Trying to decide if we fly into Rome after visiting a few days where is the best and cheapest place to rent a car for Tuscany? We will eventually end up in Florence…. Haven’t booked flights so we could also start in Florence and end in Rome. TY
Posted by
6648 posts
Itinerary? You can pick up and Rome and drop at Florence, and vice versa, whether at airport locations or not, or you can do a loop, or you can take a train to a smaller city and pick up based on specific villages or sea you wish to see. Depends on the details and your comfort level.
Posted by
OP
7 posts
Is there a good location just outside Rome to pick up the car besides the airport?
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
17539 posts
Picking up at the airport will cost you more, sometimes considerably more.
Rental offices are scattered in several places around the city, which vary depending on the company you choose.
I usually use www.autoeurope.com, a specialized broker based in Maine, for my rental needs in Italy.
Assuming you fly to Rome, when you search select:
Pick Up locations: ROME ALL LOCATIONS.
Drop off locations: CITY WHERE I INTEND TO RETURN THE CAR
Once you choose ROME ALL LOCATIONS then you can check the location of the best deal. Generally the FCO airport is the most expensive option. Roma Termini station is the second most expensive option. All others tend to be exactly the same. If the price is the same for all others, I prefer to pick at a location near the Tiburtina Station, since from there it is very easy to get onto the freeway (I must head to Tuscany where I have a house). But I've also selected Via Sardegna (near the Spanish steps). Not too bad from there to the freeway to Tuscany, but from there to the coastal freeway A12 was kind of convoluted as I had to go through the entire City.
In Florence you can return to two locations, for the most part: Airport (not far from town but not in the city center) or downtown at the S.M.Novella station, inside the city center, but requiring a bit of knowledge to get to it without ending up in a restricted traffic zone (ZTL). I'm from Florence so I know how to get there safely, but I've also shared the exact itinerary in this forum.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
8967 posts
Be sure to do your homework on drivng in Italy-ZTLs, parking, speed cameras, alcohol limits, etc
All drivers must have an IDP (International Driving Permit)-required by law, get at your local AAA