car rental pickup/drop off in Florence and Sorrento

Many people reporting in here pick up their rental car at the Florence airport, in order to avoid the big fines for accidentally driving into the zones of limited traffic (ZTL's) that cover the historic core of Florence. If not there, then select another location that you're sure does not involve driving through the ZTL's.

Click here for a map of the Florence ZTL's.

The method suggested in the 2nd post has not worked for some people reporting in here: some travelers relying on that method have received the big fines in the mail when the rental office,s apparently, failed to notify the authorities (it's Italy, these things happen).

Because the fines are large it's probably best to simply avoid picking up the car in a location that involves being in or even close to the ZTL's that blanket the historic center.

The fines are ~$150 each and you can rack up several in an hour, people here have reported getting as much as $1,000+ in fines.

We will be leaving Florence right away after being there 3 days. Maybe it is easier to get a train to Arezzo to pick up the car?

Lisa: That's one way people have done it. Others have taken a taxi to the Florence airport to pick up the rental car.

Experienced travelers here, for the last few years since Florence has gotten aggressive about handing out ZTL fines, have tried to arrange their trips to avoid picking up a rental car in or near the historic center of Florence covered by the ZTL's.

If you take the train to Arezzo, you probably want to take one of the faster trains, the milk runs take twice as long.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

Airport in Florence. Don't drive into, through, near, or out of the Florence city center. You can't count on the car rental agency to do the right thing. A lot of the "in town" rental agencies are near the train station which is surrounded by the ZTL. When nearing Sorrento, you will want to stay on the Autostrada as far as possible and avoid driving into or through Naples.

Take a taxi to the Europcar office on Via Gelsomino. It is on the outer edges of the city and is a straight shot out of town. Very easy, no stress!