Am I a total idiot to not reserve a rental car before we arrive in Italy?
May 21st, 2009, 05:11 PM
#41
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We have rented cars in Italy twice recently. Once with prearranging the rental car and once getting it when we were already there. It was much easier and I think a bit cheaper reserving before hand in the US. Generally cars rental in Italy seemed more expensive than France and other places in Europe so if you are not starting your trip in Italy, it may be cheaper to rent elsewhere.
May 22nd, 2009, 01:15 AM
#42
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Don't take a car at all trains and buses work in all major cities. There are some cities/towns where you are not allowed to bring a car into. Also they also have taxies from all the railway stations. Driving in an unknown country where the signs are not in English can be 'fun' or not. Check 10/21 day rail passes these could cover all of Italy and beyond if required.
May 22nd, 2009, 02:12 AM
#43
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Castellina in Chianti is near Poggibonsi and is a cute little village. We stayed in a villa there in 2006. The views in this part of the country are sublime and we were very happy that we were in a car and could stop to take photos or just get out of the car and enjoy the landscape. I hope you have a lovely time in beautiful Italy. cheers, Cathie
May 22nd, 2009, 06:40 AM
#44
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Lots of reaction. A few car rental agencies in Italy do require the IDP.
It really is true you don't want to drive in cities. So if you're going to be only in cities don't bother with a car. I had assumed you want to do some wandering around picturesque little hilltowns in Umbria and/or Tuscany. For that, a car is best. As a compromise, you could define your endpoints, reserve a car, and wander in between.
It really is true you don't want to drive in cities. So if you're going to be only in cities don't bother with a car. I had assumed you want to do some wandering around picturesque little hilltowns in Umbria and/or Tuscany. For that, a car is best. As a compromise, you could define your endpoints, reserve a car, and wander in between.
May 22nd, 2009, 06:50 AM
#45
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<<A few car rental agencies in Italy do require the IDP. >>
OMG, this is annoying! It is NOT a question of a rental agency requiring it - it is THE LAW!. Rental agencies may or may not KNOW about it, REQUIRE it, MENTION it, or whatever. It's up to YOU to have it. If you don't have it and you get stopped by Italian police, they won't give a rat's behind that a rental agency didn't mention it to you.
OMG, this is annoying! It is NOT a question of a rental agency requiring it - it is THE LAW!. Rental agencies may or may not KNOW about it, REQUIRE it, MENTION it, or whatever. It's up to YOU to have it. If you don't have it and you get stopped by Italian police, they won't give a rat's behind that a rental agency didn't mention it to you.
May 22nd, 2009, 11:02 AM
#46
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We always travel with our IDP (when we know we will be driving abroad) and we plan on getting them next week at our local AAA.
We know enough not to travel into big cities with our rental car. We plan to rent it when we leave Florence and drive through the little hill towns between Florence and Orvieto where we will drop it off and head to Rome.
I've reserved a car with Avis and with AutoEurope. Avis was about $75 more for the same time period but we have a couple of free days we can redeem so that should bring the cost down. I am leaning toward Avis just because we use them a lot here at home (CA.) and have used them abroad (Spain/France) with out any issues.
We know enough not to travel into big cities with our rental car. We plan to rent it when we leave Florence and drive through the little hill towns between Florence and Orvieto where we will drop it off and head to Rome.
I've reserved a car with Avis and with AutoEurope. Avis was about $75 more for the same time period but we have a couple of free days we can redeem so that should bring the cost down. I am leaning toward Avis just because we use them a lot here at home (CA.) and have used them abroad (Spain/France) with out any issues.
May 24th, 2009, 10:59 AM
#48
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After looking at my two car rental reservations I realized that the res through AE was actually *with* Avis. So I canceled the AE reservation and kept the Avis one. Also, the reason it was more $$ with Avis is because I requested a GPS.
AE also could have given us a GPS but they would have to mail it to me here at home, prior to our trip. And they wanted to charge me $40 for S&H. all of this was just too inconvenient so I canceled.
AE also could have given us a GPS but they would have to mail it to me here at home, prior to our trip. And they wanted to charge me $40 for S&H. all of this was just too inconvenient so I canceled.
