We are planning to rent a car in Florence Airport and return in Siena. Please share your experience to chose right rental company, etc. Traveling from USA. Thanks in advance!
Posted by
Boston
1816 posts
Do not decide based solely on price. Go with established companies. I use either Avis or Budget (they share the same fleet) either direct with the company or through the reputable autoeurope.com
Posted by
Pittsburg
19 posts
We have always had good luck with Hertz in Italy. Again you can rent through Autoeurope and sometimes get a good price. Concerned about how you will be leaving Siena, though. Siena is not a very good transportation hub. I assume you are aware of the options there, ie, buses and the trains (train station is a bit outside of the town) for your ongoing travels. We usually rent our cars in Florence, visit Siena and the countryside, then return our car back to Florence (usually to the rental care office right by the main train station) to take the train onward. Have a good trip.
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16232 posts
For how long.
I generally use a consolidator like www.autoeurope.com or www.kemwel.com
They work with all rental majors, but I generally use their Europcar or Hertz deal.
Posted by
Sacramento, California U.S.A.
10727 posts
I always use AutoEurope. They are a consolidator based in Maine. You can call them to clarify if there will be an additional charge for a one way rental. I choose the car/company by what my total cost will be. Last year I rented a car in Verona and returned it at Lake Como, in order to have a car for the 10 days I was in Tuscany. I think I ended up renting with Europcar, using AutoEurope.
Posted by
Eastern Iowa, USA
8247 posts
I would take it back a notch. Generally speaking, picking up a car at an airport is convenient, but comes with an added charge. Picking up a car at one location, then dropping off at another, also incurs a charge. You mention nothing about how long your rental is for, or what your plans are.
If you are planning on spending time in Florence...you do not need a car there, so wait.
Can you find a spot to pick up the car, then drop off at the same location and avoid a drop-off charge? Siena and Florence are not that far apart, adding public transport to the plan, is pennies compared to a drop off charge.
Can you get by with fewer days by planning out travel days? If in Siena or florence as mentioned, the car is parked and costing you. Can you consider renting a few days here, then renting a few days later in the trip as opposed to a rental for the entire trip?
Look into ZTL's they can cost you more than the car rental.
Consider your liability and CDW insurance options, your Credit card will likely not cover you in Italy.
Posted by
2 posts
We have reserved two one way rentals with Hertz -- Verona to Florence and Florence to la spezia. The price is reasonable and there's no drop off charge. For Florence we're using the facility on via sansovino which is outside the ZTL. And we always send our reservation info to Autoslash and they find an even better price (google them -- it's great).
Our credit card, the chase sapphire reserve, includes Italy. Call the number on the back of all your cards to check. Liability insurance is already included in the car rental price in the EU by law. International driving permit is mandatory in Italy.