Renting a car at Rome airport

Since I'm a Hertz Gold member, I booked through them before leaving. Picking up the car was easy. You just walk over the skyway from the terminal to the parking decks.

Check ahead of time. When we picked up the car two years ago, they were renovated the decks and had moved the pick up area. I'm sure they have moved back by now.

We took our own Garmin instead of renting a GPS. You can buy an SD card that has Italy and Greece. This helped us throughout the trip, but was invaluable getting us out of the airport and on the road to Tuscany, our destination. Going to Umbria you'll completely miss Rome traffic. Our GPS sent us up the Autostrada, then onto regional roads.

Plan on it taking about 30-45 minutes to pick up the car, even if you have reservations.

Even though you have driven in Italy before, please consider this. Upon arrival you'll probably be sleepy, somewhat jet lagged, and have never driven in Rome. The combination of those conditions, in my opinion, might be an accident waiting to happen. Some people (and you may be one) are quite capable of driving under those conditions, but some are driving somewhat impaired and just don't realize it. And some are complete zombies who should be kept away from sharp instruments. Why not stay a night in Rome to recover and then rent the car? Even a minor fender bender at the start of a trip will put a damper on the whole trip. Just something to think about.

All the major rental agencies have facilities in the parking garages at the airport. Simply leave the arrival terminal and follow the signs. When I visit Italy, I rent through AutoEurope, a US consolidator that often has the best prices. I normally wind up choosing a car from Europcar with 0 deductible. If you reserve through AutoEurope, go back occasionally to check the current pricing on your rental. On my last two trips in 2016 and 2017 there were substantial price drops and a call to their toll free number resulted in immediate credits to reflect the lower cost.

Though I have a Garmin GPS with European Maps, I’ve retired it in favor of using the Waze app for navigation on my smart phone. On the last two trips, it guided me through Sardinia, Corsica, the Veneto, Amalfi Coast and Orvieto with no problems and great warnings about traffic cams. Don’t get caught in Italy without an International Driving Permit.

If you start from the airport, you don’t need to drive inside Rome. The drive will be on freeways, including the GRA (GRA=Grande Raccordo Anulare=Grand Ring Beltway).
Driving while jet lagged is not always a wise idea, especially considering the drive is about 2 to 3 hours depending on where in Umbria you are staying. It’s up to you, but be careful. Load up on espresso if you intend to drive.

TC and Roberto make good points. Factor in your reaction to jet lag and the conditions of your flight.

When we flew from Atlanta to FCO, I had enough Skymiles to bump us to first class. We arrived fairly rested. Between that and the excitement of returning to Italy, I felt alert and up to the task.

Also, my work often sends me on long flights to unfamiliar cities. I have to hop in a rental car and immediately negotiate the unknown. Compared to some of my domestic trips, leaving FCO, getting on the ring freeway then heading north to Tuscany or Umbria is a piece of cake. It would be similar (and maybe slightly easier) to landing in Atlanta, taking 285 north to 75 north and ending up in Dalton. Another analogy would be landing in Sacramento and taking the freeway and back roads to Napa Valley.