Car rental Help!

I would suggest that you do get just out of Rome and rent. Check with gemut.com or autoeurope and ask for a location out of Rome and on the way to Umbria. I have used Gemut numerous times with satisfaction. Call them on their toll free number and they will get back with you.

Heather, I would also take the train out of Rome & then rent the car in a smaller city. We took the train to Orvieto from Rome & was supposed to rent the car in Orvieto (had problems which prevented us from doing this) but this was the plan & after seeing Rome, I'm glad we didn't rent the car in Rome. We ended up picking up the car in Siena & then returning it in La Spezia en route to the Cinque Terre. I think it would have been challenging to drive in Rome so I'm glad we picked the car up outside of Rome.

Heather, Some information regarding driving in Italy.... One important point to note is that for driving in Italy, each driver must have the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. These are valid for one year, and easily obtained at any AAA office (two Passport-sized photos required, which in some cases are provided by the issuing office). Failure to produce an IDP if requested can result in fines on the spot! Have a look at This Website for more detailed information. You may also want to search other Posts here regarding the Zona Traffico Limitato areas that are becoming increasingly prevalent in many towns in Italy (especially Florence!). EACH PASS through one of the automated Cameras will result in a €100+ ticket! A GPS along with a good Map would also be a good idea. Be sure to also give some thought to the question of CDW. If you accept the CDW offered by the rental firm, it will be expensive but will provide "peace of mind". Some "premium" credit cards provide rental vehicle insurance, however I've found this to be somewhat complicated so I just accept that offered by the rental firm. Check the Car Rental section in Europe Through The Back Door for further information. One other point - as the others have mentioned, DON'T drive in Rome! The website link above has some good information on that topic. Happy travels!

I can't think of a reason to pick up/drop off a car at Termini just to drive it Spoleto or Terni. Driving a rental/return starting at Termini is no big deal, but the real reason to have a car in Umbria is to drive it in Umbria, not to get there. The A1 is just as interesting from a train's window as it is from an auto's window. But the train has far better cruse control.

'I can't think of a reason to pick up/drop off a car at Termini just to drive it Spoleto ......' Me either, except for time and money. The drive on the freeway is about an hour and a half, the train is going to be about the same. But, you've got to spend some time getting to Termini and there's probably a car place close to where you're staying. Then, via train, there's going to be some wait time, but you can start immediately if you use a car. You're going to pay for the car that day, anyway, so you're paying for two modes of transportation on the same day. Gas for the trip will run about twenty-five bucks, I don't know what the train tickets will cost. There will be some minimal tolls on the freeway, but would probably wash with the metro cost to Termini. 'The A1 is just as interesting ......' Only about a third of the fastest driving route is on the A1 (which is more commonly refered to as the E35/E45). If you devote a couple or three hours to the route by heading east out of Rome to about Vicovaro and then work north on the back roads through Licenza and Rieti, you have some stunning scenery, especially as you pass through the two national parks. Rome's ZTLs are essentially west of a north-south line through the Reublicca metro station. The best way out of the city by car is to the east anyway, and the darn things are well and clearly marked. If you pick up a car within a ZTL, they'll give you an escape permit good for enough time to do it. Rome's just one more city to drive in, nothing special.

Thanks everyone for all your help and input! I guess to clarify my question- I DO NOT want to drive in Rome- I was trying to figure out if it would be better to rent at FCO and take the ring road/A1 out of town to Umbria, or take the train out of Rome to another town to rent our car. We have rented a home near Trevi, and would like a car for the week we are in Umbria to explore on our own. I have not been able to figure out if Spoleto is the best place in that general vicinity for us to rent a car, or if there is a better option. We will return the car before we return to Rome for the last few days of our trip. Does anyone have advice on renting in Spoleto and would you recommend doing that? Or would you recommend another location? Thanks so much!

My advice is the same. Don't make a production of going all over the place to rent a car. Rent one before using any other tranportation on the first day you need it. Everything else is simple math. Florence ZTLs are a bit more tricky, but you can miss them compeletly if you rent near the train station and more or less parallel the tracks leaving town to the west. Again, the car rental place will get you an escape ticket, but actually, there's no penalty for leaving a ztl, just for entering (observe, direction of camera lenses). If your use of FCO above means the airplane patch (a lot of folks use the ICAO designaton for cities for some reason), that's fine and the preceeding paragraph is obviated. And, Spoleto is as good a place as any to rent a car (per kayak.com).

Heather - we have rented at FCO before and did not find it a problem to drive out of town, though for that trip we were going South.