AboutKevin Johnson Expertise I lived in Germany my whole life. Since I have strong ties to the United States and an active interest in American life, I know the fine differences between the two nations.
Expert: Kevin Johnson Date: 6/16/2008 Subject: transportation
Question Dear Kevin-
We plan to spend a week in Oberstaufen in August. We will be traveling there from Venice, what is best way to arrive. via train or rent a car in venice? we plan to rent a car in Oberstaufen anyway and take day trips. Also, can we day trip to the Rhine for a cruise, or should we make it an overnight? Thank you for your help.
Answer Hello Ralph and Elisabeth Hoch,
What is the best way to arrive in Oberstaufen from Venice depends on your personal preferences. Venice to Oberstaufen is a considerable drive (550 km - about 6 hours drive), so you should first ask yourself if you are willing to do that.
Then there is the question if you can return your rental car in a different location than where you picked it up, and especially if you are allowed to cross two national borders (between Italy-Austria and Austria-Germany) in your rental car. You should inquire about this at the car rental firm. There are international car rental firms that might very well be able to accommodate your plans, but I do not have any experience with this matter.
Then you might want to compare prices of train tickets and car rental rates plus gasoline (which is currently priced at about 1.50 Euros per litre in Europe and subject to strong changes). My guess would be that renting a car would be cheaper for two persons, but you might be able to get a good deal with the train tickets. Ask your travel agent or the Italian train company: http://www.trenitalia.it/en/index.html
(For international train connections you buy your ticket in the country where you depart.)
A day trip to the Rhine from Oberstaufen should be possible. From Oberstaufen to Schaffhausen (Switzerland) for example is a 150km - 2 hour drive. But if your port of embarkment is much further to the north, you might want to consider staying overnight.
There are also cruises that start at the Bodensee, which is even closer to Oberstaufen.
(Schaffhausen is a favourite destination because of the Rhine falls - Europe's largest waterfall.)
I hope I could help you a bit. If you have further more detailed questions, just ask me a follow-up question.
