Tuscany.. Driving to Rome or Train from Florence ?

1. Florence is in Tuscany, just like Chicago is in Illinois. Maybe you are going to visit the Chianti area driving along the SR222?
2. There are reputable rental agencies that do not ask for additional fees when you drop off in another city. I think Roberto named one in a previous post. Is the fee so high even if you drop the car off between Florence and Rome? For example in Orvieto or Chiusi, where you can take a local to Rome.
3. If you see train prices in $ you are not using the official railway sites. Some re-sellers are reputable, some aren't.
4. Premium class is a waste of money
5. Read the conditions of discounted train tickets before buying them. The cheapest tickets are no changes/no refunds
6. Do not enter any ZTL zone, where only residents are allowed to drive in, or you'll be fined. There is a ZTL in every city, the one in Florence is dreaded by drivers from all over the world.
7. Do not leave anything in the car. Even if it's not visible from the outside.

Where in Tuscany do you plan to stay? If you are staying in the southern part, such as Montepulciano, then it's ~2 1/2 hours to drive to Rome. It's ~ 1 1/2 hours to drive to Florence, than ~ 1 1/2 hours to take the speed train to Rome. That doesn't count the time to get from the rental office to the train station. From a time standpoint it would be about the same. If you are staying near Florence, say Greve, it would take longer to drive to Rome and not as long to drive to Florence.

If you just want to get from Tuscany to Rome, then the train would work. If you want to take a leisurely drive and explore more of Italy, there's plenty to see on the way to Rome.

Look carefully at the difference between traveling premium compared to standard class on the train. We took the train from London to Paris standard class. The seats are more like first class airline tickets, we were very comfortable.

Rome is so confusing to drive into. We lived there and I dreaded driving into and out of the city. Driving in the countryside was fine. Do your Tuscany tour and return the car in Florence. The high speed train is a delight and if you have no other chance to take a train in Italy, by all means do this easy journey.

Never charged a drop off fee in Italy. I’ve rented from Europcar Hertz and Budget aver the years.
Check www.autoeurope.com, a consolidator, they work with all major companies.
Whether you want to drop off the car in Florence or drive to Rome, depends on where you are. If you are already around Siena, then it’s better to drive to Rome or drop in Chiusi (then train from there).
Rome has many rental offices for each company. Some are easy to reach, others less so. Tiburtina station is easy to reach from the Tangenziale Est/A24 Freeway (which comes from the east of the city.

We always pick up or leave off our cars at the airport (Except one time when we did it inside the city-NEVER AGAIN). It's an easy drive to airport ,then train in. since you'll be in Tuscany, enjoy that day seeing some great areas.

We are staying in an airbnb in Località Stroll, Toscana 53036

Do you know which rental car company does not charge a fee for the one way? Avis, Hertz, both charge. for the one way drop off from Florence to Rome.

On the autoeurope.com webiste: there is pop up when I put the dates and the return location:]
ONE WAY CAR RENTAL INFORMATION
Rental car suppliers sometimes have restrictions or additional fees for rentals picked up and dropped off in different locations, often to be paid locally. Should a one way fee be applicable, the final price and one way fee cannot be calculated until you choose a specific pick-up and drop-off location. The final costs will be displayed on the booking form prior to payment.

Thoughts?

I've never heard of Stroll in Tuscany. Maybe La Strolla.
If you rent from www.autoeurope.com or www.kemwel.com (both part of the same company group), regardless of what the pop up says, you won't pay any fee.
If you rent directly from Hertz in the US, maybe they will slap you such fee. In that case when you book tell them you pick up and return at the same place. Then when you are in Italy, you call the local office and tell them you changed your mind and you are going to return the car in Rome (I changed my mind all the time on the return location). You will not be charged extra, believe me. Once I called the 800 number and told them I would return the car at a different office. The guy at the call center told me on the phone there was an extra charge for 25 euro, I said ok. But when I actually returned it at the different location, I was not charged anything.

Thank you VERY much for the rental car tip. I will do that and book it to return the same location. Then change it later.

Yes, we're staying in La Strolla.

Confirming: Chiusi (then train from there) is the easiest drop off place for the rental car.
Reading the threads on returning a car at the Rome airport made me a concerned, so thanks for the clarity.

Aloha, Kathy