wanabethere

We are finally going over to our house in Abruzzo on the 30th of Jan The only thing is we have discovered that we need to carry snow chains as we live 425 mts. above sea level. We have booked the car from Hertz but there is no where to book the snow chains on their site. Does anyone know if they come with the car automatically or how do we get them as I heard that we could be fined and three penalty points. Any advice would be greatly appreciated .

Lorna at Vicenza

I have friends who have used hertz a few times. No snow chains in the boot. They weren't even told at the key pick up desk that one needs headlights on at all times on the motorways and other roads these days.

It would have to be some bloody bastard carabiniere to give a foreigner 3 points and a fine for not having snow chains in a hire car .... but there lies the problem. One never knows if you get the "jobsworth" one or the slightly understanding one.

Get their phone number - ring the desk and tell them you need snow chains ! They do it for kiddie seats and charge a fortune for them. Get them onto snow chains too !

wanabethere

Thank you so much Lorna. I'll give them a ring . Coming from West Cork we rarely see snow not to mind drive on it and have never even seen a snow chain. Have u tubed and we have watched how to put them on. We are landing in Ancona ( time of flights suit better) and are looking forward to a lovely trip down the coast stopping for lunch as long as there is no snow.

Lorna at Vicenza

I'm up in the North and there is no snow here - well apart from the very tops of the mountains.

Keep an eye on the weather reports and you should be okay. I've never had to use snow chains in 18 years and have only ever seen one friend put them on when we went skiing once. It didn't look so easy !

TestaRossa

We've used Hertz here in Florence a few times for trips to the snow. They keep them in their office. DON'T book them on-line! The snow package is about €70 whereas the snow chains are about €7 for the full length of your trip!! Shouldn't be a problem.

chris120

You are only likely to get checked for having chains if further up the mountain you will actually need to use them. It is quite correct in my opinion that the police should do this; the chaos caused by 1 or 2 cars without chains is unbelievable. I have never seen chains in a hire car (I rent cars about once a month) but I’m pretty sure you could get them if you ask at the hire desk. I use chains about once a year on average usually when going skiing, the weather would have to be pretty severe to need them below 500 meters but it might happen. There are many different types of wheel chains and the technique to fit them differs, it is never easy and its one thing practicing in the garage and quite another doing it with freezing hands on a mountain pass in the dark with deep snow piled up around the wheels. In case you don’t know, you need fit them to the driving wheels so you need to know which these are on a hire car. Also good to remember is that if you have rear wheel drive you will have much reduced braking capability.

asik

I rented a car from AVIS in December and they said I could rent chains in their office in Pescara. I've seen an option of hiring chains on a car rental website, I think, it might have been enoleggioauto.it.

I regreted not having chains because it when it snowed I got stuck in my mountain village for a day.

wanabethere, these days we are getting loads of snow here, in Ireland! Almost like in Abruzzo!

wanabethere

Thank you so much Lorna, Testa Rossa , Chris120 and Asik for all the advice. You have all taken a load off our minds. We will ask at the desk for the snow chains. I read that you should always have a pair of rubber gloves with you so you do not damage your good gloves when putting on the chains, Now how do I explain them through customs. You are right Asik ,there has been snow here but as usual so far south it didn't stay. It is supposed to be beautiful up the country but there is nothing more beautiful then Abruzzo.

Mr Posh

I thought that they could not chargre for snow chains as they are a legal requirement for cars

chris120

It is a legal requirement to have baby seats but they charge for those!

Lorna at Vicenza

they charge a lot too.

I always took my own as the airlines didn't charge for them. It meant passing them through the "over-sized" luggage section but that was never a problem.

TestaRossa

I think the baby seat costs vary a lot TBH. I have been charged anything from nothing (at Milan Malpensa through National?) to about £40 for the trip. I think my trip in summer was last time I hired one, and I don't think I paid then either! No, in fact, I didn't. I was supposed to pay locally according to the website but when I had paid what I knew were the charges just for the car and then asked about the car seat they just said, yes, it's fine and went and got one, end of story!! This was with Alamo at Nice airport - the new one that Easy flies into. Maybe I have been lucky! In the UK I take the one I have here with me normally.

Mr Posh

Its not legal yet....That comes in sometime this year if i am not mistaken. Unless all the hotels i delt with last year have been lieing

TestaRossa

Where are the hotels? It came in as a legal requirement here and the rest of Europe, for that matter, for all children of up to and including,either 11years or a minimum height of 145cm, whichever they reach first (11year old children are normally heavy enough for normal seat belts even if too short!) to be in an approved child seat in Oct/Nov 2006. So as we arrived here. It was in all the Brit papers as public announcements and in all the Halfords in the UK and here it was on quite a few different expat forums around the same time. So they have been lying!