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Car Rental in Italy

We are planning on renting a large car or nine passenger van for ten days in Florence. I'm looking for recommendations on who to rent from and should we do it at the airport when we arrive. We will be staying in a villa in the countryside. Also, what additional insurance coverage would be recommended?

Posted by
1078 posts

Suggest you look at www.expedia.co.uk and click on car rentals. I have consistantly found the best rates for my using this non-U.S. website and they will list all the rental companies that have the type of car/van you are looking for. Once you select, the only additional charge will be for the super CDW if you want to purchase it. The prices will be shown in UK Pounds, so you have to do the conversion. My only rental company that I will not use in Italy is Sixt-it's a franchisee, and I and AMEX fought a year long battle with them when they tried to hose me with additional charges on return(fuel, road tax, 2or 3 other charges I don't recall) which were covered in the original contract.

Posted by
8889 posts

I hope you aren't planning to use this vehicle in Florence. That is totally not allowed. Depending where your villa is, a large nine-person passenger vehicle (minibus) may not fit on the drive leading to the villa. Please check.

Posted by
32781 posts

Depending on where your home is you will likely require an IDP for each driver.

Search here for ZTL.

Posted by
1700 posts

There are large differences in complaints against the different car rental companies in Italy. Taking the lowest price is not a wise move. You want to avoid Firefly, Goldcar, Advantage, and the group operated by Sicily by Car under the brand names AutoEuropa / Thrifty /Dollar. (note AutoEuropa is different from the reputable broker AutoEurope).

Avis / Europcar / Hertz seem to get fewer complaints but you still have to be informed. Try this article for tips about how to avoid problems: http://www.apathtolunch.com/2014/12/car-rental-in-italy-pick-it-up-right.html

The Europcar website has a good description of the different cars / vans available along with photos. The US broker AutoEurope offers no deductible insurance at less cost than the car rental companies and seems to be popular with travelers.

Posted by
206 posts

I agree that you want to check with your accommodation whether you could expect any issues with such a large vehicle. We went through Autoeurope, and am thankful we did. I have used Europcar dozens of times at home with no complaints (home is Australia), but in both Italy and France they didn't have the car we booked and we had to argue to get a car at all and in Italy it was half the size we booked (In France we got a bigger one after lots of yelling and threats) and then they were incredibly rude and refused to refund us the difference for the smaller vehicle. I tried to discuss the issue with a staff member in Florence in my very bad Italian, and when I was getting nowhere, asked if they spoke English as I thought it was getting lost in translation and he stated in perfectly accented in English, "No, I don't speak any English" and walked away. After one call to Autoeurope we were refunded not just the difference but also the extra driver fee and one way fee as a goodwill gesture.

Posted by
15183 posts

RENTAL CAR CONSOLIDATORS: I (and many contributors to this site) prefer to rent a car through a wholesale consolidator. The company most often cited here is:
www.autoeurope.com and their sister company www.kemwel.com
They are part of the same group, but I check prices with both since the sometimes prices differ a bit and therefore I pick the better deal in either site.
They work with the largest rental companies in Europe, such as Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz, etc.

CAR INSURANCE: Italy does not allow you to decline insurance. However one can choose zero deductible or not. I also always select the no deductible insurance option (a.k.a. ‘no insurance excess’) since my US car insurance does not cover me abroad. It’s a bit more expensive, but the deductible can easily amount to €1,000 or more. Also coverage provided by many credit cards excludes Italy (and a handful of other countries), therefore your credit card may not cover your deductible either.

RENTAL RETURN STRATEGY: I’ve rented through both consolidator websites above (generally selecting Europcar or Hertz as the rental provider, as they tend to have cheaper rates). When you return the car make sure you obtain receipt that you filled your tank (I also take a picture of the dashboard showing the full gasoline gauge). I often get charged for fuel charges after the fact when I’m back home and having those records allow me to dispute the extra charge with my credit card.

CAR SIZE: I usually rent economy size when it’s generally for just me and my wife. For 3 people I recommend a compact car as it has a bigger trunk. For 4 people a midsize is probably necessary because of the luggage. For larger groups (up to 9 including driver) I recommend renting multiple vehicles (if there are a couple of people available to drive). Renting a minivan is generally extremely expensive. A minivan rental costs as much as renting 3 economy size cars.

PICK UP LOCATION: Picking up at airports costs more because of airport fees. However if one needs the car right away upon landing, it might still be the way to go, rather than incurring the taxi cost to reach a city rental location. Picking up at airports generally costs $30+ more per week compared to a city pick up. In your case if you rent upon landing to go directly to the villa out of Florence, it is a good idea to rent at the airport. If you plan to stay in Florence a few days first, then rent in the city later when you leave.

IDP: Don’t forget that to drive in Europe you need an International Driver’s Permit (obtainable in 10 minutes at any AAA office with $15 and 2 passport photos). The IDP is a translation of your home driver’s license in multiple languages.

GPS: I also recommend to take a GPS unit from home with European maps loaded on it (Maps available on Amazon) and an old fashioned paper map for planning your itinerary and also as a back up since GPS navigators are sometimes inaccurate. You can buy a map locally.

TRAFFIC RULES: Google ‘Road Signs in Italy’ or ‘European Road Signs’ and read the related articles in Wikipedia or other websites. European road signs are straightforward symbols, but it doesn’t hurt to read about it. One thing to remember is that on freeways one cannot cruise in the left lane. The left lane is passing only. You also cannot overtake a vehicle using the right (slow) lanes. You must overtake vehicles only on the left.
Right turn on a red light is NEVER PERMITTED.

ZTL: Many Italian cities, such as Florence, Rome, etc. have so called Limited Traffic Zone within the city center. Inside these areas only residents can enter and park. It is therefore a very bad idea to have a rental car while staying in these cities. A better option is to rent the car AFTER visiting these cities, or return the car just BEFORE visiting these cities. Another option is to stay outside these cities and visit them from outside (basically one would park the car in a parking lot outside the city centers).