GypsyGurl

Like I said on my previous thread I have never been to Italy and so far planning our Italy trip has been fun...until now. I have hit a MAJOR snag with this whole portion of our trip. We will be arriving from Venice, and I initially thought we could just rent a car from San Gim. and go visit Florence during a couple of day trips, however with the advice on this sight as well as my travel guide, that seems to be not a good option. Add to the fact that my travel agent just informed me that our car rental would be 1,000.00!! So, I have decided it would be cheaper and just easier to stay in Florence for a few days, visit the sights and then head down to San Gim by TRA-IN (I think that is what it is called!)
Now, I would like to stay near the Duomo in Florence so does anyone have some ideas on where to stay? I am used to at least 4 star hotels, I have a 15 year old daughter who loves photography and is looking forward to cappucinos at a sidewalk cafe.
Also, any suggestions on the easiest way to get from Florence to San Gim. would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
GG

RJD

Puzzling. How were you planning to get to San Gim in the first place? Training from Venice to Florence is a snap. Stay in Florence for however long you want and then rent a car and drive to San Gim. Takes an hour or so.

bobthenavigator

This snag was obvious from the start.
You can train as far as Poggibonsi and connect wiht a bus there to San Gim. Or, hire a private driver and spend all day in rural Tuscany. Or, look at CAFtours from Florence.

zoecat

How long do you need the car? $1000 seems like way too much. I usually pay less than $500 for two weeks of car rental, renting through kemwel.com or autoeurope.com.

You could pick up the car in Venice and drive to your base in Tuscany. Or, train from Venice to a city near your Tuscany base (Arezzo, Siena, Poggibonsi, Florence) and pick up the car there. From your base, take the bus or train (Poggibonsi- drive to the train station and park the car) into Florence for your day trip.

Or, stay in Florence for a few days and then rent a car there for your countryside days. I recommend a car for exploring the countryside.

GypsyGurl

Bob,
The snag may have been obvious from such a seasoned traveler as yourself, however, I have never been outside of the country. So with that in mind I may post messages that are blatantly obvious mistakes. Your job is to guide, not criticize.
With all that said, we will be renting a car to take us from Florence to San Gim. it will not cost us 1,000.00 since we will not keep it for an entire week, only three days instead.
Any ideas on hotels in Florence? I looked at the Residenza dei Pucci, it looks promising.
GG

StCirq

<<it will not cost us 1,000.00 since we will not keep it for an entire week, only three days instead.>>

Fire the travel agent. He/she doesn't have a clue. Call AutoEurope or Kemwel and get the REAL story about a 3-day rental. What you've been quoted is absolutely ridiculous.

GypsyGurl

Zoecat,
The inn we are staying at is casanova di Pescille, it is 2 km from San Gim.(just found this out) so I am thinking about taking your advice, taking the train to Sienna and then...how to get to the inn from Sienna? Just rent a car in Sienna? Do they rent cars there?
Also, the reason I was given for the high price in car rental is because we don't know how to drive stick shifts so we need automatic cars which are supposedly luxury items in Italy. That's what I was told but I will check into your website, thank you!
GG

hazel1

Ditto what StCirq said. I just checked AutoEurope and you can rent a midsize car for a week in October, pickup in Florence/drop off in Sorrento for $600.

Rent the car when you're reasy to go to San Gim., have a lovely stay at Casanova diPescille, use the car to explore the beautiful hill towns of Tuscany, then drive it to Sorrento and turn it in. Driving is not that tough in Italy - really! You shouldn't have the slightest worry about driving it to Sorrento.

GypsyGurl

Thank you StCirq,
I am practically in tears right now. This is a trip that I have been wanting to do all my life and right now I am getting so frustrated!
I am going to look into your suggestion as well as zoecats and see if I can find an automatic car for a reasonable price.
GG

GypsyGurl

Thank you Hazel!,
It seems that everyone is on the same page as you. So, I will rent a car in Florence, stay at Casanova then drive to Sorrento and turn it in.
Thank you everyone for your help!
GG

hazel1

GG - take a deep breath. You have plenty of time and there are many people here who can help you refine your plans. The AutoEurope site shows a Volswagen Golf automatic available for $619 for a week's rental, picking up in Siena and dropping in Sorrento.

BTW, most people are advised to take the bus to Siena from Florence because it drops you off in town, whereas the railway station is outside of town.

StCirq

<<The AutoEurope site shows a Volswagen Golf automatic available for $619 for a week's rental.>>

And just so you know, no one's going to care if you pay for a week and turn the car in early.

zoecat

GypsyGurl,

Since this if your first time renting and driving in Italy, I recommend you read through this useful information-

http://www.slowtrav.com/italy/driving/index.htm

GypsyGurl

I just checked out Autoeurope and you all are right, the prices are very reasonable. I am VERY grateful for all your help!!
GG

GypsyGurl

Thanks hazel,
I am trying to! So what you are saying is I could actually take a bus to Siena from Florence, pick up the car in Siena and then drop it off in Sorrento. Is that correct?
GG

zoecat

Be sure to look at the deductibles when comparing prices. Usually the higher the deductible, the lower the price. I prefer to go with zero deductible (sometimes called no excess).

GypsyGurl

Thank you zoecat, very helpful site!

GypsyGurl

I checked out Autoeurope and found a Nissan, automatic, for about 350.00! You guys are amazing! Thank you so much! I can pick it up in Siena and of course drop it off in Siena. Could we then just take a train to Sorrento from Siena instead of using the car?

kybourbon

Tra-in is a bus. You can bus from Florence to Siena or San G. Siena timetable page 1, San G page 2.

http://www.sitabus.it/sita-toscana/Firenze-Siena06.pdf

Whether you bus or train to Siena would depend on which car company you are using. There is a Hertz office close to the train station.

StCirq

Assuming that the affiliate company AutoEurope selects for your rental has an office in Sorrento, you can drop the car off there without any additional fees.