Rental Car in Tuscany

My husband & I will be landing in Florence next week & we are renting a car from Florence airport through Auto Europe. I called them this a.m. to make sure they have a GPS assigned to the plan & I called an 800# in the U.S. They were very helpful. Not there yet...but it came highly recommended through our travel agency.

We took the train to Lucca and rented from Hertz in Lucca. Easy breezy.

Though I haven't rented a car in Florence, I assume that the airport is much like airports in other cities - in other words, they are NOT located in the middle of the city. We have rented from airports in Rome, Venice, London and Madrid. It is quite easy to drive from the airport and already be outside the city - not scary at all. Unless you were looking to go to another town (like Lucca, which we loved!), I'd just fly into Florence, stay the nights you were going to stay and get yourself to the airport when you are ready to leave, then do the reverse when you get back.

The Florence airport would be the easiest for you to pick it up and drive out of. Sometimes it is harder to pick up in a town because you not only have to find the place, you have to navigate the streets to the autostrada. Yes, it's more expensive at the airport, however, it's often worth it. Be sure to go to AAA and get your International Driver's License. It's the law. No test is required. Just $15 and two passport type photos. Have fun on your trip.

Stan, Which place to rent a car will depend to some extent on where you're planning to go in Tuscany? The Florence Airport is certainly one possibilty. In addition to the I.D.P. mentioned in a previous reply, be sure to do some research on Zona Traffico Limitato areas, as large fines can result! They seem to be increasingly prevalent in many Italian cities and towns. Happy travels!

A caveat about small town car rentals. We picked up a car in Orvieto in May. It took over an hour to get through the paperwork because there was oly 1 person to handle the phone, reservations, etc. The only cars they had were the ones requested. If you don't like your choice or there is a problem, you may not have other options. It is easy to get in/out of the airport in Florence and avoid the ZTL's. I vote for Florence.

Avis in Siena was extremely easy. Just outside the city walls. Got there at 9 when they opened and drove away at 9:10.

In June, at the end of our stay in Florence, we rented a car from the Florence airport, and, even for us, first time drivers in Italy, it was a breeze getting out of the airport and on our way to Tuscany. We rented through Gemut and picked up the car from Hertz at the airport after about a 5-minute wait in line and filling out paperwork. After our week in Tuscany, we returned the car to the Hertz location on Viale Sardegna in Siena. For us, this location was convenient because of our next destination and its proximity to the train station. With our GPS, we had no problem returning the car in Siena. We spent little more than 5 minutes at their office. From there, it was an easy 5-minute walk to the train station.
As an aside, I was thankful to have used the advice of posters on this website that recommended checking the car before driving it off the lot. At the Florence airport, we did find minimal paint and dent damage that we had Hertz document at the airport, and when we returned the car in Siena, there was no problem because it was documented. As Ken recommended, watch out for the ZTLs. We never entered a ZTL, but I can see where it could happen. Also like to add that we found a GPS very helpful in Tuscany.