Car rentals in Italy

Hi Laura, Given that you live in the PNW I would get in touch with www.gemut.com either by email or phone. They are based in Oregon so in the same time zone as you? We used them for a 3 week rental in Italy in 2012 and were very happy with their service, advice, price and the car that we reserved (it was Hertz in mainland Italy and Europcar in Sicily) was the one that we got. Regardless of which company that you rent from, there is a lot of valuable information about renting a car in Europe on their website and their customer service was excellent. Hope that this helps you find the answers to your questions.

"US citizen so we know we would need an International license.". US citizen - irrelevant. If you live in Canada you probably have a Canadian driving licence - this is relevant. I don't know if a Canadian licence needs an International Driving Permit (note Permit, not Licence, it is a certified translation of your licence), but it may be advisable. You need to show both your licence AND the permit if stopped by the police.

Advice? Yes. Don't rent a car unless you actually need to. The train system in Italy works very well for most places and a rental car is a MAJOR hassle, imho. The main reason to get a car in Italy is if you want to go places that aren't served by the trains.

Here is Rick's take on it:
http://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/car-or-train

OP is located in Vancouver, Washington, USA so I assume has a Washington State Driver's license-and is not a Canadian citizen.

You will need an IDP- vey simple to get at your local AAA- $15 plus 2 passport photos- or they will take photos for you- discounts if you are an AAA member.
We rented from AutoEurope- picked up at Hertz in Florence- dropped in Spello-I don't have the exact figures handy but it was just about $400 for a week rental- automatic, all insurances included.

What does your planned itinerary look like? Where would you need a car?

This was our first trip to Italy and we had no trouble at all driving or dealing with a rental car- we wanted to have the freedom of a car while in Tuscany/Umbria. Do your research- know which towns have ZTLs, where you can/cannot park or which towns you do not want to or can not drive in to! (Siena specifically)

Aaaaaaarrgh!! I thought Vancouver was in Canada. Are you telling me there are two of them? Why can't you pick unique names for your towns?
As a British Citizen living in Switzerland (with a British passport and a Swiss driving licence) I can say it is the country of your licence which matters for deciding if you need an IDP or not, not your citizenship.

Vancouver, Washington, USA founded 1857
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada founded 1886.
;)

Here in Seattle, if someone refers to just "Vancouver" they usually mean British Columbia. Vancouver, Washington is a smaller community where a lot of workers from Portland live. That's Portland, Oregon, not Portland, Maine.

Oh, and don't forget Vancouver Island in Canada. BTW, that's NOT where Vancouver, Canada is. (^_^)

Portland is a peninsula in Dorset, south of Weymouth. If anyone else wants to call their settlements "Portland", they need to add a qualifier. And, by the way Washington is a town in Tyne and Wear, historically part of County Durham after which a certain, later infamous, family was named :-)

To echo what Michael wrote, having a car can be a hassle in big cities.
For example I don't recommend renting one while in Florence, Italy.
However I'm told that it would be useful to have one in Florence, North Carolina.

Or perhaps Florence, South Carolina.

"What does your planned itinerary look like? Where would you need a car?"

I agree with Michael regarding the train system in Italy. You can travel almost anywhere in Italy by train & you don't need to hassle with
tolls, parking, ZTL's, etc, etc...

@Roberto & ChristineH: You may also want a car in Florence,OR, Florence KY, & Florence, AL!
Florence is a very popular name!! :)

I've rented through Gemut a few times and they've always gotten me a great deal, even with open-jaw rentals. They're a consolidator so they can work through several agencies. As far as car vs. train travel goes, if you want to make several stops and want to be on your own schedule car travel is great. Plus, you don't have to worry about lugging your bags through trains and stations. Driving on the highways is not a problem, though small town streets can be a lot tighter than you're used to. And watch out for the no-drive areas in the centro historico areas. I got fined in Pisa when I parked in the historic district, even tough I had a pass from my hotel (stupid me, I transposed two digits on the license plate).

Agree with ChristineH. You do not want a car in the major towns but in Tuscany and Umbria it is the only way to get out in the country and stop in the small towns on your own schedule. Not much different than we have found in other European countries. In May we rented a car directly from Hertz for 12 days out of the 30 days we spent in Italy. There was no drop off charge for leaving it at a different city in Italy but there would have been if it was in a different country. Rent a small car as the streets can be very narrow in the towns.

Just wanted to make one more point - Although it's true that you need a car to enjoy some of the smaller towns in Tuscany and Umbria, you can still enjoy PLENTY of places in Tuscany and Umbria without a car. Assisi, Orvieto, Siena, Spoleto, Montepulciano, just to name a few.

Rent a small car as the streets can be very narrow in the towns.<<

This made me laugh. We did request a small compact car but when we got there- early am- there were no more small automatics on the lot. We had to take a mini-van- we were a bit freaked- never even drove a mini-van here in states!
But it all worked out OK. Even managed to get parked in underground garage in Assisi without much difficulty- had to back it in-my husband is a world class "parker".

There is normally no extra charge to drop the car at a different city within Italy. I recently had a fine experience booking through Auto Europe (a US consolidator who booked that particular rental through EuropCar in Italy), as I have done in other countries.

We travel in Italy every summer for 3-4 weeks and use both a car and the trains to move around the country. The train service in Italy makes moving around easy, easy. You arrive arrive at your destination relaxed and usually in the middle of town.

A car, on the other hand, provides more freedom to move around. I, personally, would avoid a car in Florence because of their Zona Traffico Limitato. Many towns in Italy have these zones to limit car traffic, but none enforce them with zeal as Florence. The zones are posted with traffic signs and cameras. When you enter the zones a picture is taken of the license plate and you will receive a huge fine 6-8 months after you return home. Residents must register their cars and they avoid the fines.

We always use autoeurope com for our rentals. They are a broker and they have great rates and are very reliable. We always purchase the zero deductible extra insurance for added peace of mind. After driving in Italy for 5 minutes you will understand why. Most credit cards do not provide car rental insurance in Italy, Ireland, Portugal, and Israel...for obvious reasons. Check with your credit card people to learn their policy.

Buon viaggio,

Further to RB's post, if you're going to rent a car, be careful entering the website name. You want autoeurope.com, NOT autoeuropa.com. The first one gets good reviews; the second one gets terrible reviews.