Advice/suggestions needed Italy car rental

Just rent a car for the days you want to travel in the country. I can't think of a worse place to have a car than Rome. Even Venice you can park in the garage at Tronchetto.

Rome to Assisi in a little over 2 hours by train...and tad bit longer from FLorence.

My gosh - do NOT have a rental car in Rome or Florence.

I just booked a one day rental and will pu and return to Chiusi which is only 90 minutes from Rome by train. One day of driving through the countryside and visiting Assisi and Siena will be wonderful I think.

Taking a car into Siena is not easy. The roads around the city are very congested, and parking is very difficult to find in the city center. Siena visitors often catch the bus across the street from the Florence train station which goes into the Siena city center.
Many pickup rental cars in Orvieto at the Hertz office--across the street from the train station. It takes 70 minutes from Rome Termini to get there.

The motorway takes you up to Siena in maybe 90 minutes, and Florence is north of there.

I too thought having a car in Italy would be useful on my Rome-Florence-Siena-Venice route. Wrong. You're constantly trying to navigate and then find parking, and the car sits empty for long periods of time while you're sightseeing. Do daytrips from your major stops.

Chiusi does sound like a good way to avoid having to drive around Rome, but that's a lot of train and car time for a day during which you hope to visit two world-class cities (albeit not huge ones). This is the in-transit time you're looking at (driving times from ViaMichelin.com):

Hotel to Roma-Termini or Roma-Tiburtina: ??
Train Roma to Chiusi: 1:28 or longer
Drive Chiusi to Assisi: 1:29
Drive Assisi to Siena: 1:45
Drive Siena to Chiusi: 1:03 (partly repetitive route; you might prefer the 1:58 option)
Train Chiusi to Roma: 1:27 or longer
Roma-Termini or Roma-Tiburtina to hotel: ??

So you've got about 3 hours of train time (not counting waiting, and the Rome-Chiusi trains generally run just once an hour, with occasional 2-hour gaps) and 4-1/4 hours of driving, not counting the time at the rental-car agency on both ends of the trip or time for refueling and locating parking in Assisi and Siena. And you'll have to get something to eat at some point. With 7-1/4 hours in transit, you'll have very little time actually to see anything.

You can visit Assisi from Rome. It's much simpler by train. There's currently a 7:58 AM departure that takes only a bit over 2 hours. No rental-car hassles; no risk of a speeding ticket or a fender-bender.

I understand the call of the open road. If you really want some exploration time, I suggest forgetting about Assisi and Siena (which need a lot of time) and asking here for suggestions on a nice, scenic loop drive out of Chiusi. Something that perhaps takes you to a few small towns where you could park the car and walk around for an hour or so before heading on.

You could also consider a loop drive out of Orvieto, though the rental rate might be higher and Orvieto itself is a full-day city in my view.

Bus to Siena from Florence is cheap and VERY easy, definitely don't need a car. Same with going to Assisi from Rome. Train trip is a bit long, 2 hours or so, but very relaxing and passes through lovely Umbrian countryside. Unless your itinerary includes some really out of the way places, for only 10 days you should use public transportation and avoid the hassles of driving in Italy.

Assisi and Sienna both have large paid parking lots outside the city center and are a very easy walk. I've driven to both, parking is not a problem at all. Its a nice relaxing drive through the countryside.A real simple tool to use is, in a browser search box, Type "parking in Sienna" or any other place ....it will show you the lots

Yes, Jim, but have you driven to both of them in the same day from Chiusi when your hotel was in Rome?

Thank you everyone for responding. We have reconsidered and we will skip the car rental. Relaxing on the train to Assisi from Rome and on the bus from Florence makes more sense.

We'll do a car rental on our next visit.

No acraven ..same day for Sienna and Assisi? That will never work

It's good to hear that you've decided to skip the car rental this time, as it's not needed for the places you plan on visiting this time. I wanted to mention a few points for future reference and your next visit to Italy.

It's important to note that for driving in Italy, each driver listed on the rental form must have the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. These are valid for one year, and easily obtained at any CAA/AAA office (two Passport-sized photos required, which may be provided by the issuing office). Have a look at https://it.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/transportation-driving/ for more information on I.D.P's and driving in Italy.

You may also want to have a look at some of the other posts here concerning the dreaded Zona Traffico Limitato areas that are becoming increasingly prevalent in many Italian towns & cities especially Florence, which is almost saturated with automated ZTL cameras. EACH PASS through one of the automated Cameras will result in a €100+ ticket, which you won't know about until several months after you return home! This website provides more information - http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/driving/traffic_cameras_speeding.htm

There's also the issue of parking tickets, high fuel costs, tolls and automated speed cameras including the devious Traffic Tutor system which measures not only instantaneous speed but also average between two points. Violate either or both parameter and expensive tickets will follow. Finding parking in Siena can often be somewhat "challenging".

A GPS along with a good Map would also be prudent. Be sure to give some thought to the question of CDW and theft insurance. In Italy, buying CDW from the rental firm is usually compulsory, so coverage provided by credit cards will not apply. Check the Car Rental section in Europe Through The Back Door for further information. You could also download the "Car Rental" PDF Guide from http://www.gemut.com/ (they have a toll free number if you have any questions).

I think a wise decision to forego the car rental.
For most of Italy a car has no advantage. If your plan allows and you want to visit and stay in off the beaten path locations and countryside areas (Siena and Assisi in town would not apply but the areas around them would) than a car has some real advantages but it is best to rent only on the days you actually will be doing such driving and not keep it for any of the other times.
We drove into Siena and parked there it was very painless. If we were staying in Florence and going back to Florence or Rome after day tripping to Siena though we would have used a train or a bus and not a car though. Same would apply to Assisi.

If you want to spend your time touring the Tuscan countryside in: Crete Senesi, Chianti, Val D'Orcia ; then you need a car or have to go on a tour.