Car rental in Italy- a few questions
 

Going to Italy in October and have a few rental car questions. We arrive in Rome and depart from Florence and our general plan is Rome (4 nights), Tuscany (TBD hilltown- 4 nights), Cinque Terre (3 nights), and Florence (2 nights).

We'd like a car for the Tuscany bit to more thoroughly explore the countryside. My initial thought is to pick it up leaving Rome and drop it off somewhere like Pisa or La Spezia. However, I've run across a couple glitches to this plan. We need to rent an automatic- I am totally prepared to pay more for it than a manual, but we'd prefer a small economy car as it's cheaper, we won't have a lot of luggage, and make it easier to navigate narrow roads and parking.

I've searched my dates on a number of websites: Autoeurope, Autoeurope.uk, and a few individual car rental companies (e.g., Budget, Hertz, Avis, etc.). Surprisingly, Autoeurope and Autoeurope.uk game me different answers as to what was available at FCO (and prices), but one similarity was the same- the only automatic cars available for a one-way trip were mid-size or bigger, generally luxery. I could only book an economy/compact if returning it to FCO. But if I went on Hertz or Budget, the small economy/compact automatics were available for one-way- or so they say. So I guess my questions are:

1) Is it generally better to go with a consolidator like autoeurope where you pay up front, or book directly with the company, where you don't pay until you pick the car up? Which is more likely to get you the car you reserved? I worry about booking with somewhere like Budget, without paying anything upfront- if you show up and there's nothing available, then what?

2) To avoid the one-way issue, would it be better to say, take the train/bus from Rome to Siena, rent a car there, then return it Siena before taking the train to Cinque Terre?

3) Any idea why do I get such different answers between Autoeurope, Autoeurope.uk, and the individual companies? It's confusing!

Sorry for the rambling question. I'd appreciate any advice, or success stories with renting a small automatic for a one-way trip. Thanks!

lHi junebug.
I have rented cars in Italy several times. Each time it was an automatic. Yes, they are more expensive so be prepared.
I have rented in Rome and returned to Rome at FCO. I have rented directly from companies and also from brokers like Auto Europe. I am renting again in Naples in August.
One thing I can tell you is that all the companies vary from time to time and place to place.
I can only tell you what I have found
Usually the inventory is better, especially for automatics, at airports such as FCO. But I rented an automatic in Florence downtown after taking the train from Rome.
The reason to rent through Auto Europe is when you prepay, and some companies like Hertz offer this also, you get a break on the price.Yes, they have your money for a long time. I don't like that either but if the price break is significant it helps especially with an automatic.
I must say I am lucky and have never been shut out of an automatic rental in four times of renting in Italy Maybe I am just lucky.
You might want to take the train from Termini to Florence and rent there, drive to Siena. It is not far. I have done it both ways...Termini to Florence returning to FCO and driving to Florence and driving to FCO. I actuallly found the driving both ways more user friendly. I don't have a problem with jet lag and am not put off with immediatley jumping in a car. In fact, I prefer it. Only you knows your own body.

You get different prices from the Auto Europe sites because the prices are geared to different markets. It is confusing. On this last rental I called Auto Europe. They have a site called Easy Terra. The prices there are much better than on their Auto Europe site. I spoke with an agent. They will not tell you that you cannot use ET to rent they just told me that it is better to rent from the US site. For whom?

I hope this helps somewhat. Renting a car in Italy can be a mine field. Goog luck.

I have always been able to rent one way with no penalty but the rules may have changed.

My best advice to you is to Google every rental agency for Italy is to compare prices AND most importantly what you get for that price. Price isn't always the bottom line.

I tried the kemwel.com site (sister company to autoeurope.com) using a rome airport pickup and a florence airport drop off with October dates and I was able to pull up a compact automatic rental with Hertz as the supplier.

"Hyundai i30 or similar
Compact · Automatic · A/C"

Renting cars through Autoeurope I have always used the toll free number vs the web site.

When renting in Italy, I have always found better prices through Auto Europe's sister company, Kemwel. Especially for no deductible.

When checking availability, be sure to enter a return day/time when the car rental office is open. Otherwise, you may not see all options. Some rental offices are closed on Sundays and during the long lunch break (12-3:30).

Call Kemwel for assistance. Their customer service is excellent.

I agree---call Kemwel !
I suspect the Mercedes A car will be your automatic option and it is fine---we have had it at least 4 times.

Thanks very much for the tips! I think I indeed was having some trouble with AutoEurope by specifying dropoff times when the place would be closed! And thanks for recommending Kemwel- more user-friendly website in some ways (e.g., lists the hours of the agencies upfront) and gave me a better rate. Think I will call both Autoeurope and Kemwel.

One other question- all other things being equal is it best to just go back to FCO to pickup the car, or is Termini a good option? A bit nervous about driving in the city but Termini looks close to the highway and it would save the hassle of going back to the airport. Kemwel gave me the same quote for both locations but I thought there were supposed to be airport fees?

Thanks again.

Getting a specific car has nothing to do with paying upr front or not. It is much more a function of the size of the office (airports have way more cars) and how many they have of what you want in their fleet.

In a small office you will get whatever they have - even if you have paid in advance.

We have never had trouble getting an automatic - but almost always use Hertz (corporate discount), pick up at a major airport and get a mid or upper range car - whatever has the best power.

I've never done it, but I'm pretty sure you don't want to pick up a car at Termini - FCO would be a much better option.

However, if you can still get an automatic this way, a better choice might be to get the train to Orvieto [fabulous place for a 2-3 hour stop] and pick up your car there. you'd have to investigate what cars are available but it's a pretty popular place for doing this as it's easy to get to on the train and some of the car hire places are right next to the station - eg Hertz and Avis.

Where are you departing Italy? Florence?

Depending on what/where in Tuscany you wanted to stay and explore, you could think about changing up the order of your itinerary.

Rome
Train to Cinque Terre base
Cinque Terre
Train to Pisa Airport, pick up car
Drive to Tuscany base
Tuscany
Drive/drop car at Siena or Florence Airport
If Siena, train to Florence; if Florence Airport, bus to Florence
Florence
Fly home

Do not rely on the online sytems---CALL them for better answers. And, do not do Termini, there are better locations in town near Villa Borghese---depends on vendor.

Also agree with the point that at the smaller offices you will not always get what you reserved. 2 out of 4 times I've been "upgraded" to a larger car when I didn't want a larger car!

On my last trip I decided to just reserve an economy class knowing I would probably get upped to a compact. Worked exactly as planned..... :-)

I have used Auto Europe 4 times and have been very happy with them. On the last trip I reserved and paid several months in advance. Later I checked and found a lower rate straight from Hertz. I called Auto Europe and they honored the lower rate and refunded me the difference.

All good!

Jean,
Thanks for the suggestion- I had considered something like that, but the only issue with doing the stops in that order is that it would put us in Cinque Terre on a weekend. I got the impression that weekdays were less busy. But maybe in October it wouldn't matter so much??

But otherwise OK, no Termini- thanks!. Will call Kemwel and Autoeurope this weekend.

Airport rental offices are open 24 hours a day, and offer you a better chance of a small automatic. Renting in Orvieto, your chances are worse. And, if you pick up in central Pisa, you'll have to work your way out of town avoiding any ZTLs (locals-only driving zones), of which there are a great many.

I wouldn't try to work around tourist crowds. Create an itinerary that works for YOU. October is very popular, and everywhere you're going will be crowded. Not as bad as summer but still crowded. It's when we go.

I wouldn't pick up the rental car in central Pisa. The Pisa airport is less than 10 minutes from the Centrale station, and it's easy to drive away from the airport.

The advantage of picking up the car at Termini is that it's a much larger rental office, so there are better hours and a wider range of cars.

Just last week I tried to reserve an automatic in Orvieto for our upcoming trip in May. I couldn't do it online,so I called autoeurope and they said no automatics are available in Orvieto. So we will pick up the car at FCO.

Hi again!
So- my husband is now determined to learn to drive a manual as an auto would cost twice as much. :) So I think we are going to take the advice to pick up a car in Orvieto instead. The plan would be to arrive by train, pick up the car, and explore the town a bit / have lunch before getting on the road. Just how risky is it to leave our bags in a locked car?? In full disclosure, we're "flashpackers" (or whatever the appropriate word is for travelers who are carrying backpacks but not necessarily roughing it). Would not leave anything remotely valuable in our packs, but I also don't want to lose my clothes partway into our trip!

Similarly, after a few days in Tuscany (Val d'Orcia area) we're heading to Cinque Terre and considering to drop the car in La Spezia. Obviously would want to stop at a town or two along that route and not schlep our bags around.

junebug,

I'm always preaching about the value of being able to drive a stick shift (besides it's FUN), so I applaud your husband wanting to learn! More freedom, less money for rentals in Europe.

Make sure he gets LOTS of practice on hills. Have him explain to the instructor where he will be driving.

It's hard to say how much risk there is in leaving your bags in the card (out of sight of course). I've done it several times with no problem, even in Sicily, but you just never know.

Parking in a pay lot with attendant in a busy area might help. Only you can decide if you are willing to take even the smallest risk.


Buon viaggio!

I've not heard that Orvieto is a hot spot for thieves, but you never know.

a good way of preventing all but the most determined thief is to make sure that everything is out of sight in the boot, and then park by reversing it hard up against a tree or wall so that the tailgate can't be opened.