Our group is two seniors and an adult son. We are spending two nights in Venice. When we leave, we wish to rent a car for five days as we tour Tuscany, staying near Volterra and then doing day trips from there. We then will return the rental to Florence, probably at the train station location as we will be then taking a train from Florence to Rome. I have two questions- 1) Is there a best location in Venice to pick up from, I was kind of thinking Piazzale Roma and 2) Is the car rental return to the lots near the train station difficult especially in regards to restricted driving zones. Is there a name for the rental lot area near the train station? Thanks everyone!
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15152 posts
- Piazzale Roma
- Not difficult but it’s not actually at the station. It’s at a multistory parking garage called Garage Europa located on Borgo Ognissanti, almost at the corner with Via Curtatone. It’s a 10 min walk to the station from there.
If I were in your shoes I wouldn’t bother to return the car in Florence. Rather, I would drive all the way to Rome and return the car there (about 3.5 hr drive from Volterra). Actually I might take the coastal route, that way I’d swing along the way by Porto Santo Stefano and eat some fish at the Ristorante La Bussola, which make great fish.
Coming from the coastal route, the Fiumicino airport is along the way if you prefer to avoid the city traffic.
If you take the interior route returning the car at the Tiburtina station or the Termini station would be better. Or, if you don’t want to drive, you can return the car at Chiusi or Orvieto (Hertz only in Orvieto), and proceed by train from either place. But regardless of the route chosen, I wouldn’t back track to Florence.
If you are doing so to experience the high speed train, then take the train from Venice to Florence and rent the car in Florence (same location mentioned above).
The drive from Venice to Florence is kind of boring (2 hours on a flat plain then one hour in a long tunnel underground under the mountains), so you might try the high speed train on that segment.
From Florence to Volterra it’s over one hour. Half 4 lane freeway half curvy 2 lane highway.
Posted by
OP
West Virginia
4 posts
Thanks for responding. I have rented from Piazzale Roma near Venice, drive to Volterra and thenl drop the car off in Orvieto 5 days later. I hope we can work in a trip to Civita Di Bagnoregio on the day of drop off.