Hi,
We will be going from San Gimignano to the Florence Santa Maria Novella train station. En route we'd like to return our car as close to the train station as possible without getting into the mess of the restricted travel zones that exist within Florence. I was wondering if someone could suggest a location.
We have not yet picked our car rental agency, but will likely go with a major US chain (Thrifty, Hertz, Alamo, Avis, Dollar) since we are familiar with their brands.
Best,
Megan
Try to rent through the following consolidators rather than Han directly with the rental companies:
www.autoeurope.com
www.kemwel.com
They work with the major rental companies in Italy, such as Europcar (the largest and generally cheapest), Hertz, Avis-Budget, etc.
Be aware that most are not American companies operating in Europe. So if you rent from National-Alamo you are not renting from the American company, but from a European rental company that uses the National-Alamo logo under a franchise agreement.
All rental agencies are located on Borgo Ognissanti, about 10 min walk from the station, which is within the ZTL but accessible. All have another location at the airport.
Only Europcar and Hertz have locations outside the aforementioned locations. Europcar has one on Via Forlanini. Hertz has one on Via Del Sansovino. Use Google Maps to see where they are. They are not walking distance from the station.
Not sure where you are going by train, but it might make sense to drive there directly from San Gimignano, instead of bothering with driving into the city and take the train. Where is your destination?
Return the car at the airport. It is very difficult to return a car in the center of Florence without incurring a ticket.
Most rental agencies have a location in the Borgo Ognissanti area, that is close to the railway station. Unfortunately, Borgo Ognissanti is in the ZTL zone. But there is a difference to be made:
- locations west of the via Melegnano/via Maso Finiguerra crossing have a free access itinerary. If you can stick to that itinerary without any deviation, you can return your car without formalities;
- locations east of the via Melegnano crossing need to access ZTL through a camera controlled access, so the rental agency has to notify the police about your access or a fine will be issued.
Unfortunately, there is no way to get close to the railway station without having to cope with ZTL. A possible alternative could be agencies with a location in via del Sansovino. There is a tram stop just in front of the parking area and the tram goes directly to the station in five minutes.
Rented a car from Eutopacar in Florence
Easy process
Returning car to downtown location was easy
Just followed their directions to avoid ZTL
Also ZTL'sarr very easy to see and avoid
We drove to Siena and Montevarchi with no problems
If you can drive on USA highways you can drive in Italy
Thanks so much for all your replies. We booked a car rental based on your advice. Greatly appreciated!
