Need car rental info for trip to Rome-Tuscany-Cinque Terre

You can rent a car at the termini station or at the airport. Just be sure you don't drive into Rome with it.

Yes, you can drive throughout Tuscany without getting certain types of fines but if you speed or drive in a bus lane you will be fined. If you drive into any city beyond the ZTL markers you will be fined. If you park in an unauthorized spot you will be fined.

I would return the car before going to the CT. You cannot drive there either so a car would be a waste of time. Without knowing where you plan to visit in Tuscany it's hard to suggest where to return the car. You can do it in Siena, Pisa or Lucca if you're visiting there. Take the train back from the CT to Rome. If you are getting back to Rome late in the evening consider staying out near the airport instead of in town.

Donna

Hi Donna

Thanks for the prompt reply. We are staying at a villa in Tuscany, the we go to Cinque Terre for 2 days and stay in a hotel there. So you feel we should not have a car in CT, as we cannot drive there? Are there many driving restrictions in Italy? What is a ZTL? Clearly you have been to Italy and have a much better understanding than I do. Thanks for your help!
Leslie

Leslie, there are lots of driving restrictions in Italy. A ZTL is a limited traffic zone. Only locals who live or work in a city may drive there. There will be warning signs before and at the beginning of these zones. If you cross into a zone, even by mistake, your plate will be photographed and the city will send you a fine of hundreds of euros. You must also have an IDP, international drivers permit, or legal translation of your license if you are not from an EU nation.

You won't need and can't use a car in the CT so I think it's best to return it before going and simply take the train there. Take the train from the CT back to Rome as well.

Also, I suggest changing up your itinerary a bit. When you get to Italy go to the CT first by train. Spend your two nights there then take the train to the nearest city to where you'll be staying in Tuscany. Get your car at that point. End your trip with a few days in Rome. This will eliminate a change of hotels at the end of your trip.

You really need to do a lot of research on the driving laws in Italy. There are lots of things you need to familiarize yourself with such as the signage and where you can or cannot legally drive.

Donna

Or, leave the car in a parking lot in the CInque Terre as we did. Makes moving around from place to place a lot easier. Drop rental car off at FCO.

You also need an international driving permit, which you can get at your local AAA office for about 20 bucks. I would also check with credit card companies to see if they provide any insurance coverage (that is a can of worms I can not begin to explain).
I would take the train from Rome to the closest city to your villa in Tuscany and rent the car there (but not in Florence unless at the airport).
If all of this is set and not changing, then I would either drop the car before CT (La Spezia or somewhere in Tuscany) OR keep the car (but that probably means hefty parking fee near CT) and instead of returning to Rome, drive somewhere close enough to the airport for your last night that you can drop the car at the airport. Lots of neat Etruscan ruins down there.
Please consult your guidebook or a good website to read up on driving in Italy. It is not a big deal, but you need to be prepared so it goes smoothly.

You can do a search (top of the page) of the forum and see the number of people who have started a thread to complain about the driving/traffic fines they got while driving in Italy. It is often described as a scam, but it is not. The traffic cameras will catch the infraction and send a notice to your rental company. The rental company will charge you a fee for EACH infraction which will automatically be charged to your credit card. Several to many months later you will get the fines from the Italian government. Make sure you have very clear directions on where to park and/or return the car as you could accidently enter/exit ZTLs several times if you are lost. The speed limit is also the LIMIT and people have reported fines for what Americans would consider a small amount over the speed limit. Just remember the Italians speeding by know where all the speed cameras are located and you don't. This is not meant to scare you, just make sure that you are prepared!

Please take what people are saying to heart. Driving in Italy, especially when you are going to be there such a short time and are going so soon, involves a steep learning curve. With research, you may find it more expensive than you imagined and not worth the hassle.
And I hope the designated driver can drive a manual transmission because automatics are rare.

For more details on renting a car and driving in Europe, including Italy, go to the free download at Gemut.com called What you should know about renting a car in Europe in 2018. It will explain everything in detail, including answers to questions you might not think of asking.

Further, you might want to use Rome2rio.com to check on the distances you are planning to cover and how long it takes by car and train.

And you need to be thinking in terms of nights spent in these places, not days. Typically you have to spend 2 nights in a place to have one day there, 3 nights to have 2 days, etc. Checking out of one place, traveling to the next and checking into your lodgings there can often take the better part of a day.

Here is all the information you need to drive in Italy. The ZTLs are zones in the cities and towns you cannot drive into. Download their PDF for rules of the road, and speed limits.

https://www.italybeyondtheobvious.com/dont-mess-with-ztl-zones

Use Autoeurope or their sister company Kemwel for car rentals. Though part of the same company, their prices are sometimes different.

To pick up a car in Rome, take a taxi to Roma Tiburtina (10 min from central Rome). Easy access to the autostrada. The other option would be taking a train to Chiusi and picking up there.

Do not try to drive into Florence, the ZTLs there are difficult to navigate. There are parking areas there that are outside the zones.

https://www.visitflorence.com/florence-maps/parking-lots-in-florence.html

I'd drive to either Pisa or La Specia to drop the car. Since it wil cost to park and worthless in the area. Train back to Rome will be faster.

"And I hope the designated driver can drive a manual transmission because automatics are rare."

As long as you pick up the car where lots of North Americans are likely to rent, you can get an automatic. So, Rome's major train stations (Termini and Tiburtina) and the airport will be fine. When you look at a car rental website and specify an automatic, it will show you pick up locations where you can get one (at least, Kemwel did this a few years ago).

Do be sure you research what's involved with driving in Italy, so you don't have expensive problems later.

It sounds like you are unfamiliar with the potential hazards of driving in Italy and could be setting yourselves up for some nasty surprises ( traffic tickets from cameras for driving or parking in the wrong place) and major headaches ( getting lost on the way to Cinque Terre or being unable to find an open parking space when you get there).

Here's the problem: the Cnque Terre villages apart from Monterosso are car free and you cannot get into the village at all. There are parking lots above the town where you leave your car, and then you walk in carrying your luggage. The lots fill up and your hotel may or may not be able to reserve a spot for you. As for getting lost, one time when we were hiking above Manarola, exiting through the parking lot, a car went by us in one direction, then a few minutes later came by going the other way. They stopped and asked if we could help with directions to Vernazza. Their GPS had led them wrong and there were several roads going off in different directions. We pulled out our hiking map and tried to help figure it out, but short of giving them our map ( which was expensive and we were unwilling to give up) we really could not help them. The road signage was confusing. From the map it looked like there was a road higher up that could reach Vernazza but we could not see how to get them there. So we sent them on their way with good wishes but no help, and saw them drive by once more later on when we were higher up on the trails. I hope they made it to Vernazza eventually.

So you should really consider turning in your care BEFORE you go to Cinque Terre. (We returned ours at Pisa airport and that was easy. We got a shuttle to the train station for the train to CT. ). The good news is there are no drop fees for returning at a different place within Italy, so no need to take it back to Rome.

As for Rome, you really want to get well outside the city, beyond the ZTLs, to get the car. Where is your villa? People might be able to suggest a good place to pick up the car that would work well for access to your villa.

Simply suggesting you do not drive in the city of Rome for any reason. It is not a good experience. Rent the car at the airport that provides easy access to your Tuscany destination.