Driving a rental car from Italy to Dublin

Driving a rental car from Italy to Dublin - Parked Red and White Bicycles

I am moving to Dublin from Rome and we thought, instead of flying the dog as airplane cargo, I would rent a car and drive across Europe.

Is it possible to rent a car in Rome, and deliver it in Dublin?

Or if it’s possible/practical/sensible to drive it all the way to Dublin, could I drive it to a port where I can take a ferry or a train to Dublin?



Best Answer

You can rent a car or van and drive it with your things and dog to Ireland and hand it in at a location of the rental company, if you have rented it from a main company that has locations with vans in both Italy and Ireland. That is if you can find a company renting out vans with locations in both countries. And when you do you will have to pay a huge drop off fee as they will have to have a professional driver drive it back, as it has the steering on the wrong side for rentals in Ireland.
It may well be cheaper to rent the van a little longer, drive it back yourself and hand it in where you rented it or at least at an other location in Italy and fly to Ireland.

Likely as cheap, easier and more convenient to buy a car or van in Italy while you still live there and drive it to Ireland. It will have the wrong license plates to sell (well) in Ireland but depending on the kind of vehicle and its value, you may sell it for what you paid for it minus what a rental van would have cost you. And if you are really lucky you might even be able to sell it for more than what you paid, if you happen to find a van that is more popular in Ireland than in Italy.

Traveling with your goods and dogs by public transport is likely a no go. You would likely have too much to transport to take the train.
Dogs are not always allowed on trains and most important, dogs are not accepted on most (or even all) ferries if you are a foot passenger. Even if it is possible, it will not be an easy travel and likely not cheap either.




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Can you drive a rental car from one country to another in Europe?

Can I take my rental into another country? In Europe, car hire companies typically allow renters to drive their vehicles across international borders into neighbouring countries. However, you may have to pay a cross border fee in order to drive the car abroad.

Is it possible to rent a car in one country and return in another?

Can you return a car in a different country? In some cases, yes. This is most common in Europe, where crossing borders is fairly easy. Usually, rental companies will let you cross borders with the rental car, but a cross-border fee may be also applied in addition to the one-way rental fee.

Can you take a rental car from England to Ireland?

Most car hire companies in the UK will allow a renter to take and drive a rental car to Ireland. However, please note that fees and conditions apply. Charges will depend on extra insurance and roadside assistance cover for which you will be required.

Can I drive an Enterprise car out of country?

There are no are restrictions for driving the vehicle to either the U.S. or Canada.



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