We will be travelling from Florence this spring, renting a car preferably, and don’t need to see Rome this trip.
1) Looking for recommendations on where to stay Maybe near the airport since the flight to Split is at 8:30 am.
2) How early should we be at the airport?
3) Do you recommend turning in the rental car at the airport, or the day before and taking a cab from the accommodation?
Why not just take train from Florence to Rome? Not sure if you are using that car for days in between Florence and your flight out of Rome?
I would want to be IN Rome or near airport night before flight.
No real need to stay AT airport. Taxi from Rome center is a fixed rate 48€
For an intra Europe flight you should be at airport at least 90 min pre-flight- check with your airlines.
Most car rental locations will not be open that early in am- so you'll likely need to drop night before.