Rental Car drop-off Termini Station Rome

Posted by Boston Lobsta (Boston, MA) on 04/10/17 02:21 PM

We'll be driving up from Naples and we're looking to see where it's best to drop our rental car off in Rome where we'll be staying for a few nights. We would prefer not to drop the car off at the airport since we would then need to trek back into Rome by taking the Leonardo Express to Termini Station and then on to the metro. We're looking at dropping the car off at Termini Station rental car return around 1pm. I'm wondering if driving to Termini will be challenging or if it's better to drop off at the airport. I'm used to driving in cities (LA, Boston, NYC) but if I'm likely to have to navigate around TLZ areas I may opt for the airport option.

Has anyone driven into Termini from points south of Rome?

Posted by Tim

Knoxville, TN, USA

04/10/17 02:38 PM

7209 posts

Why not drop it in Naples and just hop on the high speed train directly to Roma Termini (without rental car in tow).

Posted by Boston Lobsta OP

Boston, MA

04/10/17 02:44 PM

38 posts

Tim - I should have been more specific. We're actually leaving driving up from Anzio that morning having spent the prior day in Naples.

Posted by Zoe

Toledo, Ohio, US

04/10/17 02:45 PM

11613 posts

Or you can drop it off at Tiburtina Station and take the train into Roma from there.

Posted by Boston Lobsta OP

Boston, MA

04/10/17 02:55 PM

38 posts

Zoe - is it easier to avoid TLZ areas when driving to Tiburtina Station vs. Termini Station?

Posted by bobb_todd

04/10/17 03:06 PM

21 posts

As far as I know there are no TZL areas near Termini. It's mostly expressway in with the last little bit on city streets. Not sure who your rental is with but most of them are in offices along side Termini so drop off should't be too hard.

Posted by Boston Lobsta OP

Boston, MA

04/10/17 03:17 PM

38 posts

bobb_todd - This is great info! Thank you. It sounds like driving to Termini is a go for us. Tiburtina would mean a 14 Euro and slow train ride for 30 minutes to Termini. The direct drive to Termini is better for us since after returning the car we can catch the Metro nearby and head from there to meet up with our family who will have traveled in from Florence that morning.

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my post!

Posted by ottawanderer

Ottawa, Canada

04/10/17 03:25 PM

224 posts

Driving to Termini is definitely challenging! I dropped off a car at Termini in mid-afternoon a couple years ago, driving in from the north. My GPS got me to the station with little problem, but traffic was pretty hectic. I haven't driven in Boston, but Rome makes NYC look like a Sunday drive. The big difference is the roads run more or less straight on New York's grid, whereas in Rome nothing does- roads wind and merge seemingly randomly, and so do the drivers. That being said, the only real problem I had was finding the Europcar return point once I was at the station. After two laps around Termini, at 15-20 minutes per lap, and four pairs of eyes looking (not including mine), we still saw no green and yellow Europcar sign. I was able to pull over and phone the office, and was told it was inside the station, and car drop off was at curbside. On lap number three, we spotted a sign- through a window, on a desk inside the station- and pulled over. Immediately, a fellow in a Europcar shirt came over and completed a very quick drop off, and we were on our way. So my advice is, if you do decide to drop the car at Termini, make sure you know exactly where to drop it off.