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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?

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  • The car will have wrong-side steering for it to be rented out in Dublin, so probably not without paying the full cost of getting someone to drive it back.
    – hmakholm left over Monica
    Commented Sep 8, 2018 at 19:39
  • @Andrea You could look at France to Ireland ferry routes. There’s no train option.
    – Traveller
    Commented Sep 8, 2018 at 20:06
  • @HenningMakholm that a really good point! I edited the question accordingly.
    – Andrea
    Commented Sep 8, 2018 at 20:07
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    In the past I read about a similar travel and the OP found that returning the car and flying home was cheaper than paying for the drop off. (You need to pay for a professional driver when you do that.) But that was France to England rather than Italy to Ireland.
    – Willeke ♦
    Commented Sep 8, 2018 at 20:59
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    If you live in Rome now, you should be able to find cars for sale locally, just select one in the cheap range. (How cheap depends on how much risk you are willing to take and how much a rental will cost.) And living there you should be able to use your current (if any) car insurance. Having to buy a new policy might be more expensive.
    – Willeke ♦
    Commented Sep 8, 2018 at 21:49

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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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  • Selling at a profit in Ireland seems very unlikely: as you've already observed, the steering wheel is on the wrong side.
    – David Richerby
    Commented Nov 3, 2018 at 20:37
  • 'We buy any car' sell world wide, or if not them then others. And I have seen 'continental style' cars and vans been used in the UK (indeed not Ireland but they drive on the same side) as some people do prefer them. If you read my answer, I say that making profit is unlikely but not impossible.
    – Willeke ♦
    Commented Nov 3, 2018 at 20:44
  • And collectable cars can sometimes be worth more in other countries and some recreational vans/camper vans may bring in if you buy at the end of the season and sell at the start of the next.
    – Willeke ♦
    Commented Nov 3, 2018 at 20:46

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