I know this is a big topic and I have followed many threads and still confused. I am coming in by train from Varenna (via Milan) to Florence, and need to rent a car to head to Siena right after. I don't understand if I should take tram to airport to rent or save time and rent it at SMN? If we rent at train station option, what are the directions. Maybe it depends on where I rent and what car rental is best option? Are the car choices better at airport? I'm with my daughter and will arrive at 12:04pm on Wednesday 4/1.
Really appreciate any clear help as I am nervous about this part!
thanks
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
8857 posts
I would rent at the station, your choices will be comparable to airport locations, possibly a bit cheaper
Saves time money and driving overall
Do you mean directions for leaving Florence?
Do a forum search for “driving out of Florence”, look for Roberto’s posts or PM him once you have booked the car
Make sure all drivers have an IDP
We always book our cars with AutoEurope.com
Posted by
791 posts
No reason not to rent at the train station. There is a Sixt office and at least a couple others that I remember right there. And no worries about the ZTLs because your car will be registered automatically for that day by your rental company.
It might even be cheaper to rent at SMN than it is to rent at the FLR.
Check AutoEurope (a consolidator folks on this board have have success with)
Posted by
OP
13 posts
thank you!
I will rent through Autoeurope.com with Sixt. They says to pick up at Florence Santa Maria Novella Railway Station
Piazza Della Stazione but no full address. I have seen older posts that mention the office is hard to find or was that only for the return? ? I am assuming its walkable from train?
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
8857 posts
Yes it is walkable
You can get the exact address using Google maps
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
17396 posts
I think the Sixt office is now inside the station at Binario 16 (binario=track), you should be able to access it from the Binario 16 platform on the inside of the station.
The image below is the same office but taken from the exterior side of the station on the street side.
I think Sixt stores the cars in the underground garage under the big station square (in front of the station), but I don’t know if Sixt will actually bring you the car on the exterior side of the office pictured below (I doubt it, they will probably ask you to walk to the underground garage). If you return the car at the same location you will drive it to the underground garage.
Posted by
791 posts
Yes, Sixt rental desk is inside the station. The cars are a short walk to the either the outside lot or the underground parking where the return counter is. You'll probably get handed a scannable (paid) parking ticket to scan at the exit.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
17396 posts
This is another image of the Sixt office on the street side of the station.
This is the inside station image of the Sixt entrance from the tracks side of the station. At the time of this Google Image in 2016, the Sixt office was not there yet. That door was still the old Economato office (materials/purchasing/supply chain office of the station).
Four doors up from the Sixt office (the one saying Ingresso Stazione in this image, I think it's the luggage storage now) was my office when I served in the early 1980s. The very last door was the street side entrance of the Railway police unit of the Polizia di Stato. That brings back memories of my youth in uniform.