We are heading to Assisi for a few days after Rome, and I would like to drive. I have no problems driving out of the large cities, but I have heard that Rome is one place to avoid driving in.
Can anyone share their experiences about picking up a car in Rome, preferably on the outskirts, and driving toward Assisi. We will be taking the A-1 until we turn off to head east. I haven't decided on the exact route yet.
Also, I want to drop off the car in LaSpezia, to avoid doubling back.
Thanks!
Jeff
On this Forum, Roberto often recommends picking up a car at Roma Tiburtina station, from where you can get almost immediately onto the highway out of town. Check it out on Google Maps. I misremembered his advice and picked up a car at Roma Termini station, which is also not very far from the main road out of town; there were only a few blocks on the type of Italian city streets that have several lanes of traffic without lane markings.
Jeff: I rented a car from Rome Termini and it wasn't that bad. You just need to follow the route to the bypass to the highway. In our case we drove A1 north to Orvieto. We dropped in Florence.
We rented a car on the edge of Rome and drove to Tuscany. Be careful about traffic restricted zones. We left on a Sunday, so traffic was lighter. Not to difficult at all, but I am comfortable driving in Italy.
Make sure you have a gps, as it is challenging to get out of town.
Jeff,
For driving in Italy, each driver listed on the rental form will require the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. The I.D.P.'s are available at any AAA office for a small fee, and are valid for one year.
As others have mentioned, you'll also need to be extremely vigilant to avoid the ZTL (limited traffic) zones which exist in many Italian towns (and Assisi is no exception). Each pass through one of these will result in hefty fines, which you may not find out about until several months after you return home. There are also speed cameras on the highway, parking charges, tolls and in some places automated fuel pumps which may only accept Chip & PIN credit cards.
We just got in yesterday from a three week trip through Italy. Most of it via rental car. I rented a car through Auto Europe and picked it up from Rome Termini. To get to the A24 from the Termini without hitting a ZTL makes you take a few turns getting out of the neighborhood but it is possible. Here are the directions I got from another travel site. (It was cut & pasted into my travel file. I'm sorry I cannot find the direct link)
"Most rental car companies hold their cars in a parking structure located on via Giolitti. Because of the absurdity of the one-way street system in this part of town, you will need to circle around to get back to another section of via Giolitti in order to access the tunnel under the railroad tracks. Don't worry; it's easier than it sounds.
• Exit the garage and turn right onto via Giolitti.
• Go three blocks and turn right on via Cairoli.
• After one block turn left onto via Principe Umberto.
• Two blocks later turn left onto viale Manzoni.
• You are headed toward the station; turn left back onto via Giolitti.
• At the traffic light one block up, go right.
• This puts you onto via Tiburtina, and takes you through a tunnel under the railway tracks. Stay on via Tiburtina (through the wide intersection where five streets converge, Tiburtina is the stone, wider street in the center), continuing along to the "tangenziale" and following the green directional signs for the GRA and Autostrada.
• When the street merges with the tangenziale you need to be in the left-hand lane to access the motorway.
The via Tiburtina will lead you to the Grande Raccordo Annulare (GRA) which is the ring-road around Rome and from there you can access the various Autostradas (A1, A24, etc.) to carry you off to the gentler roads of the peaceful countryside."
I hope this helps.
We drove from Rome to Cinque Terre (stayed and parked in Monegila), on to Lake Garda and the Dolomites and turned it back in Venice.
I drove there in April as well and be aware of the cameras that calculate your overall speed. They have regular speed cameras and then the other kind as well. All tolls I went through they took chip card and or cash. Driving in Italy really isn't that big of a deal if you read about it ahead of time. When I rented my car in Milan they did asked for my International License which we got at AAA for a small fee
