Car rental pick up/drop off in Florence, Italy
 

Hi-

My fiance and I are planning a trip to Italy for our honeymoon in mid-May. We are flying into Milan and then heading to Venice/Verona then to the Tuscany region via train. Then we are off to Rome for a few days.

We are looking to rent a car while in Tuscany since our villa is in San Donato, outside of San Gimignano. There is no easy way to get there other than renting a car and we would also like to drive to the different towns in Tuscany. My question is:

Is it better to rent a car at the Florence airport or in the city? I know that gettiing in and out of Florence can be hassle so what would be our best course of action? Should we do drop off in Siena and take the train down to Rome?

Any information would be helpful. Thank you in advance!

Hello, smtran, we never did but family members who have lots of Italian relatives in the area and so consequently visit every two or three years always pick up their rental car at the Florence airport. When they have also visited Rome they drop of their rental car in Orvieto which so many other Fodorites seem to do also. Otherwise they go back to the Florence airport to drop of the car. Have a wonderful honeymoon it Italy and wishes that you two have a long and loving life together.

LoveItaly-thank you for replying :-)

that's what we were thinking of doing to save the hassle. Also I'm guessing that getting in and out of the Florence airport is easier with a car. I found info online that said we can take a bus from the Florence airport to the city center where we can catch our train to Rome. This may be our best route....

That would be a good idea also, smtran, and btw the taxi isn't that expensive and something you might want to check out due to having luggage so you can compare convenience and cost. And you are most welcome!

Gettting OUT of town south from the Borgo Ognassanti car offices is easy enough with a good map. I would rent there and drop it in Orvieto as you head south. You want the Hertz drop location in Orvieto near the stazione.

Unless you were planning to spend time/days in Florence before or after San Gimignano, I would train from Venice to Florence to Siena and rent the car there, then drop the car in Orvieto (or Siena) before you train to Rome.

But advantages to picking up the car at the Florence airport are bigger selection of rental companies and longer open hours. A disadvantage is the back-tracking you'd be doing at the end of the rental. If you use Siena and/or Orvieto, note the hours the Siena and Orvieto offices are closed for lunch so you can time your arrival accordingly.

Thank you bobthenavigator-we will most like rent in Siena and drop off in Siena and then take a train from Siena to Rome.

Jean-that plan sounds better. We will most like train from Venice to Siena and then rent a car there instead of the airport in Florence. We don't plan on spending any time in Florence. We are staying in San Donato outside of San Gimignano which is why we need a car.

Thank you all for your responses. Would any of you know of any rental companies? Is it best to google search this or go thru a company from the US (I'm in the US)? I've heard of autoeurope but was wondering if there are others?

smtran 978 - You can book directly thru hertz or avis, autoeurope, as you mentioned, Kemwel, and economyrental.com.
My wife in I are making a similar trip (from U.S.) next month. We chose Kemwel for price and they offer $0 deductible. There are several threads that deal with renting cars. I would suggest reading them before making a decision.

Afernico-Thank you! I will search for the thread.

Are you staying in Tuscany as well?

Yes. We're staying just outside Montalcino

Smtran
We did something similar a few years ago for our 25th anniversary-flew into Venice, train to Florence, rented a car to drive around Tuscany/Umbria, dropped the car off in Grosseto and took the train to Rome. Of course you may not want to go that far south in Tuscany, we spent some time at a Spa in that area. the dropoff in Grosseto was not to far from the train station, which made it easier to do.
Since we spent a few days in Florence, we rented in the city as opposed to going back out to the airport. There is an Avis rental on Borgo Ognassanti, not too far from the bridge out of Florence and onto the road to Tuscany.
It was our first of many trips to Italy. We love it there. I am sure you will have a wonderful time.
Congratulations on the upcomming nuptuals!