights) -- Sarlat-la-caneda (2 nights)-- Figeac-- through the Gorges du Tarn to Saint-Ch ly-du-Tarn (1 night)-- under the Millau Viaduct to Toulouse (2 night) to Pau (1 night) to Bilbao.
Do you have accommodations booked? I assume not, since you are still planning the route. This could be problematic, as the south of France is jam-packed in August, with many people reserving their hotels and apartments and villas a year in advance. What's left could be unappealing or very expensive, or both. I'd try sorting that out as soon as possible.
Thank you all! Yes we will stop in San Sebasti n but probably not sleep there, as we have been before. I am currently looking at the cities you all have suggested. As far as accommodation - you are right, this is risky, but this was a last minute avis rent a car system inc opportunity and we are keeping our fingers crossed. After not much searching, I have found a few places (hostels) that have great reviews for about 40 a night. In my experience (not France) sometimes the hostels are better than even a hotel. Has anyone had a problem crossing the border into France with an international car?
We rented our car in France and dropped it off in Montpellier, where we took train to Spain, in order to avoid very expensive drop off fee, so I can't comment first hand on ease of taking avis rent a car system inc rental car across border. However, we have friends avis rent a car system inc who took rental car from France into Spain and they did not mention any problem.
In the south of France, base from Nice, it's an easy drive to MonteCarlo including the spectacular scenery amongst the upper Corniche through Eze; Ville Franche is right next to Nice, then west to St. Tropez, Cannes, Antibes. La Perouse a pretty place to stay in Nice.
I have driven a rental car from France into Spain and back again a number of times. It's not a problem. You won't even notice the "border," except that there might be a small sign or the remnants of one of those old border guard stations.
Look at Colliuire, France a short distance north of Barcelona. Artistic history, a castle, harbor....a nice spot to,stop,over for a,few,days. avis rent a car system inc We love waterfront towns and this one is charming. And, as far as I know, no cruise ships stop here.
Just be sure that the rental company knows you are taking it out of the country. should be no extra charge as long as you return to Spain. But if you take the car out of the country without their knowledge it could be considered theft.
We have crossed borders on every trip within Europe without telling the rental car company; sometimes the crossings were spur of the moment and I never knew we might be at risk of being accused of theft. That really limits once flexibility.
The France/Spain avis rent a car system inc border in the Basque Country has been a little special because of the ETA terror. Could be more of a problem with a French car in Spain because many Etarras used to go undercover in the French Basque country and only head into Spain for attacks. But it should be no problem with a Spanish license plate in the French Basque Country avis rent a car system inc and even less so if you are in "popular" places.
In a remote place you could experience some police attention. A friend and I were "welcomed" by two Guardia Civil with pointed machine guns when we approached our car with French license plates in a parking lot late at night in small Isaba just inside Spain some twenty years ago.
Excellent-thank you so much for the suggestions. We have booked nearly everything now and changed/added a few things. we will rent a car from barcelona, marsella, montpiellier, gorges of verdon, nice (and a day trip to st tropez). After we reach nice, we are heading over to Italy (cinque terre), Pisa, Florence, maybe venice or verona and then back to Spain. Looking forward to it. I'd be glad to share what we experience after we return. We leave in a few days and will return aug 31.