To car rent or not?

yes it is worth it, and it's no hassle at all. we rented a car for 2 day's while in siena and visited 6 hilltowns. we use auto europe, no problems. a year ago when we were a couple of months away from our italy trip i had asked the same question here and we were so GLAD that we rented a car. it's not that public transportation is not available for the hilltowns(we used it for the rest of our trip)but you are at the mercy of the public transportation schedules. i'm sure you will get alot of responses going either way. go for it driving in tuscany was a great experience!!! good luck :):)

I agree with Bruce. It's easy to check rates on the Autoeurope web site. You'll get a better deal reserving in advance from the U.S. than waiting and renting on the spot. It's not a hassle to rent a car in Italy, but it does take more time than it does here. Expect about half an hour.

Thanks! That is very helpful! Did you have to get a special license for car rental in Italy?

Yes, many travelers find that renting a car is the best way to see the Tuscan hill towns. Even for just 2 days. You need to bring your US driver license (mandatory to rent) and Italian law requires you to have an int'l driver permit (IDP), which you can get at your local AAA office for $15, it's just a translation of your US DL so it's not like you have to take a test or anything. I read you can even do it at the AAA website, but have to supply 2 passport pics if you do it online? (that's what I read). Some travelers don't get the IDP, a subject much discussed here in the past: most posters here have agreed that since Italian law requires an IDP (not all countries do) it's better to comply with their law. Some have reported that having an IDP seemed to put the police officer in a better mood since the officer did not have to try to translate or find the expiration date of your license on your US license (these were travelers who have been stopped, I guess).

Since the question came up (and Kent taught me how to search for past posts and imbed links), yes, you should get an IDP for Italy. Without one, they can fine you on the spot. I led a debate on the topic a while ago and managed to persuade myself of this. And, as always when I mention this, Norm was right...

Lindsey, I often rent a Car for "special purposes" so I guess the short answer to your question is, it depends on what cities you want to see in Tuscany.

One other point that hasn't been mentioned yet is the Zona Traffico Limitato zones, which are intended to "discourage" drivers from entering certain areas. Florence seems to be mentioned more often than other locations, but I've seen these in various parts of Italy.

In some areas, computerized Cameras are installed to photograph license plates, and travellers who pass through these zones can expect a ticket in the mail from "European Municipality Outsourcing" a few months after they get home. Since virtually ALL rental contracts include a clause stating that the renter agrees to pay all traffic fines, there's not much chance of disputing it.

There have been some "lively" discussions here on whether or not to pay the tickets, and if you're interested do a search to read the previous posts on the subject (you might try Kent's new "Search" method in the "General Europe" section).