IronBenderII

Hi all. First post but I've been doing a lot of reading. My family is planning a trip to Italy in September. We plan on spending 3 or 4 nights in Tuscany. Everybody says you will want to rent a car there so that's our plan. The challenge is we have a family of 6 (4 kids) and most of the rentals that aren't $300/day are only 5 seaters.

We are planning on staying in a farm house somewhere, so transportation will be important.

Any ideas?

cmcfong

There were five in my party, all adults. Three of us are relatively small people. We were jammed in like sardines and miserable. Be very careful with your car selection, ours was a Peugot rented by autoeurope. We were all much happier on the train, which was cheap, easy and convenient.

Enjoy your trip!

IronBenderII

Thanks for the reply. We plan on taking the train/buss the rest of the trip but I think to see Tuscany, you need a car. Kids are 14 (small adult), 11, 9 and 3.

LoveItaly

I would think, from my experiences with rental cars in Italy Iron, that you will need to rent a van. But as to what make/model I have no idea. Hopefully some well informed Fodorite can advise you. I believe the ticket is to rent a vehicle that will hold six people that isn't any larger than necessary as roads can be quite narrow at times in Tuscany. You will need to consider the amount of luggage that you will have when driving to where ever you are staying in Tuscany and when you leave. The less and the smaller the bags the better that will be.

IronBenderII

I'll try and find a better deal on a van. We're going to pack light, this is another good reason why...

greg

I think you would need to consider pros and cons of combination of where to stay and the transportation as a package decision.

Looks like you plan to find a farm house but have not found one yet?

Even though Tuscany=Car; seems to be many people's mind, not all Tuscany destinations require or even desirable to have a car. A friend went to Tuscany with Tuscany=Car mentality, but came back fuming. Why? because for their trip, Tuscany=Florence+Pisa. They lost much time looking for places to park and got hit with ZTL fines.

Texastrips

Wouldn't you need to rent a van anywhere for six people? There's no car here that carries six - not counting suvs as cars.

There's a balance of hassle vs cost here for a family traveling with four kids - easier to have them all in one van with all the luggage than hauling them plus luggage on public transport.

(I agree with the other thread by the way on the less moving accommodation the better!)

zoecat

I suggest you call Auto Europe (a very reliable, customer service focused company) and ask them for their vehicle recommendations. 1-888-223-5555. Also, be sure to pack light so that everything fits into the car/van.

HappyCheesehead

IronbenderII,

What city would you plan on for pick up and drop off? I have gotten a great "no insurance excess" price from Kemwel (some sort of sister company to AutoEurope whom we have used 5-6 time and had a good experience each time) for our Sept trip that is including Italy. Looks like you could get a Ford Galaxy (with zero ded) for 4 days for 650 -750 US, depending on where you pick up. It says the Galaxy seats 7. Perhaps try Kemwel too.

IronBenderII

Greg. I don' plan on doing Florence or Pisa, more small villages off the beaten path.

Texas, they have cars that seat 6 in the US.

Zoecat - I'll call Auto Europe, thanks for the heads up. We will be packing VERY light (we're backpackers).

Happy - not sure about p/u and drop off. Thinking p/u in Cinque Terre and drop off in Rome. I'll check out that company and see what's available, that is below my budget which is nice .

nytraveler

With a 3 year old you will need a car seat - so there's no way any car in europe will hold you - never mind your luggage. (You need to understand that cars in europe are usually about 2 sizes smaller than those in the US - we don;t even have the ones they rent as economy cars.)

You will need either a van or some sort of supersize SUV. And when renting a car of that size you want to do so at the largest office possible - preferably an airport -- so there is the best chance that they will have the vehicle you need - as well as the car seat - unless you are bringing your own on the plane with you. You should also plan on picking up the car early in the day - since the later in the day often the fewer cars they have left to offer you. We always pick up our car by 9 am - and do so either at the airport or the largest center city location.