Renting car in venice to go to florence

Why don't you take train all the way to Venice Santa Lucia? Rent a car when you leave Venice. Car rentals are available at Piazzale Roma.

Gee, a train will get you there in about 2 hours.

I'm also not sure why you would want to drive between Venice and Florence when the train is so much easier and you don't have to worry about parking. That will take a LOT more time than just taking the train. Aren't you the same poster who was asking about a van and driver to take you to Florence and then return you to Venice? Are you still planning on hauling all of your cruise luggage with you?

Just to add, your other posts all mention concern about the member in your group who has difficulty with walking. Consider that if you take the train all you need to do is go from the hotel to the closest vaporetto to the train station. Take the train, then, if your hotel is near Ponte Vecchio, take a taxi to the hotel.

If you want to drive, the you still have to go to the train station and go to Mestre, then get to the car rental agency. Outside Florence you have to find a parking lot, then find a taxi to your hotel. Returning to Venice is just the reverse - and you'll still need to the the train back into Venice. So you seem to be adding several unnecessary steps to the process.

ask the hotel locals in Florence ; they will know where to park

Take the train the 150 miles. Much of the trip is on a river delta that looks like Arkansas and is not especially scenic.

I’m not sure why you would want to drive. That takes more than twice as long. Even if someone in your party can not walk too far, however you cannot drive to either your Venice hotel or your Florence hotel. Much easier to take the vaporetto to the Santa Lucia station, then when you arrive at Florence Santa Maria Novella station, take a taxi to the hotel. The only walk required is 100 yards from the vaporetto to the train in Venice, and a similar distance from the train in Florence to the taxi stand in front of the Florence station. However Trenitalia also offers a service to the disabled in the many Sala Blu points. If necessary they can pick up a person with disability with a wheelchair and put them on a taxi with no walking at all required.

I agree with the others that taking the train would be a far better decision. That route is served by either Freccia or Italo fast trains, which travel at up to 300 km/h, which is much faster than any car.

A couple of other points to keep in mind. 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!

You may also want to have a look at some of the other posts here concerning the dreaded Zona Traffico Limitato (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

There's also the issue of parking tickets, high fuel costs, tolls and automated speed cameras including the devious Traffic Tutor system which measures not only instantaneous speed but also average between two points. Violate either or both parameter and expensive tickets will follow.

Some people just cannot understand that trains are actually EASIER than rental vehicles...mostly Americans because have a horrible practically nonexistent train system in the USA.

And some also don't understand about packing light and NOT taking multiple LARGE suitcases.

From other posts, looks like the OP is coming off a cruise ship in Venice, spending 1 night Venice, then moving on to Florence. Cruisers often pack heavy, and that's OK. The train is definitely the way to go. If you book SuperEconomy nonrefundable tickets several months in advance, you can get Business/First Class for 35.90 EUR per person. 2 hours later, you're in Florence. Trains are generally once an hour, sometimes two per hour. Very comfortable trip. The Venice Santa Lucia station is on the water and there is a wheel chair ramp on the left hand side of the station, so you don't even have stairs to deal with if you want to avoid them.

To put it simply, there is no free parking in Florence. The best thing to do would be finding a parking silo - no silos close to Ponte Vecchio, maybe some private garages - and pay something like 40-50 euro per day fee. You may consider it if you have a really serious reason for renting a car instead of taking a train - your parking fees alone may be more expensive than the train ticket.

If you want a car for driving around Tuscany, you could rent one for a day and visit one or two other destinations that way. But buses and trains work well for most daytrips, too.

thank you to all who have been kind and helpful in their experience ..(.yes, we are the same posters who were first considering a van and driver)....we were trying to get all the good advice possible from experienced travelers ...and we ignored the somewhat nasty , judgmental ones ! Thats the price of an open forum I guess...
The train sounds like the absolute easiest way to go for us...as we have found that there are luggage storage places near the airport (the most convenient for our situation). so thanks to all you travelers!

Sounds like you've found a good solution: storing the luggage right after you get off the ship, taking taxis and the train. Nice way to finish off a trip.

It will cut into your time in Venice, but seems you have determined that is your best option. The airport is not very convenient to Venice itself.
Read this to look at your options on how to accomplish this:
https://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/venice-cruises.htm

Assuming from this that you are flying home from Venice airport.
What time is your flight? That's important for your return from Florence

You might consider, from the above article, buying the cruise ship's airport transfer service. Then you can store your bags, and with a lighter load, go into Venice proper. Since there are 4 of you, take a water taxi to your canal side hotel, about 120 EUR total for the 4 of you, a nice little splurge to enter Venice this way.

When you return from Florence on the train get off at Mestre and take a land taxi to the airport. Again, you might have to stay overnight at an airport hotel if you have a morning flight.