Rental car in Tuscany
Mar 4th, 2014, 06:04 AM
#1
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Rental car in Tuscany
My 22 year old son and I were told it might be nice to rent a car for our 3 days of Tuscany so we can drive to any of the little villages freely. I thought about renting in Siena after coming back by train from the Cinque Terre, and using it 3 days and drop it off in Rome. Are prices higher out of Siena? Should I rent from Florence? Any ideas how much it would cost for the most basic car for 3 days? Any helpful hints about doing this will be greatly appreciated.
Mar 4th, 2014, 06:20 AM
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Mar 4th, 2014, 06:21 AM
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Prices vary depending on the class of car you rent and sometimes by location of the pickup (airport, train station); they don't vary by geography. It will always be more expensive to rent an automatic than a manual (and no one can ever guarantee you 100% an automatic). I always use AutoEurope, which will match or undercut any price you get elsewhere.
Mar 4th, 2014, 06:22 AM
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It's easiest to take the train back into Florence. You can catch a 2 mile taxi ride from the train station to Hertz at 53 Via del Sansovino. It's 4 lane highway all the way to Siena. They'll give you directions to avoid any ZTL's.
Siena is a rather congested, hilly city, and picking up a car in Florence is just so much easier. I prefer to stay out of Siena with an auto--staying in the countryside back toward San Gimignano or Certaldo.
I would suggest you go ahead and join Hertz'Gold Plus Rewards Program to get their lowest rack rates online. You can also check with AutoEurope.com to compare rates using the Sansovino address which means you'd be getting the same Hertz car. Sometimes they're less expensive than direct with Hertz.
Many travelers drop rental cars at the Hertz Orvieto train station office. The train only takes 70 minutes into Rome Termini.
Siena is a rather congested, hilly city, and picking up a car in Florence is just so much easier. I prefer to stay out of Siena with an auto--staying in the countryside back toward San Gimignano or Certaldo.
I would suggest you go ahead and join Hertz'Gold Plus Rewards Program to get their lowest rack rates online. You can also check with AutoEurope.com to compare rates using the Sansovino address which means you'd be getting the same Hertz car. Sometimes they're less expensive than direct with Hertz.
Many travelers drop rental cars at the Hertz Orvieto train station office. The train only takes 70 minutes into Rome Termini.
Mar 4th, 2014, 10:40 AM
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We took the train from Cinque Terre to Lucca (spent two days in Lucca), train to Sienna and picked up our rental car just a few blocks from the train station in Siena and drove to Pienza. Other than having to make a couple extra circles around some roundabouts getting out of Sienna (to read the signs), it wasn't bad. We had plenty of time to get to Pienza before dark so weren't in a rush. Loved having a car for the week there so we could explore all the villages. We had planned to return to Orvieto and train to Rome as Bamaman suggested but the rental car agency was not open on Sunday so instead we drove to the Rome airport and returned it there. I have no experience with the other options suggested and they may be better alternatives, but ours worked fine.
Mar 4th, 2014, 02:10 PM
#6
What towns in Tuscany did you want to explore?
Depending on where you'll be starting from in the Cinque Terre, the train ride to Siena can involve 3-4 trains and 3.5-4 or more hours. Unless you were planning to spend a night or two in Siena, I don't see the point of going there just to rent a car. You could train to La Spezia instead and rent the car there.
Depending on where you'll be starting from in the Cinque Terre, the train ride to Siena can involve 3-4 trains and 3.5-4 or more hours. Unless you were planning to spend a night or two in Siena, I don't see the point of going there just to rent a car. You could train to La Spezia instead and rent the car there.
Mar 4th, 2014, 05:25 PM
#7
I don't see the point of taking a train back to Florence (assuming you are going there before CT). You could pick up a car in Pisa (airport is probably easiest and 5 minutes by train from Pisa Centrale train station) and head through the Tuscany countryside to Siena. Drop your car in Orvieto or Chiusi and catch a train on to Rome.
