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Suggestions about renting a car in Tuscany

Posted by on

Hi All,

Six of us friends are going to be in Tuscany in October and are exploring options for renting a car. After spending a few days in Cinque Terra first (carless, of course) we want to pick up a rental car and drive to our villa, which is close to Arezzo. After spending a week there, we are wanting to drop the car off in Florence where we're going to spend our last couple of days. So, my questions are:

1) Is it better to rent a car in Pisa or Arezzo? We're thinking we could take the train from Cinque Terra to Pisa and get the car there, or just take another train to Arezzo and rent it there. Thoughts?

2) It looks like it's hard to find a car to fit six people. I found a van on Europecar's website, but it was about $1165, which sounds really high. Is it normally this hard to find a car the right size at a reasonable price?

Thanks for any help you can provide,

David

Posted by
9110 posts

If it includes the super cdw, the price is about right.

Posted by
16895 posts

Yes, vans do usually cost about the same as two cars, so if you see any benefit to two cars, you could go that way. Getting from Cinque Terre to Pisa often requires a train connection. La Spezia can also be a convenient spot to pick up rental cars, served by direct train from the five towns.

Posted by
16240 posts

Rent 2 economy size cars. It will likely be cheaper than a van and offer more flexibility if some people want to do something different when you are all in Arezzo. Each economy size car will cost you less than €300/week (incl. no deductible insurance).
The best pick up location is La Spezia not Pisa. Several rental car companies are in La Spezia just a short taxi ride from the station (AVIS near the station).
Pisa is farther away and all car rental locations (except for one) are at the airport, which usually carry higher rental rates because of airport fees.
Go to the consolidator AutoEurope.com to compare prices. They usually get a better deal than directly with the rental companies.

Posted by
2297 posts

We had similar issues and decided to rent two smaller vehicles instead. That also helps with luggage space. Fitting 6 people into a van AND all their suitcases is not an easy task.

Posted by
3 posts

Thanks so much everyone for all the great tips! I think we will end up going with the two cars......makes a lot of sense.

David

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