Best company to rent a van in Italy

We're doing almost exactly the same thing, but for 9 days instead of 10. We are renting from Sixt.

Don't use Hertz! We rented a car in Siena for five days and were supposed to drop it in Chiusi. No one bothered to tell us that the Hertz office had closed there. That meant returning it to another Hertz office, back to Siena, and costing an additonal 40 Euro to change train reservations.

Sixt is great but has more limited drop-off spots than Hertz or Avis. Unfortunately your "points" from Hertz/Avis do not work here for redemption...

Try Sixt and also autoeurope who acts as a broker for other companies and can get great deals.

They were repaving the autostrada today outside of Rome.. down to one lane coming back into town! They will have all that fixed hopefully in the next two weeks!

Good luck!
Ciao,
Ron

we rented a large van In Pisa from Kemwel and dropped it off in Bologna. They had the best rates of all the car rental agencies.

Anybody out there: At $8.45/gallon, what's it costing these days in Italy to fill up the tank in one of those big vans with the big gas tanks that get bad mileage?

AutoEurope.com has very competitive rates. Don't get the oversized van - there are too many streets in small villages and towns that the larger vans won't fit down.

1 US gallon = 3.78541178 liters

Current price in Italy -- about 1.38 Euro per litre!

So 1 gallon of gas costs (3.7854 x 1.38) = 5.22 Euros

5.22 Euros x 1.588 (current exchange rate at prime) = $8.30 a gallon for gas in Italy!

$8.30 x 20 gallon tank (????) = $166.00 to fill up!

OUCH!

Ron: Excellent number crunching (I've been known to do the same calculation here, diseased minds...I mean great minds...think alike)! Actually, we could tweak your numbers slightly upward from $166 to $170 to fill up ye old gas tank of the van--because however they're paying for the gas they won't get the million dollar interbank rate but at least 2 to 3% higher, and so it's more like $170 to fill up the tank, very close to your estimate. And make sure the gas station is attended or will take that computer-chipless American credit card before you get too low on petrol, or have the $170 in cash in euros in your pocket.

Debbie - I'm not sure how many are in your party but looking at the math (and the gas mileage variables)it may be cheaper to do much of your travel by train.

Do consider that to drive on the autostrade you must pay tolls; the price of gas on the autostrade is higher than in small towns; and parking any vehicle - except my motorino :) - is a challenge & can be quite costly! It may be more economical for you to drive certain segments of your trip (Tuscany!) and then train the rest...

Also, perhaps splitting your party in 2 vehicles - At Sixt, a Renault Espace or a Fiat Ducato (both vans) are more than 1,000 Euro for 10 days and get no more than 22 mpg! Two Fiat Puntos run you under 500 each and get almost 40 mpg!

With the cost of gas, EXTRA insurance required in Italy, etc. we MINIMIZE our car rentals and take the train. More relaxing, enjoyable, and great fun! Leave the car for only WHERE you must have it... and do as most Europeans do - take the train!

We were planning on getting a mini-van, one that seats 7. We will have 5 adults. I thought that by the time we took 5 adults in a taxi to the train stations and back to our apartments, plus day trips,ect. and paid for 5 people on each train segment, we would come out better with a mini-van. We will not have the car in Rome (1st stop) and Venice (last stop) Also, we would have more freedom with a vehicle. We have rented cars in Spain, Italy, and France and done fine. We are paying to take my adult siblings, who have never been to Europe and this will be their only trip there from what we can tell. Thanks for your advice!

debbie - You're reasoning for planning on a van makes sense. If you haven't already used them, there are a couple of websites that will help you compare costs. www.trenitalia.it is the Italian rail website and you can enter sample itineraries to price train ticket costs.

You've had good advice about the pros and cons of traveling by van. All I can add is to make sure someone who can read a map is in the front passenger seat!