Car rental FCO

steve,

There are downtown locations close to Termini station where you can also rent cars, and that would be easier than going out to FCO. Also, airport locations sometimes charge higher rates. I believe the car rental locations at FCO are open every day.

I assume you're aware that you'll need the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. (so you must carry both). These are valid for one year, and easily obtained at any CAA/AAA office (two Passport-sized photos required, which may be provided by the issuing office).

You may also want to have a look at some of the posts on the forum concerning the dreaded Zona Traffico Limitato (limited traffic) areas that are becoming increasingly prevalent in many Italian towns & cities (especially Florence!). Some of these are enforced by automated cameras and some by local police. Each pass through one of the automated Cameras will result in a €100+ ticket and visitors often don’t know of these violations until several months after they’ve returned home.

There also might be a premium on renting at the rail station. Rome has many city offices from which to choose.

Why don' t you catch a 70 minute train ride to Orvieto and pick a car up at the Hertz location--across the street from the train station? Many people use that location for pickup and delivery. You're about 90 minutes on great roads out of Siena, and it's easy access to anywhere in Tuscany.
Orvieto's also a very desirable hill town to visit--or to spend the night in.
Every airport and many train station rental car pickups have substantial pick up tolls and taxes. You'll just about always do better picking a car up in another city location.

Florence is famous for their ZTL. I'd more likely park the car out in the suburbs and take public transit into the city center.

No need to travel 20+ miles to FCO and spend 50 euro on a taxi to pick up the car.

Even crazier is to go all the way to Orvieto.
It would be like me from San Francisco, instead of renting the car in SF, traveling all the way to San Jose in Silicon Valley 55 miles away by train to pick up a rental car in San Jose to drive to Sacramento (100 miles away).
Who does that? Tell me. I don't know anybody in America who would do that.

Every major car rental company has half a dozen to a dozen offices in Rome. Pick up the one that is most convenient from your apartment. On Sundays only the airport and the train station locations are open, but all other days you have plenty of choices. Tell me the location of your apartment and I will tell you some options.

When we need a car to leave Roma we rent through autoeurope.com and pick it up at Stazione Termini because it is very convenient for us. WE travel in Italy every year, so driving in large cities is a fact we've adjust to in regards to Italian driving habits. However, I must say the driving in Calabria, where my folks come from, is an entirely different story.

So, IMHO, if you are staying in Roma take the car from an outlet in the city instead of going back out to FCO. Make sure you have an International Driving Permit in case you have an accident and purchase the zero liability for added peace of mind.

Buon viaggio,

Thank you for your thoughts.

I do have an international permit. I want to avoid driving in Rome and since my return flight leaves on a Sunday, renting at the airport location seemed best for those two reasons. In Tuscany we are staying just outside SG .....estimate of driving time from/ to FCO?

You can rent at any city location and return it at the airport with no additional drop off charges. There are no drop off charges if you return the car at a different location, as long as within the same country. Picking up at the airport will cost you extra in airport rental fees, in addition to a hefty 50 euro taxi fare to the airport. Driving in Rome is not difficult provided you do so outside of peak commute time (late morning at around 10-11am, when people are at work/school would be good). The Tiburtina station locations are close to the freeway entrance (A14-Tangenziale Est), but of course there might be better locations nearer to your apartments, depending on where your accommodations are.

Don't attempt to get out of town during the evening commute or you'll be stuck in the crazy Roman traffic for hours. Coming into Rome on a Sunday evening would be also bad with all the people coming back from their weekend getaways. Try to arrive in the late morn or very early pm.

Travel time from San Gimignano to FCO varies depending on traffic but I'd say at least 3.5 hours plus pit stops, without major traffic snarls.
From Rome city center is a bit less, maybe 20 min less.

Tiburtina station is well located to avoid driving in Roma.

Roberto thank you! Your post is very helpful! We are staying in a flat in Travestere and will try to find a car rental place near us. Even if it's a short cab ride it will be much cheaper and better than going back to the airport. Your are correct I had assumed I had to drop off at my pick up location. Hopefully I'll make it driving out of the city ok and will wait until after morning rush hour.