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Tuscany-area Car rental? 10-day visit end of Sept '25.

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My niece and I are traveling to Italy for 15 days in mid-Sept 2025; five of those days we'll be based in Cinque Terre and 6 in Florence (we already have our reservations for each place).

We originate in Rome (for 4 days) then plan to take a train to our accommodations in Monterosso al Mare. While in the area, we want to see and experience the Tuscany countryside and wine vineyards, as well as visit a few of the more-recommended towns and/or locales, such as Siena, San Gimignano, Volterra, Val d'Orcia, etc.

Our question is this: does it make sense for us to rent a vehicle for part of the 6 days in Florence to venture out to the countryside? Or might there be recommendations for day-trips either from Monterosso al Mare or Florence to take in some of the area without having to drive? I've driven in Italy previously so not concerned about that; I'd like input on pros and cons of having a vehicle for part of those days vs. hiring a driver or taking tours. And recommendations for rental companies if that makes sense.
Thank you, Kristin

Posted by
16450 posts

Monterosso is neither in Tuscany nor in a central location from which you can easily visit the Tuscan locations you mentioned (which are rather far). Monterosso is hard to reach and hard to get in and out of, especially with a car.
If you want to see Tuscany you should shorten your stay in Monterosso to maybe 3 nights and add that time to Tuscany.
Florence is indeed in Tuscany and can be used as a base to visit many Tuscany locations. Florence however is not car friendly. So if you intend to use it as a base for day trips to Tuscan places you either use public transportation or rent a car for a few days but stay at a hotel outside the city center or you shorten your stay in Florence to only 3 nights then you rent a car and head somewhere out of town (based on what you want to visit maybe somewhere in the Siena province)

Posted by
5621 posts

Agree with Roberto--if you can still shift some of those assigned nights, inserting a rural Tuscany stay with a car would accomplish all of your goals. You can do in intensive city visit of Florence and move some of those nights, and only the most avid hiker would need five days in CT--though of course there are day trips you can do along the coast.
I would only use a driver if you intended to do wine tasting.
Everybody loves AutoEurope, they offer you a useful comparison of the majors (Hertz, etc.) whether you go with them or not.

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