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One day car rental for trip to Tuscany from Florence

Hi there. We're two Canadian women excited about our trip to Italy. We're staying in Florence and have some questions about getting from Florence to Tuscany for day trip (Castello di Verranzzano for tour and lunch and then shorter stops at Greve, Castillina di Chianti and Montefioralle.) We originally planned to take public transit, but there aren't direct bus routes and as would prefer to not just go to Castello di Verranzzano and back. So car rental seems like a better option. Pick up and drop off in Florence same day. Have read all forums about car rentals and are aware of ZTLS and IDPS. We're looking to pick up car from location outside or near outside of ZTL and a rental location that is open until 8:00pm or later. I have reviewed info on www. AutoEurope.ca, wwwAutoEurope.eu and www.kemwel.com, and also spoken to rep at AutoEurope.ca. It seems the only two options are the train station and airport locations. The rental agencies at the Borgo Ognissanti location which a lot of people found fairly easy to avoid ZTLs all close between 4 and 5. Is the train station location hard to stay out of ZTLs? Both of these locations get very poor reviews based on long waits, absentee staff and confusion as to how to avoid ZTLs.

We would also consider a taxi / driver (not a tour) from Florence to Castello di Verranzzano, but could only find tours.

Thanks very much!

Posted by
16133 posts

When they say FLORENCE train station and Borgo Ognissanti they often mean the same place.
Currently SIXT is the only rental company that is in the underground garage under the SMN station. They close at 8pm.
The Hertz office is on Via Alamanni, next to the station on the eastern side. They close at 6pm (at 4:30pm on weekends).
All others are on Borgo Ognissanti, about 5-10 min walk from the station. Same closing time as Hertz.
I think they allow you to return the car after hours (probably for an extra fee) and drop off the key in a box. They all have a rental return in a public multistory garage which stays open late (or even 24h)..

The airport rental car center location is the one that has the longest hours (until Midnight), but it requires extra travel because to reach it you need to take the T2 light rail to the airport, then the short car rental shuttle to the rental center (and do the reverse after you return the car). Usually picking up at the airport carries some extra airport fees. An option would be to pick up at the city center and return to the airport (which closes late), then return downtown with the T2 light rail from the airport terminal.

Check your options and pricing.