Six Driving Regions Worth Renting For
Some roads reward the car you're in more than others. This is a working list of the regions where a well-chosen rental changes the trip, from alpine switchbacks to coastal towns where a chauffeur handles the last mile while you watch the water.
Behind the wheel
- 01
French Riviera: Nice to Monaco
The coast road between Nice and Monaco rewards a car with presence and manageable width, since parking in Monte Carlo is tight and valet culture does most of the work once you arrive. Business travellers heading to conferences or the Grand Prix calendar often hand the wheel to a driver for this stretch and self-drive the quieter hills above Èze instead.
- 02
Tuscany: Florence to Siena
The SR2 through the Val d'Orcia is slow by design, gravel farm tracks and hill towns that don't reward speed. A convertible earns its keep here in spring and early autumn. It's also a route couples use for wedding weekends, arriving in one car and moving guests in another, with the fleet mix built around occasion rather than a single vehicle for everything.
- 03
Bavarian Alps: Munich to Salzburg
This stretch works well as a first or last leg of a business trip, executive sedan or SUV picked up at Munich airport and returned after a loop through the lakes. Winter demands tyres suited to snow; outside that, an SUV handles the elevation changes into Berchtesgaden without drama.
- 04
Swiss Alps: Geneva to Zermatt
Zermatt itself is car-free, so the drive ends at Täsch and the last stretch is train or arranged transfer. The Geneva-to-Täsch leg is where the car matters, long tunnels, steady climbs, and enough traffic near ski season that a chauffeur-driven transfer is worth considering if the point of the trip is the destination, not the driving.
- 05
Amalfi Coast
Narrow, cliffside, and busiest from June through August, this is a route where a smaller, capable car beats a wide one, and where hotel delivery to Positano or Ravello saves a difficult final approach. Wedding parties along this coast frequently split the group between a self-drive car for the couple and a chauffeured vehicle for family.
- 06
Scottish Highlands: NC500
Single-track roads with passing places mean patience matters more than horsepower. An SUV suits the longer legs between Ullapool and Applecross, especially with luggage for a family group touring over several days. Fuel stops are sparser here than further south, worth planning around rather than assuming.
About Europe
A single evening transfer between meetings calls for a different car than a week spent moving a family between coastal towns, or a wedding weekend with several vehicles arriving in sequence. Executive sedans and chauffeur-ready models suit business travel where a driver handles the road while you handle the schedule. Larger SUVs give families and groups the space and comfort needed for longer touring itineraries, while sports and high-performance models are better reserved for open mountain or coastal routes where the car itself is part of the occasion.
Handover is arranged around where you already are, whether that is a hotel entrance, a private residence, an airport terminal or a heliport, with self-drive or chauffeur-led collection available depending on how you intend to use the car. If your route crosses into another country or spans several days, mention this when booking so the right vehicle and paperwork are confirmed in advance. Have your licence details ready and be clear about the occasion, business, family, event or performance driving, so the car matched to you is the one you actually need.