Rental Car for trip to Florence & Tuscany

Other posters have recommended a Hertz location in the city of Florence that reportedly avoids the dreaded ZTL, but I've not used that location personally. DH and I rented from Hertz at the Florence airport in 2016. It is easy to access by taking the shuttle bus from SMN train station and then boarding the rental car shuttle at FLR. Takes about 5 minutes to ride from the airport to the car rental area. Here are many other rentals at the location besides Hertz. Highway to Tuscany is adjacent to the rental car area. We would rent a car from this location again.

We just returned from Italy. We took a taxi from the train station in Florence to the airport car rental and it cost us €27 for three people. We rented from Hertz and had no trouble driving through the city for 5 to 10 minutes before getting on the freeway heading south. Our daughter used the navigation on her phone and the best feature of our car was it let us know when we were approaching speed cameras so we avoided any tickets. We didn’t have any issues with the ZTL zones in the cities we went to - parking lot signs are easy to see , so you know where to park. Obviously look at a map and where you are headed so you know which parking lot to choose. The trickiest part is finding the little street to return the car. We drove around the block three or four times before we finally found it. And then took the taxi back to the train station. My husband went to AAA and got his international driving permit we never had to show it to the police or were stopped but it gave us a little more peace of mind.

We picked up our car at the Hertz location on Sansovino- booked thru AutoEurope. No extra airport fees.
It is just south of center, outside ZTL- about a 8 E cab ride from our central hotel and quick/easy departure from there heading toward Siena.

Have always been very pleased with AutoEurope's service & price. (booked with Hertz in Italy, Germany- Europcar in France)

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Via+del+Sansovino,+53,+50142+Firenze+FI,+Italy/@43.7743724,11.2227798,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x132a56cbec665359:0x9c708ac8e03b379d!8m2!3d43.7743685!4d11.2249738

You don't necessarily have to pick up the car in Florence. The hostess at the place we're staying in Montepulciano in May suggested taking the train to Chiusi and just picking it up there. No muss, no fuss, no worries, no hassle.

All rental car companies are located downtown at the Garage Europa on Borgo Ognissanti, a street parallel to the Arno.
To exit that area you won’t incur in any ZTL cameras, which are located only to entry points not exit points.
To return the car at the same location there are two specific itineraries you must follow to avoid the cameras. The office staff will give you a map with specific directions.
You can also return it at other locations, but it’s unnecessary.
Picking up at the airport entails extra fees (in addition to the stiff taxi ride) so I wouldn’t do it.
Hertz has locations also on Via Del Sansovino and Via Ambrosoli, Europcar on Via Forlanini, on the way to the airport.

Bob,
How many different locations to you plan to stay at in Tuscany? Where are they? I'm curious because if you stay at a well located villa, you can cover pretty much all of Tuscany from a central location. At most you could stay 2 locations, one north of Siena, Castellina for instance and one south of Siena, such as Montepulciano or Chiusure.

You'll love driving in Tuscany. Just be sure to strictly adhere to the speed limits. There are automated speed cameras in small towns and even in the countryside. ZTLs are well marked and easily avoided. A good rule of thumb is to assume anywhere inside the walls of a hill town like Radda or San Gimignano is ZTL.

Thanks all for the great feedback. As soon as we determine where we will be staying in Florence & Tuscany and when we are returning I can begin to make some decisions on where to rent a car and when.