Driving in Italy

It's a 10 hr drive. Minimum, with no stops and hoping not to get into a traffic jam. Is it a rental car? Then you might also have to pay steep fees for picking up a car in one country and dropping it off in another one.

Flying would be much easier. I hesitate to recommend the train as it's also a pretty long train ride with several changes. It's not unusual to miss one connection because of a delay and then spend 18+ hrs on the train (happened to my brother).

Or are you planning to do that drive over several days with over night stops and sightseeing?

Each driver will need an International Driver's Permit to drive in Italy; this is obtained from AAA for about $25 and is good for a year (not a calendar year, can be started at any time). You carry this with your home license - it is not a substitute for your license, but a translation of it.

ZTL's are zones in the center of almost all Italian cities and towns. It stands for Zona a Traffico Limitato, and if you enter this area (even accidentally) you get a heavy fine, for each time you enter. Furthermore, the fine comes in installments. First, there's a charge from your rental car company for turning over your information to the authorities (about $45), then there's the fine itself (about €100-150) which can take up to a year to arrive. Florence is notorious for being very difficult to avoid the ZTL unless you return your car at the airport, or get EXACT directions. If you were thinking of stopping in other places in Italy, you must be careful to avoid their ZTL's as well. There's always a place to park outside the ZTL (not free); for smaller cities you can then walk in, and larger cities may require a bus to the center.

Italy uses speed cameras, and they also use the "Tutor" system, which clocks how long it took you to get between two points. If you got there faster than you "should have," you will get a ticket, even if you were not speeding at either point. Tickets for speeding are similar to ZTL violations in that they come in two installments.

To see what happens if you don't know about and respect these rules, see these threads (among many others):

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/tourist-scams/hertz-rental-car-italy-processing-fee

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/transportation/is-this-a-scam-with-locauto-rental-company-in-italy

The distance is about 1000 km (620miles).
That is about the same distance as:
San Francisco to Portland
NYC to Detroit
Washington DC to Atlanta
Atlanta to Miami
Would you drive between those cities, or would you rather fly?
Also, as mentioned, if you pick up a rental car in one country and drop it off in another, the drop off fee can be as high as 600 Euro (US$700).

It is unlikely that the German rental car would have either a Swiss or Austrian toll Vignette on the windscreen. To get from Frankfurt (am Main, surely not the one near Berlin?) to Florence you will have to drive through either Austria or Switzerland - almost certainly Switzerland unless you take a quite circuitous route - and if you don't have the Vignette when you are on the green Autobahn (Switzerland uses green signs for the autobahn where Germany uses blue) you will be paying a huge fine - on the spot. To affix a Vignette you stop at the border and pay CHF40, which is currently around €40. It can't be moved from vehicle to vehicle and is destroyed when removed.

Do you like tunnels? You will probably use the Gotthard Tunnel under the Alps. It is over 10.5 miles long, the third longest road tunnel in the world. The scenery isn't very good, and you have to be alert all the time in the tunnel. There are a LOT of trucks using that route.

You will also have plenty of Autostrada tolls in Italy between wherever you enter Italy and Florence.

Florence is the most notorious city in Italy for ZTL prosecution, and the city is covered with the zones. Coming into Florence from the north, as you will be, you might find dropping (expensive) the car at the airport is most convenient.

Of course, flying into the airport is fastest and almost certainly cheapest.

Point to point... fly
Road trip... drive if you can handle to drop off fee or are not returning to Frankfurt. I have driven all over Europe many times and cannot find a reason not to drive in Germany or Italy, other than those stated.

Parking in or outside of Florence will also be a budget item. www.viamichelin.com can help estimate road tolls and fuel costs. Driving could make sense if you are making several stops along the way in areas not served by train, such as some mountain towns, and/or if you don't have to worry about the car rental drop fee.

For budget flights, see www.viamichelin.com; you're likely to find something under $100. If not to Florence, then try Pisa airport. If you just want a car to explore Tuscany, then of course you can pick up a shorter-term rental there.

You can fly on Ryanair to Pisa for around 50 euro. Flight is 1 hr. 20 min.

PLEASE NOTE: This flight is from Frankfurt-Hahn an airport about 1 1/2 hrs. by
bus from the center of Frankfurt.

If you want to do a driving trip with stops, drop your car at the border, train into Italy and
pick up a different car.

Merimac,

I'm sure Laura meant this website for checking budget flights: http://www.skyscanner.com

I'd also suggest flying from Frankfurt to Florence.

If you want to drive around Tuscany, then rent a car after visiting Florence.

Thank you so much to all of you who have
replied! But keep the ideas coming! We appreciate all!

so, merimac25, what do you take away from these various advices? What do you think you will do?

yeah this was a lame move on my part, but be sure when you cross over from Germany, to Austria, to Italy that you take note of how the names for diesel and gasoline will change! This includes the color of the pumps/pump handles for both diesel and regular gasoline...in a jet lagged haze I pumped the wrong stuff...the bill to have the tank drained and lines blown clear pretty much ate up the great rate I was able to find for my rental!! on the up side I could not have been treated better by the small town Italy mechanic that came out on Sunday to do my repair, and the bill was fair...take note!