Have a wonderful route mapped for two week tour of Italy in mid October. Have reservations for hotels. Now, I need to rent a car and have a delemma. Leaving CT on a Sunday and cannot find a place to rent a car; not La Spezia (open M-F and Sat am would mean getting a car and parking in CT and giving up CT time), Lucca (same), or Pisa (train to the airport ???? for the car on Sun). Then on to Siena. Option train to Siena and get the car on Monday or Tuesday. Plans were to bus into Florence from Siena for a day. OR - leave CT and go to Florence and spend the night. Get a car there ?????. Cars are rented from the airport and downtown and city office locations. Questions - how is driving OUT of Florence???? or would Pisa be the better option?????
Posted by
Portlandia
3313 posts
Driving out of Florence is easy. The main point, I think, is to minimize how many nights you absolutely need a car. You can get to all of the cities you mention by train or bus. To get to the small towns in Tuscany, a car is best.
Your schedule is a bit hard to follow. How many days are you planning to be in the Tuscan countryside?
Posted by
OP
San Diego, CA, USA
55 posts
We planned four days in Tuscany, based in Siena, including one day trip to Florence. Day trips out incl Pisa and Lucca, small hill towns, and drive south out to drop off car in Orvieto. I can change our route and leave CT for Florence, and if driving out of Florence is okay - get the car there. Advice and recommendations always appreciated!
Posted by
WPB, FL & Firenze
3112 posts
Does Pisa airport offer Sunday rental car pick up? I'd be surprised if it didn't. That would be your best bet, as airport is only 5 minutes by train from Pisa central station - one or two trains per hour on Sunday according to Trenitalia website. You could purchase a CT to Pisa airport train ticket, although it would involve one or two changes (Pisa Centrale and maybe LaSpezia).
Posted by
Baton Rouge
73 posts
I'd base in Florence--take train from CT to Florence; then rent car for your side trips. I rented in Rome(a nightmare)and dropped off in Florence, with side trips to Pisa and Volterra. Allow plenty of time for pickup and dropoff. Not quite like America.
Posted by
White Bear Lake, MN, USA
479 posts
Lea, picking up a car on a Sunday anywhere other than an airport or MAJOR train station is going to be nearly impossible anywhere in the western world, not just Europe. You will save yourself a lot of headache if you can pick up the car one day earlier or later. Dropping off on a Sunday is less of a hassle as you can use night drop boxes in many places.