Florence Amalfi Itinerary

Have you explored a one way rental? Returning the car to Assisi or Siena or Rome (on the outskirts)?

We did Pompeii on the way to Sorrento which worked well. There are two different places to store luggage. Or you could visit Pompeii on your way back to Naples. . .

I have what might be a better idea. Get a villa near San Gimignano or Siena. then day trip. You have a lot of moving around in a relatively close area. You can easily drive to Volterra, Siena, San Gimi, Monteriggioni, Certaldo, and a lot of other Tuscan towns from one location. We stayed near San Gimi and even went to 5 Terre and Pisa from there. We also trained into Florence from there, but we had been to Florence before, stayed in town, and saw the sites/sights. You will NOT need a car if you stay in Florence.

You could even do Assisi in a car from Tuscany. It is a little over 100 miles or so via good road (autostrade) between Florence and Assisi, certainly doable. You Arezzo and Cortona and Perugia on the way as well. Even closer from Siena.

Return the car anywhere you want. If you wander down to Rome to catch the high speed to Naples, you could stop by Orvieto and other places along the way.

If you go to Pompeii consider going to Herculaneum as well, much better preserved. Don't forget Ravello too, a great spot to overlook the Amalfi coast.

You'll probably save time and money with a one way rental- we have never been charged a one way drop off fee in Italy.
We picked up our car at the Hertz Sansovino location Florence- it is outside the ZTL and from there an easy scenic drive to Siena. We always book with AutoEurope.
Getting in and out of Siena is really dicey- look for a hotel with parking and easy access- might even consider an agriturismo nearby- Marciano is one that gets great reviews and is close to Siena. Since you plan a few day trips just be careful driving in and out of Siena!
We did stay in Siena 2 nights but didn't move the car once we were parked- take a look at Palazzo Ravizza- onsite parking and just steps to Campo, Duomo, etc. The view from their terrace is fantastic. Another to consider is Hotel Athena- also has parking and easy access.

No need to return to Florence to return the car. We stayed 2 nights in Assisi (after our days in Tuscany) then drove to Spoleto to drop car there-about 40 min- Hertz is just a very short walk to train station- took train to Rome- you could do the same transferring to a Naples train in Rome.

We stayed at Hotel Berti in Assisi- it is not fancy but really charming, built into the wall right at the gate- bus stop to top of town is across the street as well as the large parking garage. Very easy walk to Basilica.
Hotel Berti also runs a family restaurant just up the street--excellent food and service.

Take a look at Mondo tours www.sharedtours.com- we did Pompeii and Capri with them and both were excellent, money well spent.

We did consider picking up rental car in Siena but they could not guarantee an automatic- which we needed, so that may be a consideration as well.

We also arrange our cars by calling up the broker Autoeurope; get zero- deductible collision, which covers any damage to the body of the vehicle. They will recommend the best agency based on your particular situation; possibly where the car is being returned. Read this about driving in Italy and restrictions involved [ZTLs]; avoid leaving anything of value in a car when parked:

http://driventoit.blogspot.com/

I can recommend a terrific hotel right below the walls of San Gimignano [a 10 minute walk], the Relais Santa Chiara. Check it out on booking.com.

Re the Florence car return, last I heard the Ponte Amerigo Vespucci, which has been under repair, is now open northbound. If that's the case, you can navigate [with no ZTL worries as they are to the east] to the Garage Europa on Borgo Ognissanti, drop off for Hertz and Avis. SM Novella is about 3 blocks away.

We did this last month, rent and return in Florence. Just FYI, car rental in Florence is pretty time consuming due to lines. It took more than 90 minutes at the rental garage south of Santa Maria Novella, so plan extra time. You have to go to the office, check in, then go to the garage at another location and wait in line again. This was Hertz but the others seemed to have similar challenges. It is relatively easy to get out of town from that area, but route signage is not good so have a very good idea of the necessary turns.

Many many people visit Capri on day trips, but we stayed out there and I recommend that. Be sure to see the mosaic floor at Cheisa San Michelle. Also, I wish somebody had told me this: The ticket booth for the funicular is to the RIGHT of the pier end but the funicular station is under the big arch to the left. When you buy tickets, buy all you need for your group for up and down at one time. They are inexpensive, but there can be a big line buying them up at Piazzale for the trip down. If you have them already, you just bypass the line (sweet). I had two left at the end of our trip but I just gave them to a confused couple at the arch who could not find the ticket booth.