Car Rental in Florence - is picking up rental car from hotel worth it?

Yes, we are planning to visit Tuscany. We need the car to cover that portion of our trip. We will only be in Florence 2 nights on the front end of our trip and 1 night on the back end so we only need the car from 8/30-9/3.

Where will you be using the car and how long will you need it?
It’s pretty simple to pick up a car at the agencies near the train station then head out of Florence

There are dozens of posts here in this forum with instructions how to do this safely

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

A search will bring up more
Look for posts by Roberto-he gives excellent instructions on how to exit and enter Florence for pick up and return

All drivers must have an IDP
Do your homework on driving in Italy regarding ZTLs, speed cameras, parking etc

We always use AutoEurope.com for our rentals

Driving in Florence can be hair-raising, but if you really need a car, it can be done. I've picked up at a rental company very near the train station and they drew me a decent map to get out of the city. I've also picked up and returned at the airport, which is a little easier. There's a tram from the airport to the train station that runs often. (I've also driven across Florence in rush hour traffic, but I wouldn't recommend that one.) On none of these occasions did I get a ticket for crossing into the ZTL, so it's not impossible.

The price doesn't seem unreasonable if it's something you really want to do. But if you want a second quote, try gemut.com, my favorite broker in the US, and ask Andy.

Thanks so much everyone! I'll look into all of these suggestions! VERY much appreciated!!

Another great source often recommended on this site is Auto Europe. I’ve rented through them often and never had a problem. Many car rental agencies have offices in Florence. One suggestion, since few credit cards cover CDL insurance in Italy, is to rent with zero deductible. Remember that in Italy you need an International Driver Permit.

Thanks! Yes, we just got our IDL. Appreciate the response!

Check AutoEurope as suggested above (select pick up FLORENCE ALL LOCATIONS to compare prices).

I rented a small SUV (Jeep Renegade) in June/July for 20 days (Hertz through AutoEurope) and spent $956 for 20 days with airport pick up, all inclusive of zero deductible insurance, therefore a bit more expensive than City center pickup. That amounts to less than $50 per day, therefore I would not consider a price that is 3 times as much to be reasonable, especially for August/September when prices are a bit lower compared to July. For $180-$200 you should be able to rent a mid-size/small SUV for your entire 4 day period (pick up 8/30 return 9/3).

Thanks for the reminder.

Wine is our passion (hence my u/n). We’ve booked visits throughout Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino
and Bolgheri!

Remember that DUI is much stricter in Italy than in the US. The blood/alcohol level is .05% vs. .08%. And fines begin at €543. Don’t drink and drive.

$200 a day????

You should be able to get a private driver in a luxury car for that!

We had a car when we traveled to Florence for an overnight stay several years ago. Others have noted the challenge of driving in the city; let me add parking to the difficulties. I've driven in Italy a few times and while it is exciting, parking is more stressful! I thought I'd planned ahead, using RS books, but my planned parking lot turned out to be full of campers! If you have the option to use the train, or even to reorganize your trip so that your rental car is used only when needed, that would be so much less stressful.

On another trip we took the bus from the city to the Florence airport, rented the car there, and we had no trouble driving to La Foce (near Montepulciano) from there. We returned the car to Florence airport, no problem.

Good luck!