In August we will arrive in Firenze S.M.Novella station from Napoli Centrale at 7:46 PM in the evening. We will then be staying at the St. Regis hotel for 4 nights. We plan to rent a car while we are there and then drive to Rome airport to return the rental car

1. Would you suggest taking a cab that evening to get to the hotel, which is at Piazza d' Ognissaniti 1 supposedly only 1 km from the train station and then renting a car the next day or going to the car rental place from the station and renting the car that night?

2. I have status with Hertz, National and Avis - which one would you recommend to rent the car from and how far away is the rental place from the S.M. Novella station and the St. Regis.

3. Given the location of the St. Regis, does anyone know where the TLZs are so that we can avoid them, i.e. will it be possible for us to walk around in the city and not use the car inside Florence at all but use the car when we need to do the day trips such as going to Pisa or Siena , etc.?

Thanks much..

I would not drive in Florence at all except to exit the city after you rent. Using Florence as your base for Tuscany is not a good idea IMHO. And, at that time, only the airport rental office would be open.

I think you are making several assumptions about renting a car in Tuscany. You might have compelling reasons, but it is not obvious from the posting. Some day trips need a car and some don't or even highly PIA to have a car. Pisa, if it means Campo dei Miracoli area, a train, for example 9:53-11:14, goes from Firenze SMN to Pisa S. Rossore station just 10 min walk from the Campo for 7.10€. More frequent trains to Pisa Centrale then bus or walk. If you drive this segment, you have to deal with ZTL in Florence, ZTL in Pisa, find and pay parking, and can end up with a lot of walking depending on which Pisa parking lot you manage to use.

Similar for Siena if it means what is inside the wall. There is a frequent bus service from a bus depot near Firenze SMN to inside the wall of Siena.

Greg and Bob,

Thanks. No compelling reasons to rent a car - just thought it might be easier to get out of Florence from the St. Regis in a car versus arranging tours for the 3 of us - wife and son and me.

Would you suggest just not renting a car at all for the 4 days and instead using trains/buses/ tours for sightseeing?

Your hotel is in the ZTL as is much of the area around the train station as well as most of the Florence center.
http://en.comune.fi.it/export/sites/.../Mappa_ZTL.pdf

This map may give you bit better idea of the restricted area. The blue and brown areas are restricted. If you click on it to enlarge, you will notice a white inset area in the upper left of the blue area. This is the train station. You have very few options of the leaving the station area without crossing into ZTL.
https://ztl.comune.fi.it/tzi/index.jsp

Your hotel also doesn't have parking so you would have to find a parking facility (35-40€ per day) and walk/bus/taxi to your hotel. AFAIK - you are only allowed permission from the city/police to drop off and pick up luggage on arrival/departure days in the ZTL. Not for daily excursions.

For Pisa, you take the train as mentioned above.

For Siena, you take the bus (about 7€ one way) as it drops you at the center (the train doesn't).
http://www.sitabus.it/sita-toscana/F...-Siena2010.pdf

I would bus to Siena one day, perhaps a train to Pisa another, and spend the other 2 days in Florence. If you want rural hill towns then hire a guide/driver one day. Still less than a car for 4 days plus parking and petrol.
Actually, I would probably stay in the countryside and day trip into Florence one day, but that is me.

No real reason for wanting a car in Florence other than to be able to drive to sightseeing locales such as Venice, Pisa and Siena. My idea was to drive in the countryside to the outskirts of these cities, find a parking garage to park the car for the day and walk/cab/bus inside the city as needed. Never intended to drive inside Florence actually. We are flying into Rome, staying for a few nights and taking the train to Naples for a stay in Sorrento for a few days and then taking the train to Florence before we get back to Rome for the return flight. I have already bought the Rome-Napoli and Napoli-Firenza tickets for the 3 of us - wife and teenage son and me - and can do the same for Florence-Rome as well as Florence-Venice-Florence (day trip) if the best idea is to not rent a car.

Florence-Venice-Florence daytrip??? Either by car or train, this is a stretch--especially in a car.
Not recommended.

macanimals - OK we can leave Venice for the next trip. What would you recommend as a "must do" day trip from Florence? Thanks.

"Must do's" are always subject to the interests and desires of the traveler--art, architecture, scenery, wine, food, activity--are all part of the answer. Bob, above has a good plan as Siena is easily reached by bus caught next door to the SMN train station. Florence is a Renaissance city while Siena is a Medieval city, so they are different but enjoyable. Pisa is as advertised--touristic but iconic and the train makes it very accessible. FWIW--the bus is air conditioned and you are likely to want that in August. But don't overlook Florence--we're returning in October for our 12th (?) visit.

Pardon me for assuming but for a person staying at the St Regis, I would think a day with a guide in the Tuscan countryside would be reasonable--you'll cover a lot more ground without any of the confusion and uncertainty that first timers experience and a guide will be able to show you what interests you.
Your hotel concierge should be a resource and there are several mentioned on this website.

macanimals,

Appreciate your suggestions, particularly regarding the guide - would love a recommendation if you are willing to share. I will also email the concierge for some options and am curious now that you have mentioned it, to do a search of the forum for some names.

As someone returning to Florence for the 12th time, your opinions regarding the city carry a lot of weight. Our interests are pretty mainstream - sightseeing, dining, art museums, walking around town. Also we have our teenage son with us. Perhaps we could explore the city for the majority of our time there and have a day in the Tuscan countryside with a guide.

Luca Garappa of hillsandroads.com is a highly recommended private guide/driver in Tuscany.

Thanks ellenem. I will contact Luca.

>>>macanimals
Pardon me for assuming but for a person staying at the St Regis<<<

The St. Regis is a Starwood property so some people may be using their SPG points.
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/

You can also book a day tour from Florence.
http://www.caftours.com/

Thanks kybourbon. caftours looks pretty good. Did you use them when you were in Florence?