Best rental car service in Venice?

Like many others on this site, I'm also a consistent AutoEurope user. They show you all the options and prices on one page. Any of them will likely be reliable, and if not, AutoEurope provides great customer service and will do all the talking with the agency. You don't have to go mano a mano with anyone.

My advice - based on plenty of personal experience with parking garages, blind corners, and rock walls in both Switzerland and Italy - is to take the full no-deductible coverage. Chances are very high you'll scrape something along the way, and it's so easy to just drop it off and walk away knowing they can't come after you for anything. You don't even need to bother with pictures. Peace of mind is worth whatever the extra charge is (within reason, of course.)

Follow Nelly's advice, and if you are staying in the historical center of Venice before picking up your car, you should pick up the car at the Piazzale Roma location.

Where in the Dolomites are you going? Venice would not be my first choice as a place to pick up a car.

You need to check which rental car locations are open on Sundays. Safe travels!

We booked in Venice from Europcar, pickup at Verona Piazza Renata Simoni. Pickup wait was about an hour (which we had read on reviews was standard). We rented for a week, spending the first 5 nights in the Dolomites, then ended up dropping the car off in Verona and taking the train for the rest of the trip. Insurance was included in the price of the car (compulsory in Italy, if I remember correctly). We didn’t buy extra insurance and no bills came our way after the trip. No scrapes, either. That was our second time renting thru Europcar in Italy, both times perfect, no drama!

I didn't notice that you were coming from Florence just to pick up the car on a Sunday afternoon.

Personally I would pick up the car in Florence and drive up from Florence. Why go through the extra hassle of taking the train to Mestre and the taxi to the airport (on Sundays the airport location is probably the only one open)?

The extra gasoline cost (maybe 40 euro extra) and the extra tolls (less than 30 euro) would be offset by the cost of the train that you will not have to incur.

If you are trying to minimize driving, then it might make more sense to rent at the Bolzano airport or the Verona station or airport (but check the opening hours on Sundays, as they are probably open only at the airports).

My itinerary is Florence - Dolomites - Venice.
I will be using the airport rental car because my entire vacation is booked with delta and that was what is available. I only have two nights booked in the Dolomites for cortina, we won’t be Venturing out much more than that. I would rather keep driving to a minimum. Only up to the Dolomites and back.

but you can easily get to Cortina without a car. Isn't going to Venice to get the car going way out of the way?

In your other posts you were adamant that your car rental had to be booked thru Delta

If that is no longer the case then call Auto Europe and book with them
They have a toll free number

They can tell you best place to pick up and drop off, which agency open Sunday etc
There are hundreds of threads here about car rental in Italy
Be sure to read thru them

TBH
I’d drop the Dolomites and car rental
It’s just adding a whole other layer of complication for someone who has never traveled anywhere in US or Europe, never rented a car, never been on a train or a plane.
Since this leg is travel on a Sunday your options are very limited, even if you opted for train/bus instead of driving

This trip is going to be a lot of learning for you
Renting a car and driving in a foreign country is something a lot of international travelers never do

I’d take train from Florence to Bologna or Verona for 2 nights then to Venice

Save the Dolomites for your next trip when you can give that area the time it deserves

JMO

Hello, yes my vacation is booked with delta, but if I can save any headache I am willing to pay separately for a better service rental car. However I think many of them are closed on Sundays; so I will leave it with delta.

Yes I understand adding the Dolomites is more travel time etc. but the Dolomites for us is a must see. I don’t mind if we don’t see everything, but two nights in the mountains is enough for us. This trip may be a once in a lifetime for me so I wouldn’t want to miss it. It is only a 2 hr drive from Venice.

It's very easy to get to Cortina without a car, so for only two nights I would just skip the car and travel direct to Cortina by train/bus. Sounds a lot easier.

Thank you. From what station to what station would I use to get there? And busses? Maybe I can rearrange my itinerary if it makes sense. Maybe I can get a train directly from Florence to cortina? However I would like to use the rental car in cortina to be able to go to lago de braies, Tre Cime, etc whenever we would like. I will look up if I can pick up and drop off a rental car in cortina. Thank you

Maybe I can get a train directly from Florence to cortina?

No- there are no direct trains for this route. Train line only goes thru Bolzano- no train in Cortina
it will probably be a change in Bologna then Bolzano then bus to Cortina.
You can look at
Trenitalia
https://www.trenitalia.com/content/tcom/en.html

There are NO car rental agencies in Cortina.
Bolzano would be closest town for car rental.

There are buses all over the Dolomites region.

It will probably take several hours, I think longer than just driving and you only have so much time in the Dolomites as it is.

OK- Delta does not actually RENT any cars. They would book you with one of their partners I suppose.
I would forget that idea and for sure drop the train to Mestre- bus to airport to pick up car- that is way too convoluted!

Do your own booking with AutoEurope.com. They have a 35% sale going on now.
They are a US based consolidator and their customer service is stellar- that will be helpful in your situation.

Only book with one of the major agencies- Hertz, EuropCar, Sixt, Avis/Budget.
Book the ZERO DEDUCTIBLE insurance- then you don’t have to worry about anything, just "walk away".

A quick search shows me that the Hertz location in Venice at Piazzale Roma is open on Sunday til 12:30.

Go to AutoEurope.com
Search for Pick up Venice All Locations- same Drop off
Put your Pick Up and Drop Off time 11:30 AM.

All the various agencies will pop up. Scroll down to Hertz. Pick your type of car- we usually go with a Mid Size. Make sure you check Type of Transmission. Automatic will be more expensive than Manual.

You can look at all of that online and book online OR
Call them at their Toll Free number to book. You will have to pay upfront but this can be canceled or changed up to 24 hours prior ( check that).
They are very helpful and very knowledgeable.

You will take your fast train from Florence to Venezia Santa Lucia- arriving here by 10:00-10:30. Walk out of the station- (marvel at the Grand Canal in front of you ) and go to your right- Walk across the bridge to Piazzale Roma and find the Hertz agency.
Pick up your car and go. When you return - drive back to P Roma-there you are- already in Venice.
Be careful on the bridge driving in and out of Venice- speed cameras!

Ask for more specific help with how to get from station to P Roma. Hopefully you each just have ONE suitcase, carry on size to deal with.

If there is a train strike - you will know at least a day or 2 in advance- you would have to book a car from Florence- Pick up at a train station location (Borgno Ognisanti- this is where AutoEurope toll free customer service will come in handy), drop at Piazzale Roma.

If you are late and don’t get to your pick up by 12:30 closing time they will simply close and you don't get your car. There are no extra fines or fees for not picking up a reserved car.
You will be charged by whatever terms your contract states.

thank you; i will look at autoeurope and hertz. If it helps me avoid the airport travel to and back, i may do that. However, wouldnt it make sense to take a train from florence to venezia mestre, pick up the rental car from there, and then drop it off at venezia st lucia? then i could easily walk to my hotel after dropping off in venice S.L.

nevermind i see what you are saying; i did exactly what you said and i am on the page where i can see the rental cars. so if i do pickup and drop off at 11:30am at venice Saint lucia, i just have to adjust my train ticket to be dropped off instead of mestre to venezia st lucia?

do i choose no deductible with extended cover or zero deductible with super breakdown cover?

You want
Venice Piazzale Roma as your pick up drop off point

Search for cars Venice All Locations then choose Hertz
Choose Automatic or Manual
Pick your car
Now choose Pick up Location
Piazalle Roma will be the choice

Ok
Sorry
On my iPhone now lol

its letting me pick up at piazzala roma but not add drop off :(

oh wait nevermind! i think i was confused ok let me try again

Your choice
Zero or No Deductible

This is where a call to AutoEurope would be helpful
They can explain all of your options and make sure you are booking correctly

i see that the Sixt in piazzale roma is open 7 days a week from 8am to 7pm. Wouldnt this be the best option so i dont have to worry about the closing time?

Oh
I didn’t see that
Is that offered by AutoEurope?

Seriously
Call them

yes, but the pick up and drop off is in VENICE CITY OFFICE
Rio Terà S. Andrea 466 D
VENICE, IT

If you put that address into Google Maps, you will see it is on Piazzale Roma (Ple Roma)

Hello!! I booked with Auto Europe/ hertz, no deductible with the super coverage and cancellation cover. Made sure to get automatic. i also changed my Trenitalia train tickets from Florence SMN to Venezia Mestre, to Florence SMN to Venezia Saint Lucia from 8:20 to 10:30am, allowing me 1 hour to pick up my rental car at 11:30am. I have removed the rental car with delta. Does this sound good now? That just means less morning time my last day in florence, and more time in the dolomites. My drop off is at the same spot in venice saint lucia area at 3:00pm on a tuesday. (just so i have extra time to explore and spend time in the morning before leaving.)

doesnt this way also help in case of a train strike? because trains leaving before 9am are guaranteed? or no right because its on a sunday

This sounds good now :)

All drivers will need an IDP.
Even if you plan to have just one driver it is wise for both travelers to have that IDP…just in case.
It’s inexpensive peace of mind

Don’t forget to bring your US drivers license with you as well.
You will need to show that and the IDP when you pick up the car.
And don’t forget to keep IDP with you in the car! ( we did this LOL left it right there safely in our hotel room, luckily never needed to show on the road)

Thank you so much!! Yes me and my husband both have our IDP on hand!
Thank you again for all of the help. You did help me work out those little details that sound like they wouldn’t be a problem at first, but now that I think of it, it would definitely be best to cut out having to get a ride to the airport and back for the rental car situation. This seems best for my itinerary and making the Dolomites work for my trip!

I'm glad you got that sorted!

Be sure - be really sure - to watch your speed on the long bridge (causeway) connecting Mestre with the islands of Venice - there are very sensitive speed cameras along it. It is easy to get distracted by the views of the lagoon and the trains next to you, as well as by some who disregard the limit. Don't get sucked in, or you will likely have a very expensive ticket in your mailbox in the next year which could spil he otherwise lovely memories.

Why Cortina? There are many more stunning towns in the Dolomites. The road to Cortina is full of twists and turns. The driver will need to focus on the road, thereby missing the scenery. Also it’s quite a long drive. We took a guided bus tour from Castelroto. The tour was in German, but we didn’t care. We were on it for the views, not for the driver’s comments. If I’m remembering correctly, we had our guidebook, and it told us enough about each stop.

That sounds really nice and I debated doing some sort of tour but from research I’ve found it’s best for my needs to have the rental car to be able to go to lago de braies early before the crowds arrive. I mainly wanted to see Lago de braies, Tre Cime de lavaredo and Seceda, but Seceda will be going too much out of the way. We are ok with only seeing those two popular sites and I have found many smaller lakes and sights to see within a reasonable distance from Cortina. Since cortina is just a 2 hour drive from Venice it makes sense to me. If I had more time in the Dolomites, my itinerary would have been much different and allowing us to see more of the west side of the Dolomites! I know even just seeing lago de braies and Tre Cime, we will be satisfied because those two are beautiful. We also have our hotel at a nice mountain resort to enjoy indoor swimming & spa. I am super excited !!!