Driving to Civitavecchia???

[a&n09012]

We are considering driving to Civitavecchia port for our cruise. Has anyone else driven there? Any tips or suggestions???

[HeinBloed]

We are considering driving to the port of Civitavecchia for our cruise in May. Has anyone driven there? How is the parking? Any tips or advice??

 

As you are from Kaiserslautern you might understand some German so I can refer to this thread in a German forum:

 

http://www.kreuzfahrten-treff.de/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2202&p=23384&hilit=parken+civitavecchia#p23384

 

We drove ourselves in Civitavecchia and North (Tuscany-bound). It was calm to drive more like driving on A6 and A62...

 

You need to tell which ship you are going on because each company has their own arrangements.

 

In average it was 12.00 EUR per day / 60.00 EUR per week for 7-nighters which I know from friends who started their cruise in Civitavecchia.

 

We did only Genoa ourselves by driving.

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[a&n09012]

We are cruising with Royal Caribbean on a 12-night cruise. We drove to Pisa a few months ago and did not have any trouble but we have heard some not so good stories about driving in and around Rome so we are nervous about driving down there. Would the train be cheaper than flying or driving??

Thanks for your response!

-Nicole

[HeinBloed]

We are cruising with Royal Caribbean on a 12-night cruise. We drove to Pisa a few months ago and did not have any trouble but we have heard some not so good stories about driving in and around Rome so we are nervous about driving down there. Would the train be cheaper than flying or driving??

Thanks for your response!

-Nicole

 

... Shall I laugh...

 

1. If you drove already to Pisa... you can continue without problems to Civitavecchia.

 

From this direction via Grossetto it's a beautiful countryside ride:

 

http://heinbloed-ncl.blogspot.com/2009/11/tag-52-auf-der-norwegian-gem-in.html

 

Just vice versa... we drove from Civitavecchia to Livorno via the San Gimignano - Florence - Pisa (instaead of staying on our ship...)

 

2. You are living round the corner of HAHN Airport with EASYJET who are flying to Rome Ciampino... From here you can book easy transfers or using public transport to Civitavecchia via Rome.

 

3. Or you fly with Lufthansa for 99 EUR (incl. baggage charge, beverages on board and full service...) from Frankfurt to Rome and back - you can park your car at http://www.platzhirsch-parkhaus.com and again public transport via Rome or transfer. Or take the ICE directly from K-Town to Frankfurt and change to commuter to the airport.

 

I think it's less stressful than driving yourself from K-Town to Civitavecchia... beside you want do some countryside as well...

 

Night train service is only from Munich. So you need first go to Munich before you can go on a night train. If you book early (3 monthes) ahead you can get great bargains.

 

We are from Mannheim/Ludwigshafen area and need about 7 hours to Genoa (only). So if you want to do it. Do it. But I would go with Lufthansa and fly.

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[euro cruiser]

We drove to Pisa a few months ago and did not have any trouble but we have heard some not so good stories about driving in and around Rome so we are nervous about driving down there.

"Down there", like you're driving into the bowels of hell? Actually, if you look at a map, you'll see that Civitavecchia is 80 km northwest of Rome, so there's no need to drive anywhere near Rome when coming from the north.

 

Diving inside the centro storico of Rome (and many Italian cities) is not only difficult, it is sometimes illegal due to ZTL zones. However, these areas are fairly small. The non-central parts of Rome, its suburbs and outskirts are no more difficult to drive in than, say, Frankfurt.

[Hlitner]

We have driven to Civitavecchia many times and have also picked-up rental cars at that city. The drive is quite easy since Civitavecchia is located close to the Autostrade and there are good signs for the exits. If you have a rental car from Hertz, this is most convenient since they are located only a couple of blocks from the port entrance. Autoeurope is a bit further as are the other rental car companies and you might need to get a taxi unless the rental car dealer is willing to drive you to the port (many no longer provide this service).

 

Hank

[a&n09012]

Thanks for all the help!

[floridatravelersforlife]

We drove in Oct from Florence to Civitavechia. We used Avis since I get a big fat Corporate Discount. Get the smallest car you are comfortable with.

 

If you have a GPS unit and you want to invest in Euro maps, it makes driving a breeze in Europe. We zipped through Florence in record time without any stress at all. In fact I had fun driving. I rented a Jetta Wagon 5pd Diesel.

 

We like to first drop luggage at the ship, before we return the rental car. At Civitavecchia, the unions sometimes prevent you from driving the rental car, past the guard shack, to directly to the luggage drop off point. Usually there are a few luggage carts along the road you can grab and your pax can walk your luggage to the porters (about a 1000 ft)

 

I leave my pax at the pier and return the car in the town. It is a long distance and you cannot walk around the port area.

 

To get to the ship from the Avis rental office one heads south about a quarter of a mile and makes a right towards the McDonalds. Proceed further accross the street to the port terminal entrance. At the right most point there is a stairway descending to the courtesy buses. You take the appropriate bus to your ship and meet your passengers.

 

You can take a cab, but we never have needed to.

[HeinBloed]

I leave my pax at the pier and return the car in the town. It is a long distance and you cannot walk around the port area.

 

To get to the ship from the Avis rental office one heads south about a quarter of a mile and makes a right towards the McDonalds. Proceed further accross the street to the port terminal entrance. At the right most point there is a stairway descending to the courtesy buses. You take the appropriate bus to your ship and meet your passengers.

 

1. The AVIS location is North West of the Port Entrance...

 

 

2. And there is a short cut you can walk from the Port Entrance without passing Mc Donald's: see here:

 

http://heinbloed-cruiseguides.blogspot.com/2009/12/civitavecchia-livorno-italy-diy-cross.html

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[floridatravelersforlife]

[quote

 

2. And there is a short cut you can walk from the Port Entrance without passing Mc Donald's: see here:

 

http://heinbloed-cruiseguides.blogspot.com/2009/12/civitavecchia-livorno-italy-diy-cross.html

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

 

The day we were in Civitsavecchia, there was construction and the short cut was closed. Our Avis agent told us to go by way of McDonalds. Follow your agents advice.

[CathyCruises]

Heinbloed, we are going to be in Europe for 2 months+. We are considering buying a car for that length of time vs. renting, which will be exorbitant. Do you have any opinions on that? We are thinking something small and used that we could then resell before we leave. It sounds daunting, but neither can I imagine rental car fees for that length of time, or even intermittently in the various cities and towns we will be visiting.

 

Any thoughts much appreciated

 

Cathy

[euro cruiser]

I don't know about other countries, but purchasing a car in Italy is a complicated, paperwork filled process. If you are starting out elsewhere in Europe it may be different.

 

Have you looked into limited term leases? Many of the rental car companies offer them and the rate is much lower than regular rental rates.

[HeinBloed]

Heinbloed, we are going to be in Europe for 2 months+. We are considering buying a car for that length of time vs. renting, which will be exorbitant. Do you have any opinions on that? We are thinking something small and used that we could then resell before we leave. It sounds daunting, but neither can I imagine rental car fees for that length of time, or even intermittently in the various cities and towns we will be visiting.

 

Any thoughts much appreciated

 

Cathy

 

I cannot speak for other countries but Germany.

 

All you need is money, insurance and you can get a so-called Export Registration or Temporary Registration, i. e. car is not used permanently.

 

I think quite often people are doing this as long-term-rental is not the cheapest in Europe.

 

I would do it in a city with US-forces like Mannheim, Kaiserslautern etc. I see there around many US-car-dealers who arrange for Americans special insurance etc. and most cars with them are automatic transmissions. They can also buy again your car once you are leaving.

 

You can also try to get good long-term-rates with your Automobilist Club.

 

Subject you have no exact plans what you like to do: go to the airport counters and ask for availability of FOREIGN cars. They need someone who bring cars back to their registered country. I did it once from Denmark to Sweden. They were happy and gave me a huge discount as they save the repositioning costs plus road toll or ferry at this time. But as you never know which cars are available you must decide at the counter to go to Italy if an Italian car is available or to Poland if a Polish car is available. But most large airport locations have many of them. But you just cannot pre-book them.

 

Good Luck

HeinBloed

[euro cruiser]

Subject you have no exact plans what you like to do: go to the airport counters and ask for availability of FOREIGN cars. They need someone who bring cars back to their registered country. I did it once from Denmark to Sweden. They were happy and gave me a huge discount as they save the repositioning costs plus road toll or ferry at this time. But as you never know which cars are available you must decide at the counter to go to Italy if an Italian car is available or to Poland if a Polish car is available. But most large airport locations have many of them. But you just cannot pre-book them.

This is a great idea for those who can be flexible.

[CathyCruises]

Thanks for the suggestions. I realized last night that we cannot do this because we will begin in Italy and end in England--two different driving positions! But I will check into the limited term leasing--do I just contact the rental car agencies? I could at least use one car for Italy and France, where we will be for about 6-7 weeks.

 

Our itinerary is determined by the houses we have rented in the various locations, so we don't have the freedom to go just anywhere, but I CAN check to see if they need a car returned to Paris, for example.

 

I cannot possibly be the first person to face this issue!!! There has to be a way!

 

Cathy

[euro cruiser]

Cathy,

 

Check the link below for a list of car rental agencies in Europe. At least two of them specify leasing options:

 

http://www.slowtrav.com/resources/transportation.htm

[HeinBloed]

Thanks for the suggestions. I realized last night that we cannot do this because we will begin in Italy and end in England--two different driving positions! But I will check into the limited term leasing--do I just contact the rental car agencies? I could at least use one car for Italy and France, where we will be for about 6-7 weeks.

 

Our itinerary is determined by the houses we have rented in the various locations, so we don't have the freedom to go just anywhere, but I CAN check to see if they need a car returned to Paris, for example.

 

I cannot possibly be the first person to face this issue!!! There has to be a way!

 

Cathy

 

What you can easily do:

 

if you accept to land in Nice which is right at the Italian border...

 

then you can return your car in Calais as most car rental agencies have locations there. Some of them with English cars as well.

 

From here the worst case is to use the ferry to Dover where you find most car rental companies in the ferry terminal.

 

Regards,

HeinBloed

[maryann ns]

Look into the lease program (actually purchase and buyback) from either Peugeot or Renault. We have used this five times. You get a new car and full insurance for an excellent price.

 

 

http://www.renault-eurodrive.com/

 

http://www.peugeot-openeurope.com/html/en/faq/default.aspx

[Hlitner]

Look into the lease program (actually purchase and buyback) from either Peugeot or Renault. We have used this five times. You get a new car and full insurance for an excellent price.

 

 

http://www.renault-eurodrive.com/

 

http://www.peugeot-openeurope.com/html/en/faq/default.aspx

 

I would agree with this recommendation, but one should be cognizant that the best lease prices are obtained within France. If you do a lease from Italy there is an additional charge. I would also recommend calling AutoEurope and/or Kemwel (sister companies co-located in Maine) to ask for their pricing on a long term rental and leases (they handle both). We have previously found that 6 week rentals (not sure about 2 months) were still cheaper than the leases, but the rental situation is always changing.

 

Hank

[scottbee]

I would agree with this recommendation, but one should be cognizant that the best lease prices are obtained within France. If you do a lease from Italy there is an additional charge. I would also recommend calling AutoEurope and/or Kemwel (sister companies co-located in Maine) to ask for their pricing on a long term rental and leases (they handle both). We have previously found that 6 week rentals (not sure about 2 months) were still cheaper than the leases, but the rental situation is always changing.

 

Hank

 

Another option, and maybe not the situation for most people, unless you're about to buy a new European car....

 

but a number of European manufactures offer European delivery for new cars. So for example, you could buy a new (Volvo/Audi/Mercedes/BMW/etc), take delivery at the factory, drive it around Europe for a few weeks, and then head on your cruise, often there is little to no added expense, and it includes shipping your car back to North America

http://www.mercedes-benz.ca/index.cfm?id=3278

 

Some manufacturers even pay for some (Porsche) or all (Volvo) of the airfare!

[euro cruiser]

Here's the web site for the volvo program: http://www.volvocars.com/us/salesandservices/overseasdelivery/Pages/default.aspx

 

This is the best reason yet to buy a volvo!

[kazganymede]

We did this a few weeks ago and found it very frustrating.

Be aware that the signage to the port is poor and there is no terminal, merely a huge tent. We got lost in the port several times.

Rental cars can be nearby or far. Europcar was nearby but Budget was a 25 euro taxi fare away. We had europcar to drive to Civit and Budget after the cruise and both had their frustrations.

Personally we have found the port of Civit to be the most difficult in our cruising history.

[Annika2900]

We are cruising with Royal Caribbean on a 12-night cruise. .... Would the train be cheaper than flying or driving??

Thanks for your response!

-Nicole

 

Hi Nicole, we take the same tour and I have booked our flights via Lufthansa from Munich to Rom for 88 €. Not sure if that is a special offer, but I think if you book a few month in advance you have good chances for cheap flights.

 

Greetings

Thekla

[CathyCruises]

Look into the lease program (actually purchase and buyback) from either Peugeot or Renault. We have used this five times. You get a new car and full insurance for an excellent price.

 

 

http://www.renault-eurodrive.com/

 

http://www.peugeot-openeurope.com/html/en/faq/default.aspx

 

This is by far the single most wonderful piece of advice I have ever gotten from Cruise Critic and I want to thank you for it! I was able to arrange a deal with Renault on very short notice to pick up a car in Nice at a price that was fantastic! We wil have the car for 49 days all together and I cannot even imagine what the rental rate would be for such a long time!

 

We ended up flying into Pisa (we already had the tickets) then took the train to Florence and spent a couple of days there, then trained to Milano for a day, then to Nice. Spent the night there after we picked up the car and then drove back down the French and Italian rivieras to our rented house in San Gimignano, where we are currently.

 

Thank you again--I know I can always rely on Cruise Critic members to know the exact right answer to ANY question!

 

Cathy

[euro cruiser]

How is the weather in San Gimignano Cathy?

 

Glad to hear that the purchase/buyback program worked for you - I heard about it from friends who did it years ago but hadn't heard any recent experience.

 

I'm still drooling over the thought of a Volvo convertible, picked up in Europe ...