Car rental advise for Florence at Train Station not airport

Welcome to the forum!!
Do a search here for “ car rental in Florence”
There are many many threads on this topic

Here is one you might find helpful

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/picking-up-a-car-in-florence-to-drive-thru-tuscany

There might also be a better place to return your car so you don’t have to go back to Florence-perhaps Arezzo

The thread linked above gives you instruction on how to exit the ZTL near the Firenze SMN station.

To rent a car, in Florence or anywhere in Italy, I use www.autoeurope.com or the other website they use www.kemwel.com (AutoEurope acquired kemwel years ago, but still retained their website). AutoEurope is a broker/consolidator that works with major companies operating in Europe like Hertz, Avis-Budget, Europcar, Sixt, etc.

I select the best deal available on the dates and places I need. I also select the NO DEDUCTIBLE option under the Insurance Coverage section. You don’t have to do so, but deductibles are generally 1000€ and not all credit card companies cover those in Italy, also that way I don’t have to deal with the paperwork to get reimbursed by the credit card in case I have to file a claim. The no deductible option generally increases the rental cost by about $5+ per day.

At the end of your stay in Cortona, if you have a party of 2 or more people and luggage, you might consider driving the 4+ hours to Venice and return the car in Venice at Piazzale Roma, right on the canal. The drive is almost entirely on freeways, and, although boring, it will be just as fast as having to return the car in Florence, walking to the station and take the 2h10m train journey. Driving from Cortona back to the rental agency near Florence station alone takes about 1.5 - 2 hours, if you decide to return the car at the airport to avoid risking to get lost or getting into the ZTL, that would add another hour to your trip. If you feel up to driving 4 hours on a freeway (with plenty of restaurants at rest stops) keeping the car and returning it in Venice is another option. The extra gasoline and toll costs will be less than the train for 2. Gasoline from Florence to Venice will be about 20 liters (40€) and tolls will be another 25€.

Thank you both.
ChristineH,
I saw that thread, but was confused by the conflicting thoughts. I hoped, if I posted my plans leaving out the airport option, I might get a fresh point of view. I do appreciate you sharing, that did help me some.

Roberto,
I appreciate you bringing up the, what I call "third party option." I had looked at DiscoverCars and they had great deals, I was very confused agin by the negative verses positive view points. It seems that there is very little middle ground and its either a LOVE or HATE relationship with reviews. I will look at the company you suggested. All the reviews about insurance and waiting for hours really makes things seem as if there is no good option, unless you go all in and pay an excessive amount.

Roberto,
I had not considered the one way to Venice. I will also look into options there. Thank you!

AutoEurope provides great service. I think most contributors to this forum use it also and most of us would recommend it.. I would take reviews online on anything or anyone with a grain of salt. Usually those who take the time to write reviews have some ax to grind. The 99% who receive decent service don’t bother. Picking up at an airport usually costs more, so if you are already in Florence you save by picking up downtown. If you don’t mind the 4+ hours driving to Venice, I would consider the option. If you leave in the morning and have time to spare you could take your time and visit Anghiari, along the way by taking the route via Cesena. Of course one has to exercise caution if leaving luggage in the car while visiting places (valuables should always be with you).

Roberto,
You have gotten me thinking out of the box!! We are leaving Cinque Terre, stopping in Pisa before we were going to pass back through Florence, just to get a car. (We will have already spent time in Florence prior to Cinque Terre) Now, I am thinking I will rent car in Pisa, drive to Cortona, spend our final vacation time tooling around Tuscany, then drive to Venice as you suggested. The price is much more reasonable and the Auto Europe option seems like it is going to work out beautifully!! THANK YOU for the great advise and reminding me to think about other options! I am so relieved to have the decision made and so excited for this adventure in October!

OUR PLANS -

-Fly into Venice - 3 nights

-train to Verona - just for lunch and quick sight seeing

-train to Florence - 3 nights/ cooking class and museums & gardens

-train to Cinque Terre - 3 nights/ Basil pesto class and trails, enjoying the view from our AirBnB

-train to Pisa - day trip and lunch/ rent car

-drive to Cortona - 5 nights w/ wine tours and HEART OF TUSCANY drive (Thanks Rick Steve's) and lots of down time.

-drive to Venice, taking our time and sightseeing along the way.

-return car and hop on bus to go to our hotel - 1 night /supper, breakfast and shuttle to airport in the am

-fly back to US

If you are at the Cinque Terre, you could also rent a car at LA SPEZIA (most rental car companies have offices near the cruise port). La Spezia is very close to the Cinque Terre (minutes by train), you would need a taxi from La Spezia Centrale station to the rental car office you book the car from.

That option (Pick up at La Spezia and return at Venice Piazzale Roma) would be available on AutoEurope, unless you travel on Sunday, when the La Spezia rental offices are closed (in that case the Pisa airport is the only option).

If you plan to visit Pisa before picking up the car, then you might as well take the train to Pisa, leave your luggage at the Pisa Centrale luggage storage at the station, visit Pisa, then pick up your luggage before heading to pick up your car. I wouldn't leave luggage unattended in the rental car, even if in the trunk. So if you day visit of Pisa is in the plans, leave luggage at the station and pick up the rental car at the airport at the end of your visit.

All rentals in Pisa are at the airport, so you would need the PisaMover people mover from the Pisa Centrale station to the airport (5-10 min).