SlinkyDog

I'm in the preliminary stages of planning a trip to Italy this fall, and I was wondering if anyone had an opinion on renting a car strictly for the back roads of Tuscany. I can't do city driving (but I can drive a stick! ), and I would like to rent the car primarily for drives in and around the San Quirico and Pienza areas.

Is there a town that is reachable by train from Rome or Florence where I could rent a car and immediately set off on back roads, avoiding city driving (and even highways)? Or is there a place to rent on the outskirts of Florence (or maybe even the airport?) where this is a possibility as well?

Thanks!

Eloise

You can take a train to Chiusi and rent a car there. Many people use Autoeurope, which, confusingly, says that their office is "downtown"; it isn't: it's in Chiusi Scalo, where the train station is.

StuDudley

AutoEurope does not have an office anywhere in Europe - they're in Portland, Maine only. The rental agency that AutoEurope (a broker) may assign you to is Hertz at the train station, or Avis in town.

Orvieto is also a good place to pick up a car if Chiusi does not work out.

Stu Dudley

ira

Hi Stu,

>AutoEurope does not have an office anywhere in Europe - they're in Portland, Maine only...<

I already gave you a point for this. Are you trying to run up the score?

bobthenavigator

Chiusi Is your best bet---take S-146 west from there direct to Pienza via Montepulciano. Good start for Tuscany.

Betsy

The info given you above is good for reaching a locale for renting if you're coming from Rome. If you're in Florence, you can rent in downtown Florence and easily drive out of the city south to Pienza and San Quirico. Renting downtown vs. renting at the airport saves you 20 percent on the entire rental cost.

Dayle

HI Slinky,

2nd trip we picked up in Siena (need to take a taxi from train station to Hertz rental office). Dropped in Orvieto, one block from the train station.

3rd trip I picked up in Chiusi (for a drive to Montalcino) through Autoeurope, at an Avis office. The office was across town at an autodealer and required a cab ride. Dropped at Foligno (Umbria) where the Avis office is right at the train station.

Foligno is the biggest city I drove in. I prefer to stick to the small counryside roads - more fun, more scenic, no tolls, no traffic.

The only catch on small town rental offices is they are closed Sundays, sometimes part of Mondays, and take those LONG Italian lunch breaks. So check the office hours!

Buon viaggio!

tuscanlifeedit

For the Pienza area, I would suggest
Chiusi which is easy to get in and out of by train.

From whence will you be coming and to where will you be going, pre and post S. Tuscany driving adventure?

I might also suggest Arezzo, which is very easy to train in and out of, as well as to drive in and out of. I also find it a fascinating town. However, it is not quite as close to Pienza and the Val d'Orcia as are Chiuse and Siena (in that order).

SlinkyDog

Thanks, everyone, for all your responses.

At this point, it looks like I will be coming from Rome to rent the car and then going on to Florence after, so Chiusi might be closest to rent (but maybe not to drop off?). But as Dayle pointed out, these small-town offices are closed on Sunday, which is of course when I was thinking of renting it!

If I do switch to Monday to pick up the car in Chiusi, I would probably rent from Hertz, wich lists their office as Piazza Dante. But, StuDudley, that is at or close to the train station?

Another option is to stay Sunday night in Orvieto, a town I have always wanted to see, and then rent the car first thing Monday morning from Hertz there. Hertz does show that location as being at the railway station/Via Martini, so I'm assuming it would be close enough to walk? (Dayle, you said that one time you dropped your car off in Orvieto and it was one block from the station, but I wasn't sure if you used Hertz? Also, if I do rent in Orvieto, would I be able to take the back roads to the San Quirico/Pienza area, or would the autostrade be necessary?)

tuscanlifeedit, not sure we are going to be around Arezzo this time, but do you know if the car rental location there is close to the train station? (Hertz lists their location there as Via P. Calamandrei.)

Thanks!

Betsy

Consider renting from AutoEurope, a broker who may set you up with Hertz at a much better rate than actually renting directly from Hertz. Many, many Fodorites (including me) sing the praises of AE. Find it on the
Web at autoeurope.com then make your reservation on their toll-free phone number. They may not list Orvieto or Chiusi on the website, but you can pick up/drop off at either place. In case of a problem with the car, I'd rather phone AE toll-free (24/7) than try to deal with a Hertz rep in Italian.

Eloise

Here's some information from another travel board:

"It's Hertz now, Piazza Dante. A confusing thing is that Auto Europe shows it as Chiusi Downtown, when in fact it's Chiusi Scalo."

"Andrew is right about Hertz in Chiusi. It's very convenient - located directly across the street from the train station.

It's closed on Sunday but has somebody there if a car has been scheduled to be taken or returned."

SlinkyDog

Thanks, Betsy and Eloise. I looked at the Autoeurope site, and will check that out further.

It's interesting that the other forum you were on, Eloise, talked about someone being there on Sunday if needed. I noticed on the Hertz site that if you try to book for Chiusi on Sunday, it says you can't, it's closed. But if you do it for Orvieto, it will let you - even though the hours posted for Orvieto clearly show that it is closed on Sunday. (The Autoeurope site won't let you book on Sunday for Orvieto.)

So I'm wondering what the real answer is here. It makes a huge difference in trip planning if that Sunday is available. Maybe at busy times, like in the fall, they do keep someone on hand to check cars in and out? Does anyone have any first-hand experience with that?

Dayle

HI Slinky,

I can't say about them having someone on hand for Sundays. We just worked around the Sunday issue. Yes, we used Hertz when we dropped at Orvieto and it's easy.

We drove down from Chianti to Orvieto all the way on the small roads and it was easy and beautiful. Just get a good, detailed map.

Eloise

SlinkyDog,

About someone being there in Chiusi on Sunday: I copied that sentence from the Italy forum at www.slowtrav.com, so that would be the best place to ask about first-hand experience.

You have to register to post in the Italy forum, but registration is free.

Eloise

Also: Many people have said here and at slowtrav that they have had good service and advice by calling Autoeurope's 24/7 toll-free number. You might try to give them a call and see what they say.

SlinkyDog

Thanks, Dayle and Eloise. Yes, I would hate to book on a Sunday, only to show up and find no one there!!

StuDudley

I always call AutoEurope if I have questions. I'm picking a car up in Orvieto, and we had to work around some difficult logistic problems because the place I was returning it to was a franchize for Avis and there wasw a drop-off charge, so they switched me to Hertz after calling Hertz to verify something.

I would be a little uncomfortable picking up a car on a Sunday with the "promise" that someone would be there. Can you pick it up in Siena???

Stu Dudley

Dayle

Slinky,

I would highly recommend a night in Orvieto. We stayed for 3 nights doing car day trips 2 days and enjoying the duomo, town and everything else in the mornings and evenings. Be sure to take the underground tour. Very interesting.

Buon viaggio!

SlinkyDog

StuDudley, AutoEurope and Hertz both show Siena as being closed on Sunday. I'm just not sure why Hertz will let me book the Orvieto location online for a Sunday - they are usually on top of stuff like that. I will probably try to contact the Orvieto location directly to see if the Sunday pick-up is legit.

Otherwise, I will probably spend one night in Orvieto and pick the car up on Monday. Thanks for the tip on the underground tour, Dayle!

sedge

Betsy: you answered the car info for driving in Tuscany (from Florence).
Was a cost enormous and who did you rent from. Going in April and only want to rent for a day or so.
Help!