Our First Trip to Italy - Your feedback/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Rental car is fun for staying in the Tuscany countryside -- HORRIBLE idea for Florence itself, which is wonderfully walkable. Check with your hotel about parking and the best way to avoid getting expensive tickets for inadvertently entering a Zona Traffico Limitado (ZTL) -- or only use the car when you are staying outside Florence. Look out for ZTL's in other cities/towns -- in places like Siena there are parking lots outside the restricted center.
We used AutoEurope (Hertz) for a week in Tuscany, picking up at Florence airport and returning to Orvieto.

Thanks for your feedback, as a first timer on the forum, I didn't think to mention that I only plan to drive from the airport in Florence to Tuscany and back to the airport and I'm even very concerned about that. Thanks again - Norm.

If it's at all possible wait to pick up your rental car when you're done in Florence and you begin your travels in Tuscany. When we were in Florence about 7 years ago, we arrived by train, walked to our hotel where we stayed for 3 nights. When we were ready to leave the city, we walked to the AutoEurope rental location to pick up our car. It was a strange location, looked like a store from from outside. I googled the location to find the closest location from our hotel. It was a bit of a from our hotel but it worked for us since we travel light, just carry on luggage. Be very careful as drive out of Florence there are many restricted areas, it was a bit nerve racking, so be careful!

BTY, We brought our own GPS navigate from home. We downloaded the Italy map into the navigator. It might save you a little bit of $$ if you have an old navigator (do they even make them now). We've rented from AutoEurope for years. I found the earlier you book your car, the better the deal.

Have fun!

Thanks for your feedback and that is pretty much what we are planning to do, i.e., take a cab from the airport to our B&B in Florence and then rent the car the day we are heading to Tuscany. And the same when we return, i.e., drop off the car at the airport and take a cab back to same B&B for our last night in Florence. I really don't want to drive in Florence any more than necessary.

Thanks again - Norm.

We just spent a month in Italy. Our home base was Florence in a beautiful apt. https://www.windowsonitaly.com/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5Z6XssyM4AIVBglpCh0t0Q4yEAAYASAAEgJXkPD_BwE. We rented a car from Hertz on Borgo Ognissanti several times for day trips. You can walk everywhere in Florence. Watch the ZTL's. Get the extra insurance. You should have a trip of lifetime. Contact me anytime if you other questions.

Are you staying at the Hilton in Selvatelle? I’m sure you’ll be fine there. For sure visit Volterrs and San Gimignano while there.

You are doing everything fine. Although I would have preferred not to use the airport rental center to pick up, since you will be in the city already.

The rental car center at Florence airport is in a funky location that is hard to get to (and get out of) even for us Florentines. If you return the car there using the Indiano bridge viaduct, there is a slightly illegal turn to make (and I haven’t figured out how to do otherwise yet). I don’t know of there is another way now. That is why I prefer to return the car downtown at the Europcar return on Borgo Ognissanti (at the Garage Europa).. I pick at the airport only because I usually rent upon landing, otherwise I would pick up on Borgo Ognissanti as well.

Nuovo Garage Europa
Borgo Ognissanti, 96, 50123 Firenze FI, Italy
+39 055 292222
https://goo.gl/maps/pBM9Fv2v7dA2

Thanks so much for your feedback and your offer to contact you if I any other questions, much appreciated - Norm.

You might want to take a look at a Fiat 500, and make sure its big enough for you.

We’ve rented a Fiat 500L to drive around Tuscany and enjoyed it very much. Very comfortable and handled the country roads fine. Will you be in Italy only 8 days? In and out of Florence? I ask because we drove through Tuscany to fly out of Rome. We used the DK Eyewitness Guide Back Roads Northern Italy to find great routes and sites. Enjoy!

Thanks for your feedback. Actually we only plan to drive the car from and to Florence. It's just my wife and I and hopefully only two carry on bags (if I can get her to leave some shoes at home :-)). So only about five days using the rental car in the Tuscany area with the car.

The Fist 500 L is bigger inside than it is outside.
I don’t know how those engineers did it but it’s incredibly roomy inside.