Rental car from Rome or from Orvieto to Siena

Who needs the stress? But……

Your trip. Your choice.

I’d rent in Chiusi.

I briefly considered renting a car and found it quite expensive - I forget the exact amount, perhaps $150-200 US/Day (you'd have to check that, perhaps more if you drop it off elsewhere)

The trains in Italy are wonderful, I just did a Google Map search from Rome to Orvieto and it looks like driving would take perhaps 30-60 minutes longer than the train if you wanted to arrive about 1 pm.

Was curious so I did a quick check and looks like 1st class is roughly 15-25 € per ticket and takes 75 minutes

My thought - if you want to make stops along the way, get a car

If you want to arrive faster and more refreshed (you might still have some jet lag, and you can sleep on the train), take the train and then rent a car.

If I were doing it, I'd definitely take the train

Ira

Thanks! Yes. I should have clarified. We’ll just have a car for 3 days while exploring Tuscany and then return it in Florence. I was just unsure of the easiest place to pick up the car - Rome or train to Orvieto and then pick up a rental car there. I agree that we’ll still be jetlagged so maybe that’s why everyone suggests to rent from Orvieto?

Rented a car from FCO (Rome Airport) and drove near Siena to tour Tuscany recently ; very easy driving and public transit doesn’t go where I wanted to

Went to Vatican City area on the way so did not exactly avoid the city ; was a little more stressful in those areas but still easy

Question is going to where exactly you rent, the first mile or two from there if a city location and how you avoid making any ZTL mistakes on your way out of Rome
Once on the ring highways is simple as driving in the US

My suggestion is to take the train from Rome to Siena and rent the car in Siena and explore Tuscany from there and then take the bus to Florence. We found the rural roads in Tuscany easy to navigate and that was using maps as it was pre GPS? Driving while jet lagged is really not a good idea. It’s like driving drunk. Please reconsider that option.

If you are staying in Rome the first night, I would rent the car in Rome the next morning and drive from Rome. That's what I usually do.

Why take the train to Orvieto (or anywhere else between Rome and Siena) and rent a car from there? Extra time, extra hassle and no savings. It's an easy 2.5 hours all freeway. Taking the train to half way will save you nothing in time or rental fees, just extra hassle of having to take a train (where you need to load the luggage aboard yourself).

The thing you need to do is determine from which location in Rome you should pick up the car. If you stay at the airport Hilton Hotel the first night, it might make sense to pick up the car at the airport, however it will cost you more than picking up in the city center (airport rental fees apply). If you stay at a hotel in the city center, then it's definitely better to pick up the car in the city center: easier to reach from the hotel, and also cheaper rental fees.

www.autoeurope.com
www.kemwel.com
(same company but two different websites with varying prices).
When selecting the pick up location choose ROME ALL LOCATIONS, your return will be FLORENCE.

Thanks so much, Roberto!

We picked the car up in Rome on a Sunday morning in late September and drove up to the Siena area. It worked well for us. Look at a map of Rome and choose a car pick up location near the way you are going, such as the north side for Tuscany. No hassles of taking luggage on and off of trains this way.