Tuscany, CT, Lakes, Venice, Florence, Positano and Rome

Just a few notes on rental cars in a few places in Italy. First, your rental care will be excellent in Tuscany and down through central Italy to Rome. Many parts of the lakes should be OK as well except that parking could be difficult in the heavy tourist areas. Second, except for rare circumstances, tourist cars are not permitted in any of the 5 CT towns. There are parking lots high up on the hills but they fill up in the high season. Third, absolutley do not drive in Florence. The entire historical section is a ZTL (Zona Traffico Limitado). They have computerized cameras that will take pictures of your license plate and you smiling. Big $150 ticket. Fourth, in Venice, you will have to park your car in the large garage there. Not a problem. Fifth, you can drive in Rome but you'll need to learn to scrape motorscooters off of your windshield. Buy the full CDW. Last, the Amalfi coast is the worse yet for tourists driving rental cars. Its a very narrow and twisty road that is shared in both directions by motorscooters, cars and buses. It can get so narrow in places that buses have a hard time passing each other. Italian drivers feel that they can have any part of the road anytime they want. Its really something. Sorry to be a pooper but that's the reality of driving a rental car in parts of Italy.

Meg,

My first impression is that for your first trip to Italy, using a Car for the places you mentioned may not be the best choice. You might find that a "mix" of car and train would be a better choice.

Given the time for driving to the varied locations you listed, IMHO you may be "pushing it" somewhat. Driving is not as fast as the trains in many cases, so you'd have to allow for adequate travel times.

From a strictly "mathematical" point-of-view, visiting 7 locations in 23 days (you'll lose the first day in flight times) will allow about 3 days in each spot, but travel times will have to be factored into that. In reality you'll probably only have two days in some places (that's a lot of packing and unpacking, checking into Hotels, etc.). I suppose whether that will provide a "balance of romance and sight-seeing" is a matter of personal preference.

I'd suggest having a look at Europe Through The Back Door, as Rick covers the pros & cons of car rental. Italy can be especially challenging due to some of the parking regulations, the Zona Traffico Limitato areas that seem to be ever increasing even in smaller towns, tolls, etc. You'll also need to have the mandatory International Driver's Permit to drive in Italy (not expensive but must be used in conjunction with your home D.L.).

I wouldn't recommend driving in Rome, as the traffic is horrendous! Driving in Florence is also somewhat "problematic" due to the Z.T.L. areas. Kent posted an excellent Map of these zones somewhere in this section, but I'd have to look to find it. As Larry pointed out, driving on the Amalfi coast has unique challenges as well.

While it's certainly possible to structure your trip that way, I wonder whether that would be the most relaxing and enjoyable method for your first trip?

Good luck!

My first trip to Italy I did what I always did in the US, Germany, and other places where it's easy to get around by rental car: I rented a car for the entire Italy trip. During that first trip I learned that, for me, it was a mistake to automatically rent a car for the entire Italy trip, for the reasons explained by Larry and Ken above. Having the car detracted from the relaxed experience that I wanted my vacation experience to be, in ways I didn't understand before I had done a 100% car rental Italy vacation. I learned then what many experienced Italy travlers on this forum have learned: in Italy, if trains go there, take the train (there are a couple of exceptions). Of your 7 locations, the only place a car is anything but an expensive headache is to explore the Tuscany hill towns. I can't remember anyone here, in the last several years, recommending that someone else have a rental car Rome or the CT. We've had people who've done it and were honest enough to say they wouldn't do it again or recommend it to someone else.Driving rental cars in Florence is something a hundred people have reported here they wish they hadn't done; it has cost many of them hundreds of dollars in ZTL fines. A car is also a negative in Lake Como, because the vista views are by ferries out on the lake and walking in the villages; train service to Varenna, the entry point for the mid-lake vistas, is sufficient. There is a problem parking cars in those villages and the roads around the lake do not have scenic overlooks.Maybe it's a mistake you have to make once, before you understand the reasons why three experienced Italy travelers are telling you don't do your trip 100% by rental car.

Ken referred to this thread about the Florence ZTL's 125 reasons not to drive into or in the Florence historic core area

Meg--While Larry is right about some of problems with car, I am a big fan of cars vs. trains, especially if primary purpose is to "see" the country vs. go to big cities. Driving in the big cities is no fun at all. Driving in the country instead of taking a train thru the country is priceless. If you start trip in Rome or Venice and end trip in either place, then you can avoid driving in Rome and dont have to worry about parking and leaving car in Venice.
Give me a call--404.680.7024 and I will try to give the reasons I like cars having done both.

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