Is this a better city to drop off a rental car....ultimately we are trying to get to florence to take a train but I though dropping a rental car in Florence would be a MAJOR headache. (We will have toured around tuscany so siena is only a 45 minute drive from our villa.
Posted by
North Carolina
312 posts
I dropped my car in Siena when I arrived there. The Hertz office was easy to get to, and as I recall was fairly close to the train station (though I wasn't heading that way - I was staying in Siena for a few days). I can't comment on car return in Florence but I know there are others who can.
Posted by
Seattel, Washington, USA
113 posts
Siena to florence is a 1-2 hour trip. You can drop at the airport in Florence and then take taxi, bus, etc into the center or just buck up and drive into the center of the city and hope you don't trade paint. Did this in Rome, which is WORSE than Florence and lived to talk about it. good luck!
Posted by
Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA
253 posts
Just dropped off a car in Florence airport. GPS worked well and took about 10 min to figure out. I also believe you can drop off near the train station. No reason to drop in Siena if you are going to Florence and you will be well experienced in driving over there by then! All car rental places in Italy are chaotic.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
15172 posts
If you are going to Florence, returning the car in Siena would be crazy. It would be like for me to return the car in San Jose to go to a hotel in San Francisco.
I need to know the following info to best advise you on returning the car in Florence:
1. Rental company you are renting from.
2. Location of your villa in the Siena area.
3. Address where you are staying in Florence
Posted by
San Franciso Bay Area, USA
951 posts
If you are going to Florence, it will be more convenient for you to drop the car in Florence. We just returned from Italy and rented a car in Florence and then dropped it off in Siena. A couple of things to consider:
- Car rental in Florence: review the information on Rick's site for car rentals. There is a ZTL zone in Florence and if your car happens to go into a zone, there is a potential of a fine. To avoid that, we picked the car up at the airport. Easy to get to and then a quick hop onto the motorway. We also had a bigger selection of cars at the airport (we needed a van for 6 people).
- Siena: really easy to drop off a car at Siena airport and walk to the train station (about a 10 minute walk uphill from the drop off point).
- Car rental agencies: I researched a number of agencies, including those I have preferred memberships to (Hertz & Avis), the best deal was through Auto Europe. Look at a couple of agencies before you decide on the rental, we save hundreds of dollars.
- Check driving requirements: it was recommended to us to have an International Driver's license. Easy to get from AAA.
Overall, our driving experience was quite pleasant. Parking was our biggest challenge as it always is when I drive in Europe.