I am looking for advice on booking a six seater car in Rome Fiumicino Airport for three weeks in July. We are a family of 6, two adults and 4 children. A lot of the car rental companies use a classification system whereby you can book a car such as an opel safira which is classified as a five seater ( when in fact it is a seven seater) but they will not guarantee a seven seater.on arrival If we go to book a seven seater the price is much more expensive. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

This may not work but in France you can lease a car for a short period. you would be getting a specific make and model. It is considered somehow different then renting. I think three weeks is the minimum but it might be four weeks. The bugger is that you would have to pull this off in Italy.

I would recommend that you do a little internet research as if you are going to France and then get on the phone and see if you do it in Italy.

I've never seen a car in europe that would seat 6 people. That's not to say that locals don;t sometimes stuff 2 adults and 2 kids into the back seat - but no car trunk will have room for luggage for 6 people either. When we were 4 adults and rented a C class there wasn;t even room for our fairly modest luggage in the trunk, we had to have a couple of carry-ons on the floor in the back.

I think with 6 people and luggage you need a van for 9 people - not 6 or 7 - unless you will have very minimal luggage.

And yes, that will cost more - but travel with 6 people is expensive.

If you're there long enough (I think 17 days) a lease does make more sense - since you pick out exactly the model you want. But I wouldn't settle on anything without figuring our how much luggage you will have and trying to fit it (empty) in the trunk of the same vehicle.

Oh - and how big are these kids? Young enough to need car seats or booster seats? Or almost adult size?

There are plenty of cars in Italy that seat six people or more.

You need to call the rental companies.

And you might appreciate this, but you really need to talk to car rental companies, get names, etc.

http://www.7seatercar.com/