FLR to Lucca

Check below
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/bus-from-florence-airport-to-lucca

However your plan to return the car at FLR and taking the bus to Lucca makes no sense to me. It would be much easier to return your car in Lucca. Drop off fees are minimal or often not even charged within Italy.

Check www.AutoEurope.com for rental deals.

Thank Roberto
I just found that post and was coming to verify if still accurate.
There is a $110 drop off fee, I’ve checked every pick up/drop off combo imaginable for months now and all indicate drop off fee paid at time of drop.
Is that not true? Auto Europe seems to think it is,
( we always use AutoEurope)

If the bus is not reliable we’ll drop in Lucca.

The shuttle to the FLR rental complex at Via Palagio Degli Spini departs from the left side of the little building in the car park. Have one of you stand by the door, because upon arrival everyone will crowd into the big building and pick a number.

However if staying in Lucca proper and not in the countryside, a car will be a disadvantage due to ZTL issues.

The bus is reliable, it’s used by many commuters. I was never charged for a drop off fee in Italy, so unless things have changed because of the pandemic, I doubt you would pay that much. Test your dates on AutoEurope checking the difference in price by returning at Lucca. Sometimes I changed my mind at the last minute and changed the return location on the spot.

Roberto
I’ve done all that
The price shows as the same until you click to confirm, then you get a pop up message explaining the estimated drop off fee to be paid at drop off, not paid upfront
Try it and you’ll see what I mean

We never paid drop off fee before either but I’ve been checking rates for over a year now ( trips postponed due to COVID) and it’s always shown that drop off fee

I’d actually prefer to pick up in Florence near station then drop in Lucca but am concerned about availability of automatic at the Avis agency on a Sunday
Should I be?
( Avis thru autoeurope is the only really affordable offer right now)

N_Kingdom
I am well aware of ZTLs, etc
We’ll be using the car only for our Val D’Orcia days

Downtown Florence they have automatic cars. All rental locations heavily frequented by Americans (such as Florence) will have automatic cars. Europeans don’t generally ask for automatic cars.
Driving a manual transmission is a requirement in Italy (and I think the EU) to get a driver’s license without the “disabled stamp” (it is not really a disabled stamp, although people consider it such. Basically if you take the driving test in an automatic car the license will bear a stamp that you are authorized to drive only automatic cars).

Thanks so much Roberto
You are always a tremendous help