Auto rental aroun Italy

You don’t need or want a car in any of the major cities
Milan, Bologna,Venice, Florence, Rome
Naples and Amalfi area, etc
Nothing more than an expensive headache

But you will want a car for the countryside, especially Tuscany
Maybe Dolomites
Puglia and Sicily will also benefit from a car

Rent strategically because car rentals are astronomical this year

Driving is not much different than anywhere else

Do your homework as far as IDP, ZTLs, speeding, parking etc and you’ll be fine

Here is some helpful info:
http://driventoit.blogspot.com/2015/01/driving-in-italy-including-dreaded-ztls.html?m=1

Trains in Italy are fast, cheap, convenient and comfortable
Only rent a car for the days and locations you really need it

Some say don’t Rent a car…too much trouble. Others say it’s a great idea!

And both are 100% correct.

In some places (actually, most of the big tourist magets), having a car is a huge and expensive headache. The last thing you want is a car in any large city. In some other places -- specific areas -- a car is needed to really have the freedom to get around.

For Italy, the "default setting" should generally be No Car, Use Trains. In a few places (regions rather than cities, eg Tuscany, Sicily), rent a car there, but only for the time you will actually need one to get around. Drop the car when you're ready to move on either to a major city, or to any place you'll be staying in one spot for more than a day or so.

The devil is in the details--where are you going?
Italy has an amazing train system and if you are going to cities, there is absolutely no reason to bother with a car. If you want to go to national parks and small villages, then you will absolutely need one. You are likely planning on a combo so can arrange your itinerary accordingly, picking up and dropping off a car strategically. There is likely little need to have one for all six weeks.
Of my seven trips to Italy, four were with a car, three without--no complaints.

We spent almost 4 weeks in Sicily in April/May. Rental car prices were extremely high. (For example, about 700 for the 5 days we rented in comparison to my upcoming rental for 3.5 weeks in France/Spain for about the same price, which is still high in comparison to past rentals) I love to be in the city center, and a car for the most part would be a nightmare in the cities of Palermo and Catania. We did note that having a car in Siracusa (Ortygia) would have been easy though it would have been parked the whole time, except maybe for a day trip to Noto. A car in Cefalu would have been doable but not necessary, and would have sat unused, unless we had a few more days and did some day trips. We definitely wanted a car in Ragusa and Agrigento areas and Randazzo, as well. We ended up just renting for 5 days in the southern part of Sicily and used a driver in Randazzo. This strategy worked well for us. The public transportation, in general, was good, and I'd say better than expected.

We have also been to Rome, Naples, Amalfi, Florence, CT, Siena, and Como and wouldn't have wanted a car for any of that. When we return to Italy for Tuscany, Dolomites, Umbria and Marche we will rent a car. No plan to have a car in Venice.

Either options (with or without car) or both (with and without car) may be appropriate depending on the exact itinerary/travel plan. As mentioned above a car is not advisable in big cities but is desirable (or even an absolute must) for rural areas/small villages/farm stays.
So tell us what you want tot visit in the 6 weeks and we can advise on the best course of action (and means of transportation)

I agree with the above. We were in Italy earlier this year and used public transportation everywhere, except…my husband wanted to see the village where his grandmother grew up, and it was well off the beaten path…So, we rented (Naples) a car for 4 days and toured the area, returned the car and continued to happily use trains, trams, subway, bus etc.

We will be in Italy for 3 weeks Sept-Oct. We will do all trains or busses. We are going from Milan to Ravenna to Padua to Turino to Pisa to Siena to Firenza and home. If we wish to do a winery/rural thing from Firenza, we will hire a tour for a day. One thing to keep in mind - if you drive to a winery and drink, who drives home? Getting busted in Italy for driving while intoxicated is not a fun part of the vacation.

I've driven in France (even in Paris), England, Germany, Croatia, Hungary, Austria. I no longer consider it. Partly age - I am 70, wife is 73. Too much trouble. Plus with just 2, trains are easier and more pleasant. Sit on the train, eat the pastry and sandwich, drink some wine. When you are driving, you have to be alert and careful.

Thank you all for your valuable information!
In the past we have traveled from Brussels to Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and France via car over 7 weeks and really enjoyed not having to cart bags around every day.
We also liked the fact that if we did not end up at our intended location that night we just booked a local hotel.
Lastly, the ability to travel at will felt good.
On this trip, the idea was to fly into Milan, get a car and drive thru northern Italy then, from western Italy all the way down to 'the boot' and across the Puglia, back up to Venice and return to Milan. Staying two nights on each stop on average and covering this all within 6 weeks.
Most of your say to use trains and busses and an occasional rental car.
Based on our details above...should we still heed this advice?

Thank you all so much, as we are gaining a lot of experience from your comments.

Tony & Maria

On this trip, the idea was to fly into Milan, get a car and drive thru
northern Italy then, from western Italy all the way down to 'the boot'
and across the Puglia, back up to Venice and return to Milan. Staying
two nights on each stop on average and covering this all within 6
weeks. Most of your say to use trains and busses and an occasional
rental car. Based on our details above...should we still heed this
advice?

Yes, probably, but we need much more detail. For example, are you going to spend any time in Milan, Venice, other cities? If it makes more sense to hold on to the car while you are in Venice, for example you can pay to keep it parked, but I think I would just rework the logistics to pick up the car for only the non-city portions.

Also, two nights per stop is super short! I for sure would murder whomever I was with on a trip of that pace.

Milan and Venice certainly don't need a car. Bunch them up at the beginning/end of your trip and start/end the rent after/before being in them. I would actually fly into Venice and visit that first (without a car), then rent as I leave Venice. Venice is perfect as first destination to get rid of the jet lag, and you can't have a car there. Once I rent a car and leave Venice, I would bunch together all the places that are best done without a car. Leave for last the city you depart from. Whether you depart from Rome or Milan, you should return the car as soon as you arrive to the city. You don't need the car in either place.
If along the itinerary you must hit some other cities where a car is not needed (e.g. Florence), you might have to keep the car with you, albeit parked idle during your stay.

Six weeks is a very short time for traveling "all the way around Italy". The fact is that you can hardly drive ten miles in Italy without coming to an historic site or a town that's worth visiting. Are you not going to sightsee in Padua, Vicenza, Verona, the lake district, Modena, Parma, Bologna, Florence, Siena, Lucca, Pisa, rural Tuscany, etc.? I really like Puglia, but there are so many worthwhile places between Venice/Milan and Puglia.

What you're planning doesn't sound like a six-week trip to me. I'd opt for six weeks just in northern Italy this time around if you're traveling during the warm months. If this is a fall or winter trip, I'd spend all six weeks in the south.