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Should we rent a car in Florence for our few days in Greve?

Should we rent a car in Florence for our few days in Greve?

Old Nov 15th, 2015, 05:13 PM
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Should we rent a car in Florence for our few days in Greve?

Hello! My head is kind of spinning from trying to sort through these awesome forums! My question is this.....After landing in Rome we will be heading to Tuscany for a few days. I had originally thought we would rent a car in Rome and then drive to where we are staying in Greve. My concern is that after flying all night my husband will not be in his best "driving" mode. I was thinking about hiring a car to take us from Rome to Florence, and then renting a car for us to finish the drive. Taking the train is not high up on my husband's list of things he wants to do. My question is this.....Do you think we need a car in Tuscany, or is it easy to get from place to place without one? Much appreciated!!
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Old Nov 15th, 2015, 05:49 PM
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Will taking a train still not be high up on his list after seeing the price tag of "hiring a car to take us from Rome to Florence?"
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Old Nov 15th, 2015, 07:27 PM
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The train is your best bet. After having done a long flight and then rented a car for a long drive in Italy - I agree that you do not want to do that. I do think you need a car in Greve, to explore the area, but a train is a very comfortable and efficient way to travel from Rome to Florence.

Why not spend a few days in Rome, take a train to Florence then rent a car to Greve. We had a car in Greve, as we drove in from another area in Italy, but when we wanted to visit Florence from there, we took the bus from Greve to Florence and back as did many locals. It was efficient, comfortable, had a frequent schedule and we did not need to search out parking in Florence or deal with traffic.
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Old Nov 15th, 2015, 10:14 PM
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Taking a train from Rome to Florence is a clever thing to do, as the trains travel on a high speed line at 220 km/h (that's 135 mph) while you could drive, under the best conditions, only at 130 km/h (that's 80 mph). You can travel from FCO to the center of Florence in under 2.30 hours including a change, while the same drive would take 4 hours. - Hiring a car with a driver from Rome to Florence would be very expensive and slower than taking the train.

I would rent a car in Florence; there are buses to/from Greve but a car would give you much more freedom to tour the area.
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Old Nov 15th, 2015, 11:59 PM
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Take the high speed train from the Rome airport to Florence. 90 minutes. If the car rental office near the train station isn't already closed for lunch, pick up a car there. If it is closed, either take a moment to have lunch (stow your luggage in the Florence train station) and walk around Florence until the office re-opens

OR

get off the train in Florence and take a 15 minute taxi ride to the Florence airport and pick up the car there. It is actually somewhat easier to drive out the Florence airport than the center of Florence, and no risk of a wrong turn that lands you in a ZTL. The airport car rental offices are open continuously, without a pause for lunch.
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Old Nov 16th, 2015, 01:15 AM
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I was going to say the same thing as Sandralist. However, the high-speed train from the airport to Florence takes 2 1/4 hours; the high-speed train from central Rome to Florence takes 90 minutes.

There are only a few trains a day to Florence that leave from Fiumicino airport. The earliest leaves at 11:08. Otherwise, you need to change trains in central Rome, either at Tiburtina station or Termini station. There are trains from the airport to each of these stations, leaving approximately every half hour, and taking half an hour to arrive at the stations in Rome. There is a travel agent at the airport train station, across from the ticket window, who will sell tickets to all destinations. (The last time I was there, the ticket window sold only tickets to Rome.)

In my opinion, the train ride would be much more comfortable than riding in a private car. The trains are modern and comfortable. It would certainly be considerably faster than driving. The train makes two stops in Rome (Termini and Tiburtina) and then no more stops before Florence. (It then goes on to Venice.)

Once you get to Florence, follow Sandra's advice. I myself might prefer to rent the car at the airport, but there are rental agencies in Florence right at the train station. The agency should be able to give you good directions for getting out of the city without straying into a ZTL.

If your husband is really adverse to taking the train, I would suggest staying at least one night in Rome before renting the car. The car and driver would be outrageously expensive, and you might as well have him take you to Greve if you decide on that route. Greve is closer to Rome than Florence is. Then you could get to the Florence airport the next day to rent a car, either by bus or taxi.
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Old Nov 16th, 2015, 02:32 AM
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I'd guess that a car or taxi from Rome to Florence will cost around €4-500. If that's OK with you, then fine, otherwise take the train. It's a much better way to go.
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Old Nov 16th, 2015, 03:15 AM
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Thanks everyone for your replies!! I appreciate everything.....you have been most helpful!!!!
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Old Nov 16th, 2015, 06:20 AM
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Maybe if you buy first class tickets, the train will be more palatable to your husband. It is certainly more comfortable than a car. But he will lack control....

Assuming you're flying from North America, you will arrive in Rome in the morning after an overnight flight. Then take the train to Florence. I don't see why your husband will be any more awake in the afternoon than in the morning. So stay a night or so in Florence, pick up a rental car and drive to Greve.

OR you could take the bus to Greve and pick up the car there; there are car rental offices in Greve. BUT the odds are stacked against getting an automatic transmission car in Greve. The vast majority of rental cars in Europe are standard transmission. They may promise you an automatic, but when you show up, they don't have it.

You definitely will want a car in Greve, to explore the countryside and small towns. Where are you staying? In town? Some accommodation options require a car to get there and to get around.
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Old Nov 16th, 2015, 12:43 PM
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Thanks Mimar.....I agree with the fact that he will still be tired in the afternoon. It was poor planning on my part not to book a night in Florence. We are locked into our dates. We are staying at the Villa Le Barone- I think I did a really quick search on car rental locations a few months ago and probably didn't see that it was possible to rent in Greve. That would probably be our best bet. Is there one company you recommend over another? Thanks-
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Old Nov 16th, 2015, 03:13 PM
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luv

You will need a car. The "Greve" in the address of your hotel means that the locale is under the administration that based in Greve. The actual hotel is outside of Panzano. Not far, but not in Greve, and no place that you can easily get around from.

An Italian resident can better explain this complexity of Italian addresses than can I.
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Old Nov 16th, 2015, 04:50 PM
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Your hotel is outside of Panzano Greve is about a 10 minute ride by car from Panzano.

You will absolutely need a car in order to explore the area, and I do not believe you will find car rentals in Panzano. Its a small hilltown, with some restaurants and a few local shops.

Driving from Florence, you will not pass through Greve. If you take the train to Florence, perhaps your husband can nap on the way.

Although you can take a bus from Panzano to Florence, you will need to know the schedule.

If you plan on driving to Florence, take a looK at:

http://www.visitflorence.com/florenc...-florence.html

and if you park for free in Piazzle Michelangelo..and someone asks you to pay tell them to take a hike..
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Old Nov 17th, 2015, 04:06 AM
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Thanks everyone!!!
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Old Nov 18th, 2015, 08:36 AM
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Another thought: upon arrival in Rome fly on to Florence and pick up a rental car at the airport. The drive to Panzano is less than an hour. And the Florence airport would be your best bet for open hours and availability of an automatic.

Car rental in Greve:

https://www.sixt.com/car-rental/denm...e/greve-strand

Sixt is a big well-known German-based company.

There's a Hertz office in Figline. You can take a half-hour train ride from Florence' main train station to Figline Val d'Arno; it's a 30 minute drive to Greve, 45 minutes to Panzano.

I can't recommend either company. And note once you're out of the cities, car rental office hours are limited. Often they're closed in the afternoon and on certain days of the week. So check carefully.

Would it be possible to eat the first day of your reservation in Panzano and stay in Florence that one night? Then pick up the car in Florence and drive to Panzano.

Good luck!
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Old Nov 18th, 2015, 10:00 AM
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Well, I remember attending a concert at the S. Leolino church near your hotel, and I remember it as a quite remote place. You absolutely need a car; even if you could get there by bus, moving around by bus would be very much unpractical.
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Old Nov 18th, 2015, 11:10 AM
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Car rental in Italy requires an International Drivers permit or official translation of your driver's license.
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