Rental car pickup/dropoff in Florence

If next stop is Rome personally I would visit Florence first, rent when leaving Florence visit Sienna and the countryside and then return in Orvieto ; taking the train from Orvieto to Rome.

Florence is easy to drive out of but trickier to drive into / return. Not because of traffic, the traffic is not that bad but the ZTL zones are a challenge and can be very costly should you make a wrong turn.

Only drawback to my plan above is I believe for Orvieto return you only have Hertz as an option, nothing wrong with Hertz just limits the options.

As a first time driver in Italy, don't even try to drive in Florence. Read this.

https://www.italybeyondtheobvious.com/dont-mess-with-ztl-zones

Easy places to drop the car.

Siena-Chiusi. 1hour. Siena-Orvieto 1:30. Siena-Rome Tiburtina station
2:30. Easy access from the A/1

vorony,

It's important to note that for driving in Italy, each driver listed on the rental form must have the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. These are valid for one year, and easily obtained at any CAA/AAA office (two Passport-sized photos required, which may be provided by the issuing office). Failure to produce an IDP if requested can result in fines on the spot! Failure to pay the fines when requested may result in the rental car being impounded, and further charges for towing and storage. Have a look at https://it.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/local-resources-of-u-s-citizens/transportation-driving/ for more information on I.D.P's and driving in Italy.

You may also want to have a look at some of the other posts here concerning the Zona Traffico Limitato (ZTL / limited traffic) areas that are becoming increasingly prevalent in many Italian towns & cities especially Florence, which is almost saturated with automated ZTL cameras. EACH PASS through one of the automated Cameras will result in a €100+ ticket, which you won't know about until several months after you return home! This website provides more information - http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/driving/traffic_cameras_speeding.htm

I don’t know why people say traffic in Rome is horrible. It actually depends on the time of day, but it is not any different from the madness I have to endure daily in the San Francisco Bay Area roads.

You don’t need to pick up the car at the Florence Peretola Airport if you are staying in the city. It’s not in a convenient location if you are going south to Siena. You are better off picking up on Borgo Ognissanti, in the city center, or, if using Hertz, one of the two locations on the way to the A1 freeway (Via Ambrosoli or Via del Sansovino).

The problem with Orvieto rental office is that:
1. Only Hertz is there
2. If you use the consolidator www.autoeurope.com or www.kemwel.com (most of us here do), they don’t work with the Hertz Orvieto office (I guess they must have had an argument).

There are plenty of drop off rental office locations that are easy to reach in Rome from the freeway, such as at the Tiburtina train station.

Thank you all for the advice. This is why I come here. I'll actually be renting through Chase Ultimate Rewards, so I think I have my pick of rental agencies. If Hertz is the easiest way, then that's what I'll go with.

I'll probably rent from Florence (one of the locations mentioned), then drop off in Orvieto on the way to Rome. If it's easy to hop the train there to Rome, this seems like a no brainer.

About that special permit that I need to apply for to drive in Italy - do I really need to do that? I've never had to do that in any other countries I've visited.

The IDP is a requirement though not to rent.

Hertz and similar won't ask for one, just your driver's license and credit card.
You can be fined if you get pulled over for something else by the police and don't have one.

It is basically a translation of your US state driver's license into a universal format.
Most all European countries are requiring it now, many did not before.

Only cost $20 and you can get one at any AAA office even if not a member
Better safe than sorry I would say, only downside to them is they are only valid for 1 year so if you go to frequently you have to keep getting new ones!

I neglected to mention it earlier but the most scenic part of Tuscany IMO is the Val D'Orcia which is an hour south of Siena anyway so continuing south to drop off the car makes much more sense.

Follow Ken’s comment above on ZTL (restricted traffic zones in historical centers), speed cameras, and International Driving Permit. The IDP (which is just a translation of your home license) is rarely requested by the rental office staff, since they are familiar with American drivers’ licenses, but it is required by the Italian motor vehicle code (art. 135) and if pulled over by police without one, the fine ranges from 400€ to 1600€.

I also recommend to become familiar with the European road signage system, if you aren’t already.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_signs_in_Italy

Thanks again everyone for the great advice. I ended up going through Hertz and will be picking up the vehicle at the Via del Sansovino location in Florence, dropping off at the Orvieto rail station. We will then hop the train there to continue on to Rome. I will also get the international drivers permit from my local AAA office, just in case.

Few more questions:

1) We are staying at the Sina Villa Medici hotel in Florence (very close to the train station). Looks like the Via del Sansovino station is close to the hotel, so I assume it should be relatively easy to grab a cab over there. Is it an easy drive out of the city from there?

2) We will be returning the car at Orvieto on Sunday. The Hertz agent told me that the rental office is not staffed on Sundays, but they'll have someone come in to meet you when you drop the car off. Has anyone done this on a Sunday before?

3) The fact that the Hertz location in Orvieto is closed on Sundays makes me a little nervous about hopping the train from there to Rome. I assume we should still be ok with that, correct? Haven't looked at the timetables from there.

1. Since you are staying at the Villa Medici hotel, you should pick up the car on Borgo Ognissanti. Hertz is about 200 yards, 3 min walk from your hotel, on the same street, which, more or less at the Hertz office, changes name from Borgo Ognissanti to Via Il Prato (the street of your hotel). Basically you would exit from your hotel, walk left, stop to eat some pastries at the fabulous cafe bar Curtatone along the way, and next to the bar Curtatone is the Hertz office. Once you pick up the car, drive back toward the hotel, stop in fromt to load the suitcases, and continue straight toward Piazzale di Porta Al Prato (big ancient city gate about 100 yards past the hotel). At the gate (Piazzale di Porta al Prato) you are forced to turn right, then from there you go where you need to go.
   No chance of entering the ZTL.
   If you pick up at Sansovino, then you need a taxi. It’s not far but too long to walk, just a little past the Vittoria bridge across the river.

2. Never returned at Orvieto.

3. Assuming you can return the car at the closed Hertz office, trains work on Sunday. If you are nervous about the possibility of the Hertz staff not being there, you can return the car at the Hertz near the Rome Tiburtina station which is very easy to reach from the freeway beltway (east side of city).

Roberto is right to remember that the Ognissanti location is very close to Villa Medici. Also, there are no checks exiting ZTL areas, so renting a car is much safer than returning it. If you insist in renting from Sansovino location, you can take a taxi, or walk to the closest tram stop at Porta a Prato (5-6 minutes) and take the tram from there that will leave you just in front of the Sansovino agency.

In spite of having been a patron of Curtatone for long years, I don't advice it anymore after it was discovered that it had been sold to a mafia mobster that has been arrested again for drug trafficking during a probation period over two homicide sentences.

Hi Vorony,
Good that you are getting the IDPermit. I want to just add that the police there can just wave you over and ask for your license, permit etc. In brief
we were momentarily lost on the way back to Siena last spring and this happened. The guy was polite and returned the paperwork but did Check it. No violations just twice around the traffic circle he was working. The sub machine gun his partner had was not to great. Just follow the speed limits and don’t let faster drivers intimidate, its now been one year and we are headed back this fall, will drive again.

We have used the Borgo Ognisanti rental car pick up locationsin Florence, easy a cess out of the city.