Trieste or Venice car rental offices open Saturday afternoon ?
May 29th, 2016, 07:15 AM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 673
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Trieste or Venice car rental offices open Saturday afternoon ?
On Saturday, Oct. 1, we want to go from Ljubljana to Bologna. I'm considering taking a bus to either Trieste or Venice and then train or rental car from there to Bologna. I'd prefer to do the car rental, because that way we'd have a car when we arrive in Bologna. (We will be staying there a month and would like to use it to buy groceries after arriving.) However, it appears that all car rental offices, except those at the airports, close around 12:30 pm on Saturdays, and the buses I've found to those cities arrive after that time. The airports for both cities are pretty far from where the bus arrives. Do any of you know of car rental offices near the bus stations that are open Saturday afternoons? If not, I guess we'll take the train. It appears that the train station in Trieste is very close to the bus station. In Venice it looks like the train station is about 10 km from the bus stations. We will have a fair amount of luggage so won't want to do a lot of walking. I'd welcome suggestions of other possibilities also. Thanks.
May 29th, 2016, 09:41 AM
#2
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 49,560
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I have no idea whether there are car rental outfits that are open on Saturday afternoons in Trieste or Venice, but it seems odd that they wouldn't be. When I was renting cars in Europe, I always did it through AutoEurope, and they could answer questions like that. And when a car rental affiliate of theirs wasn't open (usually on Sundays, not Saturdays), they always managed to arrange for someone to come and open the office up for me for an additional fee, usually 25 euros.
May 29th, 2016, 09:58 AM
#3
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 12,011
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Don't know where the bus station is in Trieste in relationship to the train station, but it seems IMHO that it would be easier simply to take the train from Trieste to Bologna and pick the car up there.
Then, if you couldn't pick it up that day, grab a taxi to your hotel or apartment and get the car the next morning.
Even if it costs a bit more for the train that day, you save a day of car rental and the hassle of getting from the bus station to the car rental place in Trieste or Venice, then driving to Bologna.
Then, if you couldn't pick it up that day, grab a taxi to your hotel or apartment and get the car the next morning.
Even if it costs a bit more for the train that day, you save a day of car rental and the hassle of getting from the bus station to the car rental place in Trieste or Venice, then driving to Bologna.
Jun 5th, 2016, 10:04 AM
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 673
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I think our solution is going to be to take Go Opti to Trieste and then rent a car there. That way we can get to Trieste before the car rental office closes. It appears that there is parking near the car rental place (New Ferry Terminal) where we can leave the car for a while and see a bit of the city.
Jun 5th, 2016, 03:09 PM
#5
According to Bahn.de, if you boarded a train in Ljubljana at 7:28a, you'd arrive at Bologna Centrale at 3:40p. Comfortable connections at Villach and Udine. There is a Hertz office not far from Bologna Centrale that is open until 7:00p on Saturdays.
https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/locat...bologna/BLQX90
Make sure you know how to reach your apartment without violating Bologna's ZTL.
https://www.hertz.com/rentacar/locat...bologna/BLQX90
Make sure you know how to reach your apartment without violating Bologna's ZTL.
Jun 5th, 2016, 05:20 PM
#7
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 195
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I recommend taking the Go Opti shuttle into Trieste and then a train to Bologna. The tolls and gas between Trieste and Bologna will set you back over €50, not to mention any potential one-way drop-off fees. €50 can buy you between two and five one-way tickets to Bologna, depending on the train. Plus, the car won't get you there much faster, if at all.
In Bologna, some car rental offices at the central station are open on a Saturday - Europcar is open until 1pm, but if you book in advance you can pick up the car until 7pm, Avis is open until 6pm.
If you can't find any good deals for the two offices in Bologna, there is another option. Book a Go Opti shuttle from Ljubljana to Venice Airport instead of Trieste and rent a car there, where there will be much more choice on a Saturday. Plus, you won't have to drive as far compared to renting in Trieste.
In Bologna, some car rental offices at the central station are open on a Saturday - Europcar is open until 1pm, but if you book in advance you can pick up the car until 7pm, Avis is open until 6pm.
If you can't find any good deals for the two offices in Bologna, there is another option. Book a Go Opti shuttle from Ljubljana to Venice Airport instead of Trieste and rent a car there, where there will be much more choice on a Saturday. Plus, you won't have to drive as far compared to renting in Trieste.
