Renting Car from Florence and Need Suggestions as to Where to Drop it Off

My friend who lives in Italy once said, you don't drive in Italy with a cup a coffee in one hand. It's not a casual event...it requires full focus. We always got a kick out of that way of describing driving in Italy.

Back to your question! We found traffic in Rome to be crazy, and around the Termini it was crazy with cars AND people.

So either 2 or 3 seems a much better idea to me.

3) is the best of your options

Roberto may suggest, as he did to me, to drop it off in Chiusi, which has a train station that can get you to Rome.

Orvieto. Hertz' rental location is across the street from the train station and it is a 70 minute train ride into Rome Termini on a local train.
Orvieto is on a Motorway exit and it is like driving our interstate highway all the way from Tuscany. How easy can it get? And Orvieto is a very popular hilltown to visit with a vernacular to take you up to the city from the train station parking lot.

vernacular?? do you mean "funicular"?

We did what you're thinking of doing and returned our car at the Rome airport (FCO). It was easy to get to from the highway. Then we took the Leonardo Express into town. (Those tickets are relatively expensive, so people may have better suggestions, for example Chiusi as someone mentioned above. But this worked well for us.)

If you're going to return in Orvieto, you need to be sure to rent from Hertz, as they're the only operation in Orvieto.

I returned a car to the airport-Eurocar- and it was very well signed. Then from there, you could take the regular train instead of the express to save money, depending on where you're staying in Rome. Just validate right after the turnstiles and you're good to go.

The main road to the airport is toll but wasn't too much and it's an easy drive. If you wanted to stop and see sights there is Tarquinia with an Etruscan museum and painter tombs (and the town itself is probably worth a look) and Cerveteri for another style of Etruscan tombs. A little something different.

If you decide to return in Rome proper, the Tiburtina station is the easiest to reach.
From the ring Beltway or GRA, Grande Raccordo Anulare (A90) go to the Tangenziale EST (A24) toward Roma Centro (see target symbol). Toward the end the roadway goes underground. Stay in the right and follow directions to Stazione Tiburtina, which is nearby. The rental car offices are at various locations near the station, so where you go depends on the company you choose.
If you decide to return to Termini, the directions are the same, but fromthe Tiburtina station you’d drive on Via Tiburtina to Termini, which is not far.
The Termini rental location, where all the companies’ rental returns are, is actually in the top floors of the multistory garage below. It’s next to the Radisson Blu hotel. I usually return it here, but if you don’t feel comfortable driving on city streets, the Tiburtina station is easier, because it’s right at the end of the freeway A24.
ES Park Giolitti (Roma)
Via Giovanni Giolitti, 267, 00185 Roma RM, Italy
+39 06 4470 4053
https://goo.gl/maps/gUeTUub9VKr

If you don’t care to drive long distances at all, and don’t plan to visit any place south of Tuscany (like Orvieto or Civita), then Chiusi is an option to minimize driving. Major companies are there at Chiusi Scalo and from there you can take a train into Rome. A couple of hours on the train and you are at Termini.

If you return at Tiburtina, take a taxi to your hotel from there. No reason to take a train to Termini, then a taxi. The cost will be about the same. And frankly you are more likely to be harassed by soliciting hassles (or plain pickpockets) at Termini than at Tiburtina.

vernacular?? do you mean "funicular"?

Ain't spell check wonderful :-)

I picked mine up at Tiburtina (returned it in Siena). I can't speak to driving to the station (though I see that another poster provided directions to the station), but leaving Rome from Tiburtina was not stressful.

As always, these forums are the best and you are all so helpful. Thank you so much. We've decided to return it to Orvieto. Maybe we'll spend a few hours there before heading on to Rome. We love funiculars!