Hi, fellow travelers. We just got back from a great trip to Rome and the Hill towns of Umbria and Tuscany.
We spent some time before we left figuring out the best place to rent a car (we decided to stay in Assisi - not terribly crowded in mid-August, but also nice and quiet at night). But we could not rent a car there - would have had to bus/train from Rome to Orvieto, then drive to Assisi or change our base of operations.
We did NOT want to rent a car inside Rome and drive - we both really dreaded the idea of navigating Roman roads. So instead, we rent a car at Ciampino Airport. From there, you are on this outer ring road and can quickly get on the main roads north. VERY easy. And airport car rental places are open 7 days a week - not true of many cities.
You can rent from Fiumicino as well (advantages: train goes right there from center of Rome, so easy to get there on a budget. Disadvantage: a bigger airport, so less convenient to get to car rental).
At Ciampino, the car rental is a 5-minute walk or 2-minute shuttle bus from the terminal. Very low stress. The cab is a flat 40 Euro fee from anywhere in Rome, but you can also train and shuttle bus cheaply from Termini.
It really was easier, as we didn't have to coordinate trains from Perugia or Orvieto or wherever to get back to Rome for the last couple of days of our trip.
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Glad it all worked out. We usually rent a car at FCO airport and drive north into Tuscany, not difficult at all. We also loved using Ciampino, all good options! Enjoy your time in Italy!