We are going to be in Italy for the entire month of May this year. We leave Florence on Saturday May 23 and travel to an agritourisme outside of Cortona where we will stay for 8 nights, leaving on Sunday May 31 for Rome. I was thinking about taking the train to Camuci or another small town near Cortona and renting a car there, returning it there and taking the train to Rome. That way I won't be bothered with driving in Florence or Rome (something I want to avoid). Does anyone have any suggestions on where I should rent a car, from whom, etc.? The real difficulty is that I am picking it up on a Saturday and returning it on a Sunday. Are there places near Cortona - Perugia, Montepulciano, Chiusi? where I can drop the car off on Sunday even if the office is closed?
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
IMO you're wise to avoid driving in central Florence. What some travelers do, who want to pick up a rental car in Florence, is pick the car up at (and return it to) the Florence airport, even though they're not flying into the airport.
Wherever you plan to return the car, make sure the car rental place is open on Sunday. It probably is at the airport, but check. And don't assume that it's like here where you can drop the car off even if the rental location is closed. Some travelers reporting in here have had bad results trying to do that in Italy.
Posted by
Portland
3648 posts
The suggestion to use airports for pick-up and drop-off of your rental is a good one, especially for the Rome return. One way to check alternatives is to go to the AutoEurope.com site. After you put in your dates and location, a choice of pick-up sites (if there is a choice) will appear. You can see what the hours are. Also be wary of the possibility that non-airport offices might be open only in the morning on Saturdays. You can also just call AutoEurope. They have an 800 # in the U.S.
Posted by
Huntsville, AL, USA
8371 posts
You should consider renting a car in Florence, and they can give you directions out of town without hitting a ZTL. Outside of Florence and Siena, rental cars are most often out of car dealerships at much higher rental rates.
You can drop the car off in Orvieto in front of the train station if you use Hertz or AutoEurope. Orvieto's a very popular tourist city, too. A train ride into Rome Termini is about 70 minutes.
Most rental locations have key drop boxes for after hours. Just be sure to get many pictures of the car from every angle.
Posted by
OP
16 posts
David - thank you. I was worried about both the potential of higher rates if I rented in a smaller town as well as the potential for difficulties on the condition of the car and disputes. I had thought about renting at the Florence airport; I "google earthed" the Hertz location at the Orvieto train station and it is, as you said, right across the street - and easy to get to from the A1. So I have taken your suggestions - I appreciate them very much.