Need advice for rental car in Tuscany

Where should we rent a car? I'm assuming you will be in Rome for a few days visiting the city first. Since you are going to rent anyhow, I would rent from Rome from a city location reasonably close to your hotel, but for some reasons people in this board are totally spooked at the thought of driving in any Italian city with a population over 500 people. If you are arriving at FCO and going directly to Montepulciano, then you could choose Orvieto. Orvieto would also be a good choice if your hotel is walking distance from Termini. Hop on a train and go to Orvieto. I would also drive to Civitavecchia from Montepulciano and return the car there (assuming you are renting from a company with an office in Civitavecchia.)

Thanks Roberto. We are staying within walking distance of Termini.

On the other hand, why drive when you can ride the train? Personally, I'd train it as far as I could, and then get the car. I think the train from Rome can get you as far as Chianciano Terme, which is maybe 30 minutes from Montepulciano. There is a Hertz location across the street from the train station there, and it's an easy drive from there. Ciao!

I can't believe someone mentioned Chianciano Terme! I had totally forgotten about that place. (How could I!?) We spent the better part of a day there en route between Orvieto and Cortona, having an olive oil tasting and visiting the place where the oil was pressed by traditional methods. We walked through the olive tree groves to a restaurant where we had an exquisite dinner. I didn't eat the appetizer, which I recall was lard wrapped in something and maybe served with figs or pears (??). It was described as a delicacy, but I just couldn't put it in my mouth. I need to find my photos and notes from that long-ago trip and try to decipher the names of those places. Thanks for reviving my memory!

I second Stacy's rec. My second would be Orvieto or Chiusi. Driving in Tuscany is easy but more challenging in Rome. Also, the train will zip you up to Tuscany a little easier (and probably cheaper) than driving on the A1.

The reason to drive instead of riding the train is that you can see a lot more and get off onto beautiful roads and lanes. We just returned from Italy and spent three days driving in Tuscany. We also road on trains. Both have their benefits but wouldn't trade our driving experience. My husband had no trouble whatsoever navigating the countryside but he wasn't interested in driving in the big cities. We picked our car up in Florence and dropped it off in Orvieto. Orvieto is a great place to pick up a car. VERY convenient to the train station and such a beautiful town.

hi ken,
i think roberto is 'steering' you in the right direction. we are renting in orvieto also

We rented a car for our week in the Tuscany area through AAA. It was very easy that way. Also, do not forget to get an International Drivers Permit. We got that at AAA as well.

If you decide to rent a car and drive to Civitavecchia to catch your cruise, be aware that the car rental agencies at Civitavecchia are closed on Sundays.

If you rent from Europcar, the largest rental company in Italy which often has the best prices, even on Autoeurope, I don't think they have an office in Orvieto. They have one in Chiusi however (and of course they have many in Rome).

For us, it came down to price. We picked up our car in Florence, drove through Tuscany and dropped it off in Rome. I looked into prices of picking it up/dropping off at airports and/or within the hill towns, but it was cheapest to do it within the two cities by quite a bit(and my husband was willing to take on the "challenge"). In all honesty, navigating out of Florence was probably more difficult than getting into Rome, just based upon where the rental offices were located within the city and the traffic associated with those areas. Also, traffic will be lighter in the cities if you're driving in/out over weekends or nights.