car rental or driver/tour Tuscany

I would recommend a driver. I rented a car and was mailed three driving violations, over 100 euros each. There are restricted areas in Sienna and Florence and so many people end up being caught by the police cameras and mailed tickets through the car rental company. Renting a car with a working GPS is pretty cool. Unfortunately, ours was broken half the time. That led to a lot of aggravation. I'd go for the driver if you factor in at least one or two tickets :-) I also reserved an automatic car and was only given the option of renting a stick shift once I got there.

Linda... I drive in Tuscany all the time while I am visiting the countryside. I would never drive in Florence for just the reason of the tickets...but since you know that you can avoid it. Also, Siena is difficult with a car. I usually stay in smaller places and if I am going to Florence for a day trip I would take the bus. I now take my own GPS from home but drove there for years without one. There are so many wonderful places to explore and little villages or vineyards to visit on a whim when you have a car. You can stop for a roadside picnic or wander through a field of flowers... its just the perfect way to see Tuscany. Just do your homework.

thanks, Terry Where do you usually rent a car?
We might be staying a night in Orvieto - would that be a better pickup place than Siena?

We picked up our car in Orvieto. The rental place is about a block from the train station. We put our bags in the car, left it in front of the rental office and went into Orvieto for the day. We then drove to our Agriturismo in Siena. It is just outside of town. We parked on the outskirts of Siena the day we spent there, then went to hill towns the other days. If you know what you are looking for, it's not hard to avoid the ZTL's.

Linda... I usually rent right at the airport in Florence and follow the signs closely and head right to the autostrada. It avoids the extra charges of getting to another location by train or bus as I am usually either flying in or out of Florence or getting rid of the car there to take the train. I check all the car rental places and go with whoever is cheapest. I do not prepay as I want to keep checking till the end and change if I find someone cheaper (which I usually do) So, I typically use Hertz, Avis, Budget or Sixt. Check the daily rate as well as the weekly.

thanks so much for the info - I've been doing a lot of looking and a few places recommend avoiding both Florence and Siena for car pickup and preferring Chiusi or Orvieto. Trip planning around car rental is a new one for me. Might just stick with Siena since we'll be staying there after florence.
How many days would you think to day trip out to the countryside?