Car Rental Thoughts

Posted by Jackie (Overland Park, KS) on 03/17/25 05:58 PM

We (6 adults) will be on a photography trip to Italy in October 2025. One of our objectives will be to go to the Dolomites and the Val D'Orcia area. We will need rental cars for those areas. We are spending the first few days in Venice before going to the Dolomites area, then 4 nights in the Dolomites (Ortisei and Cortina), then heading down to the Val D' Orcia area. I would love your input on this...should we get rental cars as we leave Venice and drive from Venice up to the Dolomites and then keep the cars and drive down to Tuscany? This might be more convenient and faster. I'm not sure if the cost would be more or less or about the same since we will have a drop off charge and gas costs. The other option and my original plan was to train from Venice to Bolzano and pick up rental cars there and then drop off in Bolzano and train down to maybe Chiusi and pick up another rental car. Use it for our Val d' Orcia days and then drop it off and continue by train to Rome. All comments and suggestions are welcome!

UPDATE: We plan to rent 2 cars, probably SUVs. There's no way we would try to squeeze into 1. :)

Posted by ChristineH

Gettysburg PA

03/17/25 06:10 PM

7850 posts

Either works
For 6 people you’re going to need a van or 2 cars

Posted by travel4fun

Bend, Oregon

03/17/25 06:19 PM

2719 posts

You will have a hard time finding one car that will fit 6 adults plus luggage. Believe me, we tried. We rented a minivan (we own a minivan so we tested the luggage) in Munich. When we (6 adults with 5 carry on size bags, 1 checked bag, and 6 backpacks) arrived, the Hertz agent took one look at us and said, “You’ll never fit.” The vans in Europe are smaller, and back seats are designed for kids. We were upgraded to an 8-passenger full size van. What a beast to drive. Thankfully my brother drives one for work every day and was very comfortable driving it. But I wouldn’t wish it on anyone.

We had trouble with the van when we arrived to Italy and tried to swap the van. We learned that Italian Hertz is a different company from German Hertz. And the Italian fleet does not have any vehicles that seat 6 people. Thankfully (with a little cash to the agent) they were able to fix the problem and we continued on our 3 week trip.

So, I would recommend that look at two suv type cars. Driving a beast of a van in small towns with narrow streets is not fun. We had to plan our parking carefully because it did not fit in many garages.

Posted by johnt

Atlanta, GA area (USA)

03/17/25 06:56 PM

289 posts

To the original poster’s question about where to rent, I would go for convenience and rent the car(s) when leaving Venice and return in Tuscany. There are rental offices at Marco Polo airport and near the train station / parking garage so you can pick whichever is more convenient from your hotel. However, you could look up the train fares and compare them to the cost of extra gas and one way drop off fee if you like. Good luck!

Posted by Roberto da Firenze ⚜

San Francisco Bay Area (USA)

03/17/25 07:29 PM

16547 posts

Option no. 1 is the one that makes the most sense, both in terms of convenience and cost. Venice will also have a larger choice of vehicles. You need a van for 6 people, unless you go for 2 small vehicles, which I recommend since 2 small cars are way cheaper to rent than one van, besides offering more flexibility and maneuverability). Coming from Venice with a car it makes sense to go to Cortina first, then to Ortisei, and finally come down to Tuscany via the A22/A1 freeways)