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Best place for car pickup - Rome or Assisi?

Best place for car pickup - Rome or Assisi?

Old Sep 2nd, 2002, 08:10 AM
  #1  
Jane
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Best place for car pickup - Rome or Assisi?

I'm planning a trip to Italy next May, and wonder if I should pickup a car in Rome or Assisi. It will be used for only two days to travel around Umbria and the Marches and then dropped off in either Bologna or Venice.

We will be purchasing flexisaver passes for eight days, and we have a day to play with on the pass usage so train travel cost isn't an issue.

Is picking up a car in Rome a nightmare? Can you pick up one on the outskirts near a metro stop? Is it easy enough to drop a car off in Venice?

Or should we pickup in Assisi and drop off in Bologna? Comments welcomed!

 
Old Sep 2nd, 2002, 01:45 PM
  #2  
Betsy
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Jane, type your itinerary into www.railsaver.com to determine if it's less expensive to use a Flexisaver pass or to buy point to point tickets. If you find a pass is the better option, check out the rail/drive option offered by Eurail. You have to do a LOT of train travel for a pass to be cost effective.

My husband and I used the five-day pass for a five week trip to Italy last fall. We landed in Paris, trained to Italy and used the pass while in Italy. Then we trained back to Paris via Munich. The pass was only a little less than point to point tickets would have been.
 
Old Sep 2nd, 2002, 03:16 PM
  #3  
Rex
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I agree that Rail'n'Drive may be your best option - - primarily because a car rental for less than three days essentially costs you the same as the usual (minimum) three day rental.

A Flexi Rail Card plus a separate car rental might be the worst choice, from a cost standpoint. Point to point tickets could be 20-40% less than the Flexi. Remember that passes are designed to recover those (crazy) people who know they will be "milking it" for all it's worth - - typically an average of OVER 250 miles of train travel EACH day that the pass is good.

I don't think that pickup in Rome, nor drop-off in Venice should be too daunting, though I have never picked up a car at Sta. Maria degli Angeli (train station nearest Assisi) for comparison purposes.

Best wishes,

Rex
 
Old Sep 2nd, 2002, 05:28 PM
  #4  
gb
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I vote for Assisi. Not only is the traffic hard to understand in Rome, it's hard to find your way out of the town even with a good map. If you don't need the car to get to Assisi, I get it there. Driving in the country is not a problem.
 
Old Sep 3rd, 2002, 06:14 AM
  #5  
Steve James
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Hello Jane,

Your most convenient might be Foligno (on the train route to Assisi), where there is an AVIS near the railway station.

Just an idea ...

Steve
 
Old Sep 4th, 2002, 10:41 AM
  #6  
linda
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One consideration reome sort of rail pass. We used the flexipass in italy, and the best part of it is that if you don't want to make reservations on the high speed train, you can just show up at station and get on train you want (already ascertained via a $4.00 schedule book readily available in all train stations). The lines in the train stations for info/ticket purchase were AWFUL!!!! Cannot emphasize enough that we didn't want to waste 1/4 of the day in train lines, just wanted to show up and get on a train. We broke even, but felt it to be a wonderful bargain considering the convenience. Enjoy
 
Old Sep 4th, 2002, 12:19 PM
  #7  
Dale
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Jane: You migh consider picking up your car in Arrezzo. The Avis office is accross the square from the Railroad station and exiting the town is no more than a right turn.
 
Old Sep 4th, 2002, 12:28 PM
  #8  
Marilyn
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We got our car through Auto Europe and picked it up in Perugia which is very close to Assisi. We chose to drive in the rural area and not attempt Rome driving which is very hectic. M.
 
Old Sep 9th, 2002, 11:55 AM
  #9  
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