Driving to the Hill Towns of Umbria and Tuscany

Many travelers posting here choose to pick up and/or drop off in Orvieto. And many travelers posting here find Sienna a more challenging place to drive, in general, although the train station rental return, being in the flatter location outside the historical center, would at least be better than trying to return the car to a location that's inside the historical center (not recommended).

Last month I rented a car in Orvieto and returned it at the Florence airport. You should pick up/drop off where it would be most convenient to you. Be aware that the car rental offices are not AT the Orvieto train station. They are about a block away. We dropped our bags in the rental car, left the car parked in front of the rental office and took the bus up the Orvieto for the afternoon. Auto Europe is a consolidator, so you don't know until you finalize the rental what company it is. We always use Auto Europe. In Italy we had Hertz and in Germany we had Avis on this last trip.

Ray, one reminder, don't forget the compulsory International Driver's Permit for driving in Italy. This must be used in conjunction with your home D.L. You can easily obtain an IDP at any AAA office. Cheers!

Ray, Orvieto is easy as are a number of other places. It depends on where you are going. Hertz and Avis are about a 3 minute easy walk from the Orvieto train station. In Siena Hertz, Avis, and Europcar are all outside the walls but not at the train station. In Siena Hertz is the closest to the train station, about a half kilometer, but you have to cross two very busy streets.

If you'll also be travelling in Umbria, the town of Foligno is centrally located and easy to drop off a rental car. We stayed in Spello, about a 10-minute drive north of Foligno. The office of the rental car place we used (arranged through Auto Europe) was AT the train station. From there, an easy several-hour train trip to Rome.

There is also a Hertz agency steps outside the Perugia train station.

We dropped a rental car off at the Hertz Agency next to the Perugia train station. Perugia is not an easy city to drive in. I'd recommend a smaller city. You might try using Google satellite maps to find the location of the car rental agency in the cities you're considering. It could give you and idea about the distance from the main roads to the drop off point.