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Volterra, Orvieto and Rental Car Return in Rome

Posted by (Texas) on

My husband and I are headed to Italy in October. We fly into Rome and immediately head to Positano (4 nights), Florence (3 nights), TBD Tuscan hill town (3 nights. We are considering Montalcino, Montepulciano or Cortona.) and then head back to Rome for 2 nights and then sadly head home.

When we leave Florence, we will rent a car to drive to the TBD hill town. I think I would enjoy stopping in Volterra, but I am concerned about leaving the car with all our luggage. We would leave things hidden in the trunk, but wondering how risky this is. Passports, phones and credit cards would be on us, but really don’t want the rest of our stuff to be stolen either.

When we head back to Rome. I would like to potentially make a stop in Orvieto but have the same question as Volterra. How risky is it to leave the luggage in the car for a couple of hours?

Finally, we will return our rental car before checking into our Rome hotel. Since it will be Sunday, most rental car offices in small towns will be closed, so it looks like Termini or Fiumicino are our only options. Is Fiumicino the easiest of the two as far as avoiding ZTL and very scary traffic?

So, in summary:
1. How risky to leave luggage in trunk of car if we stop in Volterra and Orvieto?
2. Is Fiumicino the easiest of the rental car return places to return car on a Sunday in Rome?

Thank you in advance for your help.

Posted by
8339 posts

All of the rental cars (without trunks) have retractable shades that go over your belongings. In Volterra, you can park in a city parking garage on the edge of the city. In Orvieto, most park in the train station parking lot and take a vernicular (incline) up into the city. I don't consider either high risk parking places.

I suggest you go with Hertz and turn your rental car in at Orvieto. Then ride the 70 minute local train into Rome Termini. The Hertz office is across the street from the train station.

Posted by
5 posts

Unfortunately, yes - from what I've gathered from searching the forum and google, the rental car agencies in the smaller towns are closed on Sunday. So, off to Rome we go.

David, thank you for the info on parking in Volterra and Orvieto. I appreciate the information.

Posted by
2201 posts

There is an underground parking lot in Volterra. I think it is video monitored.

I think car theft in Italy may be overstated. There are certainly neighborhoods in large Italian cities where I would be uncomfortable leaving valuables in the trunk of the car, but I can say the same about any number of cities in the US.

Like you pointed out, it is prudent to make sure nothing is visible in the car. We drove all around Tuscany in our rental car and had no problems. We even left it all day in the public lot in Greve when we took the bus to Florence.

Have a great time! Check to see what festivals will be nearby when you are in the area.

Posted by
1243 posts

OK, I guess I am the only one reading something different into this. You only want a couple of hours in each town?
I have been to Volterra and you park just outside of the town. Then you climb 200-300 steps to the town. May take 20-30 minutes in itself, plus same time going back. You don't have nearly enough time to see much of anything if you only want a couple of hours.

Posted by
5 posts

Charlotte, we are not in a hurry to get to our destinations, so we thought making a detour would be fun if time and weather allows. Thank you for sending some details in regards to timing of the climb to/from the city center. Definitely need to keep this in mind. If we get an early start the detour would be fun, but if we decide we don't have time, we will head on. I guess that is part of the beauty of renting a car - we are on our time schedule.

DougMac - thank you. I live in Dallas/Houston. "Smash and Grabs" are always a concern if you leave items in the open. However, not as much when you leave items hidden in your trunk. I was hoping Italy was similar if not fewer incidents. Either way, we will take passports, phone and credit cards with us wherever we go.

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