Italy; 27/10/15 to 11/11/15

I have used autoeurope for many years with no problems. A good experience and aleays gd rates.
You are going off season so check ahead for key sights on your list to make sure they are open.
Also you may have rain, prepare for it. Your itin sounds vgd. In rome especially be aware of pickpockets.
They are working feverishly in crowded and public transport areas and are fast. It can spoil the fun of a trip for sure. Hopefully u are reading rick steves guidebk for his excellent guidance.
You can request a taxi from your hotel to airport and get a preset quote written .
Taxis are notoriuos for overcharging to the pt of argument.
Have fun.

Buying train tickets as you go should be no problem at all. You wouldn't want to get them in advance for the Milan-Venice leg anyway, in case of a flight delay. Your trip sounds well-paced; I hope you have a lovely time.

We did not have any problems with AutoEurope. We took the train from the airport in Rome, didn't have any problems.

Mary

Personally, I would pick up the car in Florence and then drive to Montepulciano from there. The drive from Venice to Montepulciano is very long and not that scenic. You can also get stuck in horrible traffic jams along the way making the trip even longer. The drive from Venice to Montepulciano is about 4 hours without any traffic. The drive from Florence is about 1.5 hours. It's a very scenic, beautiful drive and well worth it.

I haven't used autoeurope for a rental but have heard good things about them. Be sure to get all the insurances or have enough room on a credit card for a hefty hold.

You can take the express train from FCO to the termini station in Rome and from there either walk, take a bus or take the metro to your hotel.

I would buy train tickets in advance if you know the dates you're traveling. This will allow you to book tickets at huge discounts. If you wish to wait until the day of travel you'll pay the full base fare.

Donna

It would be less stress and perhaps cheaper for you to get the train Venice to Florence.
Head to Montepulciano with hire car after Florence, and drop it in Orvieto before heading to Rome.

Thanks for the information........however, I'm stumped on passes:
Venice - Museum Pass?
Florence ?????
Rome, especially the Vatican - multiple passes? (Roma Pass?)

Any information will help, I've read Ricks' book, but still confused.....

Autoeurope - great!

Hotel Pendini - Loved it!

I agree with the others that you should relax and take the train Venezia to Firenze. You can buy your tickets now and get a discount. You can rent your car in Firenze near the train station without ZTL worries. (We did so.)

Do you mean best way to get TO the airport in Roma from the Paba, versus the other way as stated in your question? How early is your departure on 11/11?

I also agree with the others - take the high speed train from Venice to Florence as that's a more efficient method. Note that your departure station will be Venezia Santa Lucia and your arrival station Firenze S.M. Novella (you'll need to know that when buying tickets). Also note that tickets for the high speed trains are specific to train, date and departure time, and can only be used on the ONE train listed on the ticket. If you board the wrong train by mistake, you'll be subject to hefty fines which will be collected on the spot! The same is true for the Florence to Rome train.

Regarding driving in Italy, note that each driver must have the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. so you'll have to pack that too. You can easily obtain an I.D.P. at any AAA office for a small fee. If both of you will be driving, that usually has to be specified on the rental agreement as well. Note that part of the CDW / Insurance must be purchased from the rental firm in Italy.

You'll need to be extremely vigilant to avoid the dreaded Zona Traffico Limitato (limited traffic) areas which exist in many Italian cities. Do NOT drive in Florence as the city is just about saturated with automated ZTL cameras. There are also automated speed cameras which have no "cushion" for infractions, so you could be nicked even if you're only 1 kp/h over the limit. Also note that automated fuel pumps may only accept Chip & PIN credit cards.

Buon Viaggio!

Agree with the others about reading through Rick's books for each of the cities you will visit. It helped me immensely. I would recommend the line skippers tickets wherever possible. It paid off for us at St. Mark's in Venice and at the Vatican.

As long as your itinerary is pretty firm, you can buy high speed train tickets in advance. It took me a couple of coaching sessions with Forum readers but I finally mastered the Trenitalia website including changing tickets, using e-tickets etc. Pretty easy way to travel.

Good luck!

If you can book up to 120 days in advance, the fast train from Milano to Venezia is 9 euro. The problem is you will lose the ticket if the plane is late arriving. I try not to fly into a city and take the train the same day.

Friends and I use AutoEurope and some other rental services, has always worked out well.

I've used Autoeurope ("AE") twice without any problems. Check a direct rental from Europcar ("EC"). On my last two rentals (Spain, France) their rates were cheaper than the ones offered through AE. Also read the fine print on both websites for what is specifically included and excluded from each. For instance, I rented from Chamonix and while AE's quote was significantly less, it did not include stiff surcharges (high altitude, train station) that EC did include. Going directly through EC saved me money. You will probably need full insurance. Most credit card and other insurance policies specifically exclude Italy.

Your hotels in Venice, Florence and Rome are in good, central locations.

From Rome to the airport, I take a taxi to Termini train station, then the Leonardo Express to the airport. There is another train service from another station, somewhat cheaper but also slower. The Leonardo runs twice an hour from early morning, takes about 1/2 hour to the airport. To save time, you can buy your tickets at the station when you get to Rome, or any time after that. Seats/trains are not reserved, so be sure to validate your tickets at the machines (old ones are yellow, new ones are green) before boarding. If you have an early flight out, you may need to take a taxi or car service to the airport.