athorp

We will be in Rome 4 nights between stays in Amalfi and Tuscany. We won't be needing the car while in Rome, so what do I do with it?

We're getting a great deal on the car picking up and dropping in Bologna so I don't want to drop off the car and then rent another one.

Should I park outside of town (airport?) and take the train into the city or park in a garage in the city? Any other suggestions?

rex

I would ask your hotel. You want security (especially freedom from dings, for example) as well as affordability, presumably.

Best wishes,

Rex

eurotravler

I agree with Rex in asking your hotel. Rome can be diffiult to navigate in. What we do in similar situations is drive into the city, then find a cab and one of us jumps into the cab and gives the driver the address of the hotel and lets him know that someone is following. I believe this has saved my marriage a number of times as it is always my wifes fault for not being able to read a map!
Regards - eurotravler

bobthenavigator

Four days rental plus parking cost and hassle--the deal cannot be that good.

rex

It does seem like bob is right. I started to say that, but felt like I am a naysayer too often, but...

How GOOD is the deal?

nytraveler

agree with the hotel about the best place to put the car. We did this once and even though the hotel didn;t have a garage one of the bellman valeted the car for us - made life much simpler.

isabel

Had the same dilemma a couple of years ago and we ended up leaving the car in Orvieto and taking the train into Rome. The parking in Orvieto at the train station is free, it is a large lot in a very safe area - although it is not "secure" in the sense that you are not paying for anyone to be watching it. I left my car (with some luggage in the trunk) there for three days with no problem. The train to Rome is cheap and easy. After walking around Rome I know I did the right thing by not driving there - even just to drop off or park a car. I almost did drive in since I have no problem driving in places many others are afraid of, like Manhattan and Boston. But now that I've been there I'm so very glad I didn't drive in Rome. There have been several discussion here about leaving cars in Orvieto if you want some more opinions you can do a search and read them.

jbweber

I will be getting a rental car in Italy in Sept. We are spending a few days in Rome and then are going to a wonderful farm in Tuscany for 2 weeks. We had been thinking about renting a car as we leave Rome. This way we could have it while in Tuscany and return it to Rome as we fly home. However, the rates seem a little high. It interested me when I read that you said you got a good rental car rate in Bologna. Do you mind if I ask what kind of rate, and who are you renting from? Thanks so much for the information.

JB Weber

Betsy

JB, lots of Fodorites have been happy renting from AutoEurope at autoeurope.com. We've used them several times in Europe without any problems. I like to figure out what I want on their website and then phone their 800 number to make the actual reservation. AutoEurope is an American broker, so your actual rental will be with Hertz, Avis or EuropeCar or some other company. I like having a number to phone in the US 24/7, should a problem arrive. It's really easy to take the train from Rome to Orvieto and pick up your rental there. When we did that, our rental was with Avis, which was a very easy walk from the RR station.

eurotravler

The best rate I could find for a 10 day rental of a manual midsize car with a pick up in downtown Rome 9/25 and dropping it off at Milan Malpensa 10/5 was $633. Found the best rate at Nova http://rentacar-europe.com/ and Auto Europe did alittle better matching the quote using Avis. Rate includes taxes, unlimited mileage and 0 deductible CDW

NYCFoodSnob

Since convenience is far more important to me than saving money, I would pull my car right up to the entrance of my hotel (good luck), have the bellmen unload the luggage, and have the hotel park it for me nearby (find out ahead of time if they can provide this service). You never know, you may just want to take it out for a drive to Hadrian's Villa or Tivoli, which is very easy to do.

I've done this parking thing several times in both Rome and Florence. Each hotel where I stayed in both cities did not have their own garage but had one nearby. In both cases, a bellman drove my car to and from the garage when I needed it as an extra service to me. Of course, I tipped him well for saving me the hassle.

Parking garages on the outskirts of the city center are less expensive, if nickels and dimes are your concern. Good luck figuring out the gargage rules and method of payment procedures if you don't read Italian. Most garage attendants I've encountered don't speak much English, if any.

Also, good luck schlepping luggage. I parked once on the outskirts of Florence for convenience and called a cab to transport my bags. I've reached the point in my life where I deserve to travel hassle free. Now, would someone please take my fingerprint and give me an express lane at the airport?

athorp

Thanks for the suggestions.

jbweber: we are getting the car from Hertz from the Ryanair website (we are flying in and out of Bologna on Ryan).

We are paying 340 Eur for nearly 2 weeks/unlimited miles/basic 4 door car. If we did a one way rental or went to the regular Hertz site (not linked from Ryan) the cost was nearly double. Seems like a good deal to me, but maybe not.

Budman

I did a lot of research on rentals in Italy. The best rate I could get for 10 days thru autoeurope.com was $530 for a compact. That included all mandatory insurance. I'm thinking you will have to pay some extra coverages upon rental, but I would at least ask the question.