Sorrento to Tuscany with car - advise please?

Best to get as close as you can to where you want to be in Tuscany and rent a car there. You don't want to navigate out of Rome in a rental car. A lot of people suggest renting in Orvieto.

We rented a large mini-van in Rome and drove to Vesuvius, Pompeii, and Sorrento without a problem. We enjoyed the convenience and flexibility of having our own vehicle. We then drove to Florence (via the Chianti Highway and the hill towns) without incidence. (Our hotel was on the "other" side of the Arno River, near Piazzale Michelangelo, with parking.)

So, my recommendation is to have a car where you think you'll enjoy having it, and it will work out fine. But, as Kent said, Naples is definitely to be avoided. (We took the hydrofoil from Sorrento for a day trip to Naples - much saner than the car.)

I always try to rent in a suburb. You can avoid the air terminal fee and also avoid driving in heavy traffic.

Be aware that petrol is expensive and parking is almost non-existant. Taking a bus or train to anywhere in Italy is recommended. Faster and cheaper.

I would get as close as you can by train, and then pickup the car. The easiest might be to take the train all the way to florence, and get your car there.

Do NOT rent a car in Rome. We rented in north Rome, were told how "easy" it was to navigate out of Rome to A24 and with a GPS it took us 45 min. through city as we were totally confused and in the WORST traffic ever!! I would rent car close to Sorrento, and use GPS to get to villa but do not go through cities. The autostrada is not for wimps but was easier than we thought. The expense of gas and tolls adds up but if there are several travelers together it is nice to drive. We drove all through Abruzzo, Tuscany, to Pompeii and then to Venice. It was not bad and we loved it!! Also, do not drive in Florence. We did and we shouldn't have. That is the best advice that is repeated over and over on this board. Wish I listened(:

Thanks everybody. I appreciate stepping up to the plate to help me, and I will return the favor when I get back.

Ok, so plans have changed slightly - now we are only going as far as Formia - (for a weekend in Ventotene), so after this, I would still assume I should rent a car in the most north point of Rome to head to Tuscany. Someone suggested a suburb location - where would that be? And/or what would the easiest location to rent this car within Rome. I'm not too scared about navigating or driving on the freeway, I drive in downtown L.A. everyday, and I'm pretty good at it (however driving a bigger car than I know I'll get there.)

Returning in Florence - again, easiest location ideally...any one know which one that is?

Kent is right, we were foolish to drive "out of Rome". (Not as bad as into or inside of Rome, or so we were told) My daughter to this day loves to ask us "if we didn't have the GPS would we still be driving around Rome?" and I say yes, but we would have stopped at the courthouse for our divorce!! It was not a pleasant time of the trip but one we laugh about now. In Florence I would use the airport. Do not drive into that city even if your life depended on it (: I would pay extra and pick up car at Rome airport. We were in North Rome and I can tell you it looked easy and it was not. Scooters merging and signs in Italian, Yikes, it was crazy. We thought we were doing what GPS was telling us but then it would "recalculate" as we misunderstood. We are not novice drivers in big cities either!! Good luck! Having a car was really nice for us in Tuscany, etc.

i am staying in sorrento and would like to ride a bus/ferry combination to salerno and rent a car there. it looks like you can stay outside of rome on the A1 and the trip should be around 4-5 hours which seems to be shorter than taking the train.

we're staying in siena for 3 nights after amalfi, so we would use the car one day to see tuscany. we will probably have to pay for a day of the car that we will not need it, but the convenience seems like it will outweigh the costs (the autoeurope quote was only $300) and there are 4 of us.

is renting a car a horrible idea? can driving in italy really be that much worse than los angeles?

No, renting a car is not a horrible idea!

We rented a car at FCO and had no problems getting on to the A1 toward Naples. Just keep an eye out for the signs on your right. We did go a little bit slower so that we would not miss the sign. The autostrada in not that bad if you just think like an italian and be agressive! Remember to get the driving permit and the "super" insurance. Also..get used to them flashing their lights at you to get out of their way...have fun!