Car Rental in La Spezia

[estrawn]

I'm looking for any advice that all of you wonderful experienced folks can give about renting a car for a day trip from the Royal Caribbean port in La Spezia to Modena. Pick up and drop off points, any special rules or considerations, that sort of thing. I've heard that in some ports the rental agencies will bring the car right to the pier. Also, am I correct in assuming that the GPS in my phone will work or do I need to rent the GPS that's available from the car rental company.

All tips and tricks will be greatly appreciated.

I'm booked on the Symphony of the Seas from Barcelona on 5/20/18

[steamboats]

estrawn,

 

I´m on the same cruise so feel free to join our roll call.

 

As for La Spezia there won´t be any delivery to the pier. All passengers have to hop on the free port shuttle to the new terminal building. I remember seeing car rentals in that building but I´ve never rented a car. So I´m pretty sure that they will deliver to the cruise terminal but regarding your planning be aware that you need some extra time to get to the terminal building.

 

GPS on your phone will work. But make sure that you use an app with offline maps unless you do have a data plan for Europe.

 

steamboats

[slidergirl]

For the GPS: your cellphone GPS maps will be fine. If you use T-Mobile, you're good to go. If not, if your phone is unlocked and uses bands available in the EU (ATT, not Verizon), buy a cheap SIM card from TIM when you arrive in Italy. I did this for my iPad Mini that was configured for ATT (no T-Mo for it at the time). The GPS was just fine, negotiating my way from Rome to Florence, going through the little hill towns in Umbria and Tuscany. I used the Apple Maps app. Back awhile, my 2 friends and I had a rental car from Pisa. We had comp GPS (her ceramics teacher's son worked at Hertz and arranged it). It was great, going Pisa to La Spezia, through Tuscany. The SIM option will be cheaper and you can use it on all your Italian ports of call as your walking map, too!

[estrawn]

I appreciate all the great info. I'm on T-Mobile so seems there should be no problem. I'll keep digging for further car rental details. Also will be joining the roll call

 

Eric