My husband and I are going to Italy in June. We will be in Florence 6/26-6/29 then plan on renting a car for the 4 days so we can do day trips from the farmhouse we are renting in San Gimignano. I would love a rental car recomendation and are they generally stick shift? Thanks!
Posted by
San Carlos, CA, USA
383 posts
I recommend getting your car rental online through Auto Europe (Europcar) before you leave the States. I recommend picking your car up from the Via Gelsomino location of Europcar. Take a taxi to that location then pick up your car. It is a easy, straight shoot out of town. Manual transmission is cheaper but we went with automatic to simplify things.
Posted by
Portlandia
3313 posts
Agree with Autoeurope which acts an agent for more than one rental car company. They are very easy to deal with through the 24/7 office in Maine. You may want to look at picking up at the airport when you're ready to leave Florence so that you can avoid a wrong turn in Florence drawing you a fine from a photo camera where non-resident cars are banned. You'll also need an International Drivers Permit. They are simply translations of your drivers license and are mandatory in Italy. You can get them at AAA. Oh, and sticks are much more common than automatics.
Posted by
Caruthers, CA, USA
244 posts
We'll be in Florence a week earlier. I looked at the autoeurope site and they quoted $104/day. CDW is included, which I don't need because my Visa provides it. Kayak.com provides cars starting at $54/day I will post more when I've secured a car. Does anybody have experience with Car Italy and Tours?
Posted by
San Francisco, CA
166 posts
Generally, they are stick shift. You can get automatic from the larger rental sites (e.g. at airports) but it will be more expensive. We have rented a car several times through Auto Europe. Never had a problem. We've also rented directly from Hertz and Avis. We shop around and see what the best rates are. All of the car companies in Italy mandate fully comprehensive coverage in my experience, regardless of what kind of credit card you have. Your credit card insurance can cover any excess and damages that are uncovered (e.g. damage to the underside of the car from, for example, grounding it on one of those bumpy Strada Bianchi) Mathew