whether or not to get the extra car insurance for rental?

You need to check what your credit card would cover. Please read the fine print carefully as thist can vary widely. Many American ones exclude Italy or have other limitations that would require you to take up the extra insurance at the rental company. We went with CIBC Aerogold Visa a couple of years ago and that was enough to cover us. No need for anything extra at the rental agency. And when we were at fault for a small accident (only some scrapes on the rental car, probably around $2K) it was covered 100% by CIBC Visa with no problem.

joan, Here are a few points to mention regarding driving in Italy..... One important point to note is that for driving in Italy, each driver must have the compulsory International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with your home D.L. These are valid for one year, and easily obtained at any AAA office (two Passport-sized photos required, which in some case is offered at the issuing office). Failure to produce an IDP if requested can result in fines on the spot! Have a look at This Website for more detailed information. You may also want to search other Posts here regarding the Zona Traffico Limitato areas that are becoming increasingly prevalent in many towns in Italy. EACH PASS through one of the automated Cameras will result in a €100+ ticket! A GPS along with a good Map would also be a good idea. Be sure to also give some thought to the question of CDW. If you accept the CDW offered by the rental firm, it will be expensive but will provide "peace of mind". Some "premium" credit cards provide rental vehicle insurance, however I've found this to be somewhat complicated so I just accept that offered by the rental firm. Check the Car Rental section in Europe Through The Back Door for further information.

Hi Joan, We just got back from Mexico (another country where regular credit card insurance often doesn't cover) where we rented a car from Hertz. While waiting our turn in line, a woman in front of us with Amex card declined the insurance because of coverage with her card and the agent there required her to put a $5000. deposit on the card for her rental. Not sure if this is peculiar to Mexico but I would check into whether or not this is a requirement for Italy. Best of luck, Sherry

It is very UNLIKELY that your credit card will provide insurance in Italy. In fact most do not provide coverage in Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Israel. You would be better off buying the inclusive package which has a 200 to 400 euro deductible. However, you should check with with your credit card to be sure. We generally book with autoeurope.com because their deductible is 200 euro instead of the usual 400 euro deductible. Buon viaggio,

I just gave a specific example where a credit card covered damage caused by driver error in Italy with 0 deductible. The credit card we used is a very popular one around here. However, you'd still need to check the fine print to make sure that there haven't been any changes recently to their policies that would affect the coverage. Ken's point about the ZTL is an important one. As you mentioned you want to visit small hill towns that aren't accessible otherwise I assume you're not taking your car into cities like Florence, Siena or Pisa - that's where you're most likely to encounter problems with stressful driving and missing out on the signage for restricted entry. Make sure you use some of the designated parking areas outside the historic centres. Most towns in Europe have those pedestrian only areas in the centre. Some tourists get fooled when seeing cars driving in there not realizing that they might have a special permit giving them an exemption (e.g. for deliveries).

We have a pretty high end American Express card and one of the few places that it doesn't cover CDW on is Italy.

Thank you to all for your advice! It is greatly appreciated!

I have a Mastercard. Called my bank and I am covered in Italy but ONLY if I decline all collision damage waivers with my rental; but the sites I've checked so far all seem to require and/or include basic CDW with the rental, so I may have to either pay an extra $100 or so for "super damage waiver" in order to have a zero deductible.

Joan, Even the tiny villages have regular bus service. Just a thought.

I also have a MasterCard that would cover me in Italy, but only if I declined all coverages from the rental agency. I see you're from Canada, and Canadian issued cards may have different rules. When I tried to waive all coverages, Hertz seemed willing to allow it, but then wouldn't reduce the rate. I tried with AutoEurope, but they don't allow you to waive the CDW. My suggestion is to find the best rate you can and call AutoEurope. They matched the rate I found on Hertz (using my OnePass member discount) AND included the zero deductible coverage. A 3 day rental wound up being around $145.00 with all taxes (except the road tax of about 7 euros), fees, and insurances. Having the piece of mind of no deductible and avoiding the hassle of going through your card for coverage on even the smallest scratch just seemed better to me than any minuscule savings I could have gotten by declining the CDW. Another point, if you find a rental that does allow you to waive the CDW and reduces the rate to the level where it makes sense to do so, I would still be concerned about what would happen when you pick up the car in Italy. I'd worry that they may require you to accept the CDW (likely at a higher cost) before picking up the car.

Since you're only renting for two days, get the Super CDW from the rental company. The expense won't be much, and you'll have total peace of mind.