Need Rental Car Advise Please!!

Many people use Chuisi - or more correctly Chiusi-Chianciano where the train station is for this kind of car rental. There are several car rental agencies across from the train station. You can take the train from Rome to Chiusi-Chianciano which is about 45 minutes driving from Pienza. I'm not saying it's the best solution for you but if you wanted to limit driving in and around Rome this is one of the options people use for that.

Many people here use AutoEurope which is a third party broker for the various rental agencies. The other way would be to check the list of agencies listed for the Florence airport and cross check it with the list of agencies at the Rome airport and try them.
https://www.aeroporto.firenze.it/en/the-passengers/transport/car-rentals.html
https://www.rome-airport.info/rent-car.html

People often say that you pay a premium for renting at airport locations but often on vacation it can be a time versus money argument and the fastest thing is sometimes the best.

Have a great trip, Tuscany is as beautiful as advertised,
=Tod

I would take another look at your train possibilities. Rather than trains from FCO, look at trains from the town of Rome. There should not be a need to rent a car. j

Have you been to Italy previously? Are you familiar with driving there?

Presumably you are arriving after an overnight flight and plan on driving 3+ hrs?

The 2 hr 20 min estimate by google is at the low end of their range which tops out at 3 hr 10 min.

Many question the wisdom of long drives immediately after overnight flights.

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Hello Veronica- welcome!

We love Pienza! You definitely need a car there. No rail access-closest is Chiusi. That’s also closest car rental location- you could train to Chiusi from FCO >Termini >Chiusi and pick up car there- but hours and availability can be an issue- do you need an automatic?

We’ve driven in Italy several times and it’s fun and easy, especially in Tuscany
I’m not sure we’d be able to drive 2.5 hours after an overnight flight (if that is indeed how you are arriving). We’d possibly drive up to 1.5 hours if we really had to. No sightseeing on the way.
FCO pick up could be your best choice, your decision.

We always rent our cars thru AutoEurope.com. Search this forum and you’ll find all the info you need about AutoEurope and others, requirements, pick up /drop off options.
Go to their website and get quotes.

All drivers must have an International Driving Permit- get it at AAA
Keep luggage hidden if you stop/park anywhere along the way. No valuables in car, etc

Sounds like you’ll be dropping off in Florence. There are many threads here on how to enter and exit Florence safely w/rental car. Here is one:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/dropping-rental-car-off-in-florence

Dropping at FLR airport is easy as well. Tram or taxi into center.

Enjoy your trip!

I usually use www.autoeurope.com (a broker/consolidator) when I rent a car in Italy (on average one to two times a year). If you do, you can choose Rome Fiumicino as a pick up location and Florence All Locations as a drop off location.
There are many choices of rental at FCO but AutoEurope will show only the ones they work with, primarily: Avis Budget, Hertz, SicilyByCar, Europcar, Keddy by Europcar, Sixt. My last 3 rentals in 2023 and 2024 were with Hertz, but still through AutoEurope. This summer I picked up and returned at FCO even though I ultimately went to Tuscany where I am from. All of the above rental companies have offices in Florence. Offices in Florence are basically at two locations: at the airport or near the Santa Maria Novella station. Be aware that the city center of Florence is all a ZTL (limited traffic zone) with traffic restrictions for non residents, therefore returning the car near SMN presents challenges. I posted detailed information on how to do so in previous posts and you can search using the search function above. I also recommend learning the road signs used in Italy (or Europe) since they often differ from the ones in use in the US. Besides ZTL, which are virtually in every historical center of every including Pienza) there are lots of bus lanes in Italian cities, which you may not be familiar with unless you live in cities like NYC or SF.
Driving immediately after a transatlantic flight while jet lagged is not necessarily a great idea and I don’t recommend it at all. But it is your choice.
The drive from Fiumicino airport to Pienza takes a bit longer than 2h20m, maybe 2h45m to which you must add any pit stops you might make. The drive is largely on a 4 lane divided freeway, except for the last portion from the Chiusi exit on the A1 to Pienza (at least 45-50 min) which is on a regular two lane highway with curves and limited speed limits, especially through towns.
To minimize driving you could take the train from the Fiumicino airport to either Orvieto or Chiusi (one train change required at Roma Termini or Roma Tiburtina. Orvieto only has a Hertz franchise office, Chiusi only has an Avis-Budget franchise office. AutoEurope does not work with the Hertz office in Orvieto so that choice would be available only directly through Hertz. Both offices in Chiusi and Orvieto are small franchises that operate on weekdays only and Saturday half day. They all observe a 2 to 4 hour closure at lunch time. Since they are small their fleet is limited and since automatic transmission is not that popular in Europe, if you need an automatic car you may not find one there. Also, since they are the only game in town, picking up there will be a bit more expensive. Check the rates and then decide what is best for you. As I said Pienza also has traffic restrictions in the historical center, but they have parking near the Coop grocery store, and another one just north of the town. In the latter they host a farmers’ market on Friday morning so you can’t park there on Fridays until 2pm (last time I was in Pienza was about 3 weeks ago).
Buon viaggio!

We just got back and had a GREAT experience with Budget. We booked through Amazon. A few days prior to arrival a Budget rep called, confirmed all our info so when we arrived we did not need to wait in line, just looked at the Budget info board, saw our name and space number, and off we went
We did return the car to Rome where the attendant called a taxi for us to take us into the city. Great service