Auto Rental

All rates are exceptionally high this year

We always use www.AutoEurope.com
Fantastic customer service and usually best rates

You can compare offers on their site

Thank you.

Besides AutoEurope suggested above, check the rates also on www.kemwel.com.
It's the same company (AutoEurope and Kemwel merged years ago), but the company retained both websites and I noticed that you may find deals at different rates in either site, so check both. The websites actually look identical, except for the varying rates.

Check out how many posts on this forum of tourist in rental cars get outrageous tickets a year after their trip to Italy.

I wouldn't rent a car in Italy now.

We’ve rented a car 3 times in Italy and never got a ticket for anything
We did get a ticket in Germany

It doesn’t happen if you do your homework and pay attention

Rented cars in Italy at least 20 times and never got a ticket.
I did get a ticket in California many years ago, with my own car.

I wouldn't drive a car in California now.

Geoff, I am driving In Italy right now and am not loving it. There were no automatic cars so I was given a stick shift. I am concerned about your comment about Americans getting tickets a year after driving in Italy. I am really figuring things out as I go.

Geoff, I am driving In Italy right now and am not loving it. There were no automatic cars so I was given a stick shift. I am concerned about your comment about Americans getting tickets a year after driving in Italy. I am really figuring things out as I go.

Did you reserve an automatic? Or was it not an option at all

They said they couldn’t guarantee it because automatic cars are in short supply.

I suggest shopping all the major car rentals as prices fluctuate and are very high right now. Chances are high you will not get an automatic and it will also be diesel - both of which are pretty much out of the realm for US drivers. Expect that many fuel stations will be unattended and you may need to use Euros to pay at the pump on occasion rather than a card. Also expect to see eye-watering costs for fuel. When I left Europe last fall, prices for unleaded then were north of $7.50/gallon. Currently they are running about $1/gallon more than that.

I paid roughly $7.90 a gallon in Spain earlier this month. We reserved our car through Costco and the company was Enterprise. No idea which company Costco uses for Italy. While we reserved a standard, we were given an automatic, and a larger vehicle. No complaints at all. In Sicily, we used Avis. We didn’t get any tickets.

Check out how many posts on this forum of tourist in rental cars get outrageous tickets a year after their trip to Italy.

Be sure to read the circumstances. In each case, the violated the ZTL or were speeding. Italy has automatic cameras. Just because you don't see a policeman doesn't mean your speed was not recorded along with a photo of your tag.

We drove from Rome to Tuscany and back as well as driving around Tuscany for a week. I suspected all the horror stories I read before I left were caused by user error. I studied up on signage, including ZTLs and the rules of the road before we left.

When we got there, I had no problems with signage including ZTLs and made sure I obeyed the laws including speed limits. Who wants to drive fast in the gorgeous countryside anyway? I had absolutely no problems and no surprises after we got home.

If you are a safe, defensive driver capable of following the laws of the land, driving in Italy should be no problem. That goes for other European countries, based on my experience driving in them.

After watching Americans drive in America I'm not surprised many who drive in Europe get surprises when they get home.