Pawleys

We Will be picking up a rental car in Florence and using it for the week we will be in Tuscany.
Then we plan to drive south, Drop off the car and take a boat to Capri. Where is the best place to drop the car ? Sorrento ? Naples ? Etc?

sandralist

You could drop it at Naples airport and take taxi to the Naples docks (flat fare, but I forget what it is .. . I think about 35 euros).

Sher

The first thing you need to do is to locate the rental offices for the car you are renting(Avis, Hertz, Alamo etc).
That might determine where you can drop off the car.

Sher

P.S. Although an airport will probably have just about all of the agencies.

bobthenavigator

I would drop in Sorrento---easy logistics.

Pawleys

Bob, what do you mean by easy logistics? Are there more frequent ferries or is there easier access?

Jean

Where are you staying and where will you be exploring while you're in Tuscany?

What day of the week is your drive? Some rental company offices not located at airports have limited hours mid-day Mon-Fri and are not open Saturday afternoon. Most are closed on Sunday.

Are you planning to make any specific stops on the way south? If not, consider dropping the car at Orvieto (which is worth a quick look or lunch if you won't already have visited it) and taking the train to Naples and taxi to the ferry dock. Depending on your rental company, Chiusi (north of Orvieto) may be another option for dropping the car.

tuscanlifeedit

I'm not sure I would make an intermediate stop before the south. Stopping somewhere, turning in the car, looking around, getting a train to Naples, then a taxi to the ferry, then the ferry, then to your base on Capri, just sounds like too much to me.

I would get up early and drive either to Naples airport, or possibly Sorrento, or Salerno.

In order to decide, I would have to investigate the rental offices, their times, and the ferry connections.

I agree that Naples airport would probably have the all the agencies, and airports are generally well signed. That might influence me.

Pawleys

We are checking out about villa in Panzano on Saturday morning. It looks like around a 5 hour drive to Naples and 6 to Sorrento. I'm afraid we won't have time for a big stop like Orvieto; but, is there a small town near the A 1 we could take a break for lunch?

bobthenavigator

The car drops---depending on vendor--are all within a 5 minute taxi ride to the ferry docks. However, I agree that time of day and day of week are factors--be sure you check that. I hate to drive in Naples, but the airport is not too bad.

sandralist

Something you might consider is dropping off your car on Saturday morning in Arezzo and taking a train to Napoli. There is usually a one-seat ride that leaves around 11am and takes 4.5 hours, but you need to double check that your car rental office in Arezzo is open Saturday morning. If it is not, you might check to see if re-booking through AutoEurope would create that option for you. Also check the train schedules for your particular date.

If you prefer to drive, where you stop for lunch is really all about where you will be on the highway at noon or 12.30 -- which depends on what time you leave Panzano -- and what time you want to be turning in your car and heading for the ferry.

If you don't want to stop for more than 45 minutes or so, then just pick an Autogrille stop right on the highway. These are just like any roadstop restaurants, with sandwiches and coffee, although at lunchtime they often serve hot dishes too. You will see plenty of signs telling you how many miles to the next one.

If you would like to take a break and have a truly nice lunch, then figure out what time you will be leaving Panzano and where you will be around between noon and 12.30. I agree it is best not to head to a town as large as Orvieto. Zoom in on a Google map to pick out a couple of smaller towns and either ask here for some recommendations (or TripAdvisor or Chowhound), or use Google. Very often you can just do a google search for something like "restaurants near Sipicciano Italy" and Google will give you several possibilities. You can look up reviews or websites with menus, and find out if they are open for lunch.

Pawleys

Thanks for the suggestion of Google maps. I have always used via Michelin. We hope to leave Panzano by 9:00. It looks like we should be south of Orvieto at lunch time. Would love other suggestions of small atmospheric villages where we might have lunch.

sandralist

Like I said, zoom in on a Google map and see where you are likely to be at noon, which gives you time to get off the highway and drive a short distance and find parking. Almost every small town and village around that area is atmospheric and has one or more homey place to eat. You can also use the Google "Images" feature to plug in the name of a town or village in Italy you've spotted on a map and see pictures of that town or village. Take a chance on what looks great to you.

Another way to go about doing this is to invest in a copy of Osterie d'Italia, which is the Slow Food guide. They have maps and places to eat are marked on the map. The book is in Italian, but it is quite easy to figure out what is being said in the book. It includes the opening hours of the places listed, which is good, because restaurants close for vacation, or aren't open for lunch, and other useful info is in the book.

sandralist

To give you an example, in my previous post I just plucked the name of the town "Sipicciano" off the map and googled it up to see if had restaurants (it does). I now just googled up Googie Images for Sipicciano, and this one of the pictures that came up

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/8030786

I had never heard of this little town before, but I suspect it is quite fun to pay a visit, since I doubt hardly anybody else who tours Italy knows much about it either. So you would get to see an untouristed part of Italy -- rather than trying to target some place that gets recommended on the internet (which could turn out to be touristy).

Pawleys

Thanks, for all of the info. Looks like there are lots of possibilities. I love the google maps.