Rental car and luggage

Hide in the trunk. If at all possible, park where they have video surveilance.

Sam, thanks for the reply. Unfortunately we won't have a trunk. It will be a wagon. Would it be advices not to make this stop?

Sam, thanks for the reply. Unfortunately we won't have a trunk. It will be a wagon. Would it be advices not to make this stop?

For Pete's sake, lock the car and go. Crack the windows a bit if you have candy bars or you'll have a mess on your hands. If you're really worried, a couple of the lots in Orvieto have cameras, I can't remember any in Civita.

This was advice I received a few years back from locals when parking in Lucca. Civita is probably OK, but I'd cover your stuff with a blanket. Might be a little lame, but what the heck. The other bit of advice. "If you see broken glass in the parking lot, that is a sign that you should park somewhere else."

Let me put it a little bit stronger. With a couple hundred thousand tourist miles of driving in Europe, I've had my car broken into exactly once and that was in a snazzy resort that the average tourist could not even think about affording (not in Italy) with a fenced, gated, guarded lot. Which is exactly equal to the number of times I've had a car broken into in my own driveway. Most of the time the back end of my rental cars look like something out of the Beverly Hillbillies. I leave the sucker parked in areas that would give most people an acute case of the willies, if not the pukes, day and night. All anectdotal, but that's a lot of exposure. Think about the stupid broken glass story/myth. Those parking lots are just about manicured - - swept, cleaned, and polished so they're attractive to the tourists. The chances of broken glass being around more than a few hours are nil. They're pristine at dawn. Okay, I've seen red busted plastic, obviouly tail light lenses and such from parking crunches, but never a busted window. Picture busting out a window. Which way does the glass go? Very good, it goes in, not out. Even the left-over spiderweb junk is pushed in, not pulled out. Go find a fireman that's worked a bunch of wrecks - - the only glass they have to sweep out of the road is that which splattered from the intital impact, usually from somebody's noggin going out, sometimes from body/frame distortion where either the entire front or rear glass popped out. Press on. See what you want to see. Quit worrying about what probably ain't going to happen. I can see a zillion dollar cameara disappearing off a dashboard or front seat, but not a bunch of dirty socks and clothes that might not fit.

Karen, We have rented several wagons in Italy and they all have a hard cover that slides over the bags. You can't see a thing. They were the Renault Megane, the VW golf and An Alfa Romeo...can't remember the name.
Don't wory, just have a great trip

Yes, I like the Megane. I'm not trying to make you paranoid, but Ed has 1 bad episode in 100 trips, and I have 1 bad episode in 2 trips, you could see why we would have different perspectives.

Most of the rental cars have a retractable vinyl cover that goes over your luggage. The best thing you can do is limit each traveler to one 21" rolling carry on bag. The smaller wagons will handle just that for 4 travelers. My suggestion is to take the train up to Orvieto and pickup a Hertz car there. The office is across the street from the train station. It's just 70 minutes by regional train from Rome Termini. Also check AutoEurope.com to see what they can obtain the same rental car formost often a Hertz car too.
With gas @ $9.50 per gallon, driving is something to take serious.

I do know two people who had their cars broken into and things stolen in Europe, so I wouldn't just brush off the concern, especially since it's much more of a hassle to deal with in a foreign country. We give ourselves a little extra security by carrying a couple of metal chains and locks. We fasten the cases to each other and run the chains through some part of the trunk, a hinge or any other likely place. It would be no defense against thieves who come prepared with bolt cutters; but, from what I've heard, most of these incidents are crimes of opportunity, perpetrated by amateurs. Anything that slows them down might prevent the loss. They count on being able to do their badness quickly.

I've also had those station wagons with the retractable luggage cover and the cover only works if your luggage fits nice and neat in the the small area provided. If you have to cram it in and it doesn't fit flatly and pokes up then the cover WILL NOT hide the luggage. Getting a station wagon sounds nice, but the major drawback (other than rental cars ARE a major drawback) is that there is no hidden lockable trunk.

Thank you all for your advice. I have looked into renting a car in Orvieto but they did not have a vehicle that could handle 4 people with luggage for traveling for a month. Two weeks will be on a cruise and require different clothing. I have seen the screens the wagons have and agree with Tim that our luggage be too much for the screens. I think will will either keep our plan and rent in Rome and visit Orvieto on our way, or take a train directly to our destination and then rent a car. It had never occurred to me there would be a problem with our plan but I have read otherwise and started to get concerned.