one way rental options Florence and drop near train station in Ovierto?

Are you staying in Florence or at an agriturismo in the countryside?

Is there a reason you would not drive directly to the airport
Which is around 2 hours from Ficulle?

Necessary Info on ZLT's in Italy.

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

You are heading back to Rome for the airport ?

On one of our recent trips we picked up a car at the Florence airport spent time in the Tuscany area and then visited family near Viterbo. We returned the car in Orvieto and then took the train to Rome since we were flying out of Rome. Rented from Hertz and had no problems. Hertz is next to the train station in Orvieto.

We are staying in Loro Cuifenna area near Florence.

How is the drive from Ficulle directly to the Rome airport? Do you have to drive through Rome to get there?

Our flight leaves to head back home on a Saturday at 12:30 pm, so my concern is if we drove directly to the airport, how would traffic be on a Saturday morning and how much time should we allow to get there, return the car, check in and get through customs. My husband has no problems driving in foreign countries and wants to drive to the airport. I, on the other hand, tend to get a little nervous!

If we were to drop the car in Ovierto, and train it, we would have to transfer trains, I believe, in Rome. How easy is that to do?

It seems to me the train would be less stressful!

We never drop a car before a flight -- we aim at least the night before and then spend the last night in town or if we have an early flight at the airport in Rome or Paris -- in Florence, I would stay in town and then get a 20 Euro cab right in the morning. For a high stakes flight don't play games with transport. A traffic jam can cost you thousands and car rental in Europe is not the quick in and out experience it is in the US. If you want a receipt that the car is undamaged and gassed it can't be done easily -- we have waited an hour. I believe they have fixed the rental drop at the Florence airport but for many years you had to wait in a long line outside the parking lot as they would only allow a car to enter if there were free spots and so you had to wait for people to exit (even though you were returning a car at the back of the lot where there was room for rental cars) This is typical local efficiency; we don't cut it close or make long drives to the airport the day of a flight in Italy. I watched a guy park his car in the street in front of the airport and run in and throw the keys at the rental agent and run for the plane after he had sat in the check in line with the car for an hour and was afraid of missing his flight.

If flying from Rome, I would drop the car at FCO and then take the train into the center for a last night or to Trastevere. We once had a layover on a trip from Spain to London and so stayed at the airport Hilton in Rome and took the train to Trastevere for dinner and then back to the airport for the night. We try to arrange trips so we finish in the town of departure and so if you are spending several days at some point in Rome, I would spend the last several days in Rome and start the trip at your most distant point from there.

As I stated before, the drive from Ficulle to Rome is under 2 hours (1H50m). The airport is located on the NW side of Rome so you don't have to drive thru it. Traffic should not be a problem.

So allow 21/2-3 hrs to get there drop the car and arrive at the terminal. You will also need 3 hours AT Rome to check in, clear security and check in at
Your gate. Which means leaving Fiucelle no later than 6:30.

Orvieto only has Hertz. The question is if they would be open when you need them.
If they are you may have to wait 1 hour for the train.
Arrive at termini, transfer to the Leonardo express, then the same as above. This involves 3 separate luggage changes. Maybe 2 additional hours.

The least stressful option is to drive to the airport the nite before and stay at a hotel there.

All rental car companies in Florence have an office in Borgo Ognissanti, a street about 5 to 10 min walk from the station.
Exiting that area is not a problem for the ZTL as the cameras are only at the entry points. Borgo Ognissanti is a one way street and you can only drive west all the way to Piazza Di Porta al Prato.
The drive to Loro Ciuffenna is easy, largely on the A1 freeway.
Although your flight is at 1230pm, if you are flying a US airline directly from T5 you should return your car by 0930. Since there might be traffic on the GRA until past 9am, I think it's risky to leave from Ficulle the day of your flight. It might be a better idea to go to Rome the day before and return the car when you arrive.

Thanks for this post. It is helpful to me too!

We are doing the opposite route From Rome to Orvieto to our Argotismo near Assisi then to Florence to catch a train to Venice.

I have driven out of Rome before but thought the train to Orvieto might be easier for a family of four but I can not find a train before noon and want to start earlier. We may just get the car in Rome and drive but I am conflicted about that too. Any suggestions ?

Dropping off in Florence someone wrote about picking up but what about dropping off?

We don't leave until June if you can write about what you do and how it worked out that would be great.

Thanks
Karen

I'd never drop off in town in Florence. Theoretically you can do it without triggering a ticket, but plenty of people make an error, drive into a bus lane, or go around the block and end up with one or more expensive tickets trying to do it.

Driving to FCO to drop a car is easy, you don't go through Rome. We have done it several times then taken the train back into the city. As I said, I would not do it the day of a flight. Stuff happens and a high stakes flight is, well, high stakes. I once was on a high speed train from Amsterdam to Paris that came in 5 hours late causing lots of people on board to miss flights out of CDG. Unusual but it happened. We are always within a cab ride of the airport the night before a high stakes flight.

I would think the easiest thing is to drive to Fiumincino for your last night and stay near the airport.
The next morning you have ample time to return your car and get your flight. No need to mess with trains or city-airport transfers.

Thank you all for your kind suggestions! We have rented a car in Florencece and will return it at the Rome airport the afternoon before we fly out. Will find a room near the airport and stay that night there and fly out the next day.

If you stay outside of the city of Rome, you could keep the car and return it in the morning, since your flight is late enough.
Bracciano and its lake is close enough (40 min) to the airport and pretty.

I don't understand very well how you want to organize your trip. Is it when leaving Florence that you would rent your car?