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Logistics question/car rental question for sightseeing from Florence

Posted by on

Hello lovely people!
We are starting our trip in October with 3 nights in Florence, maybe. I was first thinking that we would spend arrival day and the next day in Florence (we've been once before), then rent a car on the third morning to tour San G and Volterra. The plan was to return the car that same day, then use trains the next day to get to vernazza, or keep the car overnight and return it in pisa after stopping in Lucca. We would then take the train to vernazza

Now I'm thinking maybe we should pick up the car on day three and stay in Tuscany, near maybe Volterra, then travel up towards Pisa before returning the car and catching the train. But I understand that we need to hide our luggage when we stop to tour towns.

I'm also finding that the cost of a rental car is much higher than it was in 2019. We paid 100 euros for 4 days in 2019, but now the cost is over $300 for 2 days. So I would love any tips you have for getting a lower cost rental.

And if anyone can think of a more efficient way to handle those two Tuscany tour days, I'm all ears!
Thanks

Posted by
7276 posts

All car rental rates are super high this year so I don’t think you’ll find any secret deals

I did get an email from AutoEurope yesterday announcing a sale on rentals in Italy so you might check there if you haven’t already
(We always use AutoEurope but have no need for a car for our trip in September so I didn’t look at the sale, we paid about $100/day in May but I booked that really far in advance, fortunately)

Be sure all drivers have their IDP

Posted by
16167 posts

$100/day is a good deal these days. I paid $110/day in Italy this month. After Covid rental cars are outrageous not only in Italy, but in the US as well. I wanted to rent a one day one way car rental picking up in the the Bay Area and returning at LAX and couldn’t find anything under $300+.

Posted by
28363 posts

The Pisa-Lucca combination can be done by train. I don't know whether there's a practical way to see Volterra ans San Gimignano on the same day without a car, other than a tour, and a tour for two people would probably be about as expensive as today's inflated car-rental rates.

Posted by
15798 posts

As someone who recently (March/April) drove in Tuscany and Umbria - though not to the places you're going, I'd say "don't do it." I considered going to San Gimignano on a day trip or overnighting there. Parking is a problem - as a day tripper you must park in one of the lots outside the walls and then hike up. There are lots of other day trippers so you need to get there as early as possible to get parking nearest the walls. If you are only picking up the car that morning . . . . well, you won't get there early, that's for sure. When does the rental office open? Allow 1/2 hour to do the paperwork and check the car. Google maps say 1 hour to drive there, but with traffic it could be significantly longer. Rather than rent a car, maybe look into a private driver for a day.

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