We are renting a car in Orvieto. We will take a morning train from Rome, and I thought we could put our bags in the car, leave the car at the train station (where we will be picking it up), and spend the day in Orvieto. Will the car and contents be safe parked there?
It seems that the Orvieto train station does not have lockers, so that is not an option.
Thanks!
In March, we left our luggage in a Fiat Punta(covered)in the lot and had no problems.
The lot is wide open, so with all the coming and going, I wasn't concerned. My rule is they look for big, expensive cars first, not little ones.
When we were traveling last week with our car full of luggage, we put as much as we could in the hatchback, found a large tree in the parking lot and backed our car up against it. I don't know if there's a similar setup at the Orvieto train station, but I felt pretty secure with the car parked like that.
I always hesitate to answer this question since crime is so random and unpredictable. We have left luggage in our car on many occasions (all tucked away and out of sight) and never had any problem. We left our car for 3 nights in the Orvieto parking lot by the train station and had no problems. (The only difference between you and us was we had nothing in the trunk...but a thief doesn't know that so the risk of being broken in to is the same) A couple of things we do:
We never leave anything out in the part of the car you can see (other than a newspaper or something) All maps, travel guides, etc are in the trunk.
We actually leave the glove compartment and any other "doors" open to show there is nothing worth stealing in them. (Not for a short stop, but if we are leaving the car for multiple nights)
We never get into the trunk once we park. Once we load up the trunk in the morning, we try not open it again until evening. (everything we need for day has already been packed in the day bag) If we do need to get into the trunk, we pull over and do it before we are close the parking lot.
People do get broken into and if there is stuff in the trunk it will be gone. (Thieves don't go through your stuff looking for valuables, they just take everything) Keep all your valuables in your money belt.
I would do just what you are planning.
The car we are renting is very small. I suspect we will end up with a hatchback. I am not quite sure how we would conceal our bags. We will have 2 convertible carryons. Should I bring a small blanket to cover them? We can carry our messenger bag with us.
I never put anything into a trunk at the location I will be leaving it. I assume we can load the car and then move it to another part of the parking lot. I'll also buy a newpaper in Rome and leave in visible in the car.
Thanks for all your replies.
We have always had a hatchback and there has always been a cover to pull over and make it more like a trunk (can't see into it.) I would be surprised if yours did not. However, if you are unhappy with what they give you, you might explain the situation and ask for a different car. My husband did that in Ireland (he wasn't happy with the fact that the glove compartment door would not stay shut) and they gave us a new vehicle.
EDITED
NEVER leave your bags in a parked car at a tourist destination. Covering the contents will do nothing to deter a criminal act. They will still know that there is something there, and they will steal it regardless. Orvieto is a tourist destination and where there are tourists, there are thieves. If it were some other random town, I would say OK.
The large parking lot behind the Orvieto train station seems like a safe enough place, as long as you take the usual precautions. I might suggest that you keep an eye out for any potential signs stating when and where to park. When I tried to retrieve my car on a Sunday afternoon, I saw a huge flea market where I my car should have been. I eventually located the car in another section of the lot - someone moved it so the flea market could set up. Along the same lines, if you are also visiting Siena and plan to park your car along the streets there, look for the signs (in Italian) that state when you can't park because of street cleaning.
