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Rent a Car in Florence

Posted by on

Now that I have my questions answered about driving out of Florence and drive south to Siena and avoid ZTLs, thanks to Roberto, I want to know which company most rent their car from. I am renting on April 15, on Saturday and return same day, and I plan to return it to the airport (FLR). Here is that thread. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/drive-from-florence-south-towards-panzano-and-siena

I checked auto-europe.com, it only lists Avis, Europcar and Hertz. And Hertz's price isn't even to be considered. Europecar has only one class listed. Avis has the most.

Where are the other rental companies?

If I make a reservation, for example on Avis, is it wise to make the reservation on Avis's US website, or the local website in Florence?
https://www.avis.com/en/reservation#/extras or
https://www.avisautonoleggio.it/guida-con-avis/localit%C3%A0-noleggio-auto/europa/italia/firenze/firenze-via-borgognissanti

Also, is it wise to reserve a car, or walk in and rent one on the same day? The reason I ask this is, when I did the search with dates of April 15, they are more expensive than if I search with a date of today (same day). I'm a little confused how this is possible. Thanks
Alex

Posted by
99 posts

I would not wait. You're talking about Holy Week when there will be tons of visitors.

Posted by
16232 posts

I'm not sure AutoEurope does one day rentals. I thought they have deals for three days and up only. Although I don't know. I usually take the Europcar deal, as they often have the cheapest rate with zero ded insurance included. Hertz has good rates too. Avis-Budget is generally more expensive, but I've rented with them too (directly, not thru AutoEurope).
Europcar and Hertz are the largest in Italy. Not sure which other company you are looking for. The rest in Florence are local operations, some might have agreements with Thrifty or Alamo/Dollar but I don't know. Walk up rate is high, so I wouldn't chance it, especially on a holiday weekend.

Posted by
6 posts

On AutoEurope website, a search for April 15 results only one car available for EuropCar, $125, Midsize car.
Avis has the most, Hertz has the least and most expensive.

You may be right about the 3 day minimum requirement. I tried to book it on AutoEurope and it would not allow me to goto finish.

So I tried to book on Avis's website, instead of AutoEurope's website. But I am confused on whether to use Avis's local website there in Florence, which is confusing as heck, or use the Avis website here in the US. The US one allowed me to go all the way to reservation. Thank you.

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