Tuscany Car Rental Help Please!

Thanks again everyone! And of course now I just remembered another question! Rick's book recommends getting the AAA International Driving permit if renting a car in Italy. We rented cars last year in Germany and Switzerland and didn't have one, and was never asked. Yes- I even managed to get a ticket in Germany (32 km/hr in a 30 km/hr zone- don't get me started!) Even then nobody asked for one. Is it different for Italy? Thanks again! Dave

David, An IDP is required by Italian Law, see http://www.italiantourism.com/transp.html about halfway down the page.

We had two "home bases" in Tuscany - Siena for 2 nights and a little village outside of Florence, 3 nights. That worked well for us and we saw a lot of hill towns. And yes, my hubby got the Intnl drivers' license !

We trained from Rome into Orvieto and then picked up a car there. It was very very easy - the car rental places were across the street from the train station. We simply walked across the street, got our car, and we were on our way after our visit to Orvieto, which was beautifiul. We used the car throughout Tuscany visiting hill towns - fantastic. Also, we Highly recommend a GPS. Without ours, we would have been hopelessly lost half the time and/or one of us would have had our heads in a map and missed all the spectacular scenery Tuscany has to offer. Enjoy !

David, The bus is the better option from Florence to Siena http://www.sitabus.it/sita-toscana/Firenze-Siena2010.pdf Siena has a Hertz, Avis, and Europcar but you may get better rates through Autoeurope, a broker. After touring Tuscany Orvieto is a good place to return the car.

I have picked up and dropped a car in Siena using Hertz. Their train station location was about a ten minute walk through a few busy traffic intersections. Not the easiest thing to do, but I would do it again if I had to. Getting in and out of Siena was easy with my GPS. Another option would be though Chiusi with offices also close to the train.

Thanks Susan! What rental company did you use? Did you make reservations in advance? And did you return the car to Orvieto or do a one-way rental?

David, We rented through AutoEurope and were happy with everything. The pick up days and hours in Orvieto should be checked - I seem to recall them being closed on Sundays, but AutoEurope will help you with all of that. They were very helpful and communicative by email. We also rented the GPS from them ahead of time. They sent it to our house and we took it with us; mailed it back to them upon our return. After touring around Tuscany, we turned the car in back at Orvieto and then just got on the train there to go south to the Sorrento/Amalfi Coast area.

Wow you all are wonderful! With all your help I think we are leaning toward a Siena rental with dropoff at Orvieto- or maybe even Rome. Of course this leads me to another question! ;) Did most of you with cars pick a "base" and day trip to the hilltowns? Or were you moving hotels each night? Or maybe a combo? I'm thinking maybe 2 or 3 nights in San Gimi for "northern hilltowns" like Voltera and Siena, then maybe 2 or 3 nights perhaps Montepulicano for "southern hilltowns" Does that sound about right? Too much? Not enough? ;) Thanks so much! Dave

David, This may help http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/tuscany/hs_planning.htm