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Rental car pick up location - help me decide

Posted by (Charleston, SC, USA) on

My wife and I will be traveling from Milan to a hotel 12 km southwest of Siena on a Sunday in October. I would like some advice as to where we should pick up and drop off a rental car. We will be in Tuscany for 5 nights and will return to Milan on Friday. Our flights are already booked flying into and out of Milan (we got a deal too good to pass up!) Should we:
Option 1; Rent the car in Milan and drive the entire way or
Option 2: Take the train to Florence and pick up the car or
Option 3: Take the train to Siena and pick up the car?

Any other ideas? I want to make this as easy as possible. Also, any suggestions for rental car companies? Any to avoid? I typically use Avis in the US. TIA!

Posted by
11848 posts

I would pick up the car in Siena. The train is far faster than driving from Milan to Florence, and more relaxing. In Siena, the car rental agency is near the train station, as I recall. (It's been awhile.)

I used www.Gemut.com to rent in Italy a few times. They as US based and provide excellent service. On their website you can download a great guide to driving in Europe. Very helpful the first time!

Posted by
17595 posts

Inwas thinking the same as Laurel. You won't have to worry about entering a ZTL zone if you pick it up near the Siena train station.

We have usually rented from Hertz in Italy, but I am a Gold member so I to stay with them rather than shop around.

Posted by
1816 posts

Stick with Avis, they are the best in Italy, in my opinion. They have the Preferred service at many locations. The drive from Milan is not particularly hard and you can find some interesting stops along the way if you have the time or interest.

Posted by
907 posts

Milan to Siena is about 5 hours on the autostrada. You travel by Parma Modena, and turn south at Bologna.

Parma and Modena are great stops for a meal on the way. I like driving but 5 hours+ after a plane ride is too much. If you overnight in Milan then drive it would nice. Otherwise train it.

Posted by
297 posts

Maybe I missed it, but where in Tuscany are you staying? Are you actually staying in Siena or somewhere close to it?

Posted by
927 posts

We will arrive in Milan on Wednesday and head to Tuscany on Sunday. We are staying at La Bagnaia Golf & Spa Resort outside of Siena. I did a quick search and it seems the rental car places in Siena are closed on Sunday.

Posted by
16232 posts

I would pick up at a Milano Centrale location or Linate airport (both are open on Sunday) and drive the 4 hours. It's mostly freeway.
No reasonable alternative, like train to Florence and drive from Florence, would be desirable to me.

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