ingridshawn

Fiance and I have decided to spend 5 days in the Tuscany region and 5 days in Rome. We will be landing in Rome and then going to Florence (which we will use as a base, we know we will need a car at some point to travel to through the hills and his parent's hometown of Gravagna. So, would it be better to take the train to Florence and rent a car there for a few days, or simply rent the car from FCO and return it to FCO when we get back to Rome? We will not use the car in Rome. Any suggestions for good car rental sites?

rex

Many people find that www.autoeurope.com is the only name you need to know in car rentals for Europe. I have had a good dozen good experiences with them.

But I typically comparison shop anyhow.

www-its-cars-hotels.com
www.kemwel.com

or

www.travelocity.com

to name a few.

Best wishes,

Rex

Giovanna

We too have had excellent experiences with AutoEurope in both Italy and France. Be sure you have complete insurance coverage. Last year we picked up our car in Rome (at Termini) and drove to Orvieto, where we looked around a bit and had lunch. Then drove on to Florence where we spent a few days. The final leg our drive was to Venice, where we turned the car in.

Whether or not you pick up your car in Rome or Florence I think would depend on what you might want to see/visit between Rome and Florence and time factors. Either way I think you will enjoy the countryside. Do some reseach and then decide.

Visiting Gravagna will be a wonderful experience. We went to the little town in Basilicata where my father-in-law was born on our first visit to Italy, and were both a little tearful.

Have a wonderful trip.

e_roz

WE got the best rate for June on a rental car from Hertz. Pick up in FLorence and drop off Pisa. DOn't pick up at the airport if you dont' have to because they charge extra fees-fyi.

Curryscurry

Hi Ingrid - I am going to Italy myself and I found the best rates at THRIFTY www.thrifty.com

Giovanna

Ingrid: Just a bit of clarification. The last two posters have advised you of the great rates they got with Hertz and Thrifty. AutoEurope does not own rental cars, they are a broker and deal with Hertz, Avis, Europecar, etc. It would seem they would find the best rate and pass it on to you. Though we have not personally experienced it, I understand if you find a lower rate than they offer, they will match it.

GARYNFLA

I initially booked with Thrifty since the price seemed lower with my frequent renter card from Thrifty. When I called and recieved the totals with all the extras ( insurance, taxes, drop off fees) they turned out the be about 30% higher than AutoEurope. Be sure and call and confirm the bottom line price with everything included.

lisabelina

I did find a very low rate from a British rental firm on the web last year when we were planning a trip to Spain. I contacted Auto Europe and they matched the price immediately! I do recommend shopping around first and calling Auto Europe afterwards...
Happy travels! Lisa

artlover

Whatever you do, I would strongly advise you NOT to use Hertz in France. We had an absolutely awful experience with them, as have many other people on this board.

We had good luck with Avis and many people seem to like autoeurope.

Have a great trip.

RufusTFirefly

We have been very happy with Nova Rentacar--http://rentacar-europe.com/

Do shop around as no one agency/broker has the best price everyday/everyplace.

FREDMADCEL

CAUTION!!! when you visit Italy check out the corner of cars umpers.We parked one night at the international garage(27e)in Florence.Later that day we found our umper scatched.Convincing the proprietor that it was done there was a not ased in reality.Returning the car to HERTZ at Malpensa it was noted.Checking my Visa charge-HERTZ charged my chard $880 for the scratch.I posted a disputed note to that charge-ut.CONSIDER THIS SERIOUSLY.

Ann1

When looking at car rental companies check the insurance coverage. You may not be getting a lower rate. For Italy, Auto Eruope includes complete coverage for the price. If you go directly to Avis or Hertz or any other company they only give you CDW which is mandatory in Italy. You won't have liability, personal injury or anything else Auto Europe includes. The rental companies tell you all you need is CDW and then will tell you when you pick up the car that the other coverages are each 20 euro a day more. When you check the other companies go down the list of insurances Auto Europe includes and see if you would have the same price.

SandyB

Absolutely do not pick up the car in Rome. Take the train to Florence, see Florence, then rent a car for your day trips in the contryside and return the car upon your arrival back to Rome before you begin your Rome segment of the trip.

You may want to intersperse your days in Florence with days in the hill towns, renting one day at a time because you will be paying a daily rate anyway. Perhaps you would want to consider an overnight in Siena enroute back to Rome. Have a great trip. SandyB

ingridshawn

okay the trip is getting closer. I just found out it is $4.29 per gallon of gas and am stunned by the sticker shock. We are thinking we may rent the car from Rome and return it to Rome, using AutoEurope, we don't want to rent from the airport because there is a 14% fee. Does this sound the best. The train from Rome to Florence is 45Euro each which would come to over 180 and we would still need to rent in Florence. Anyone know the best way to get from FCO to downtown, and how much?

Giovanna

I think the price you quoted on gas is per liter not gallon (slightly less) which makes it a little more expensive.

There is a train from FCO to termini which is very inexpensive. Taxi or private car are also both available. On our last visit to Rome we used Limoservice Rome which was great because we arrived very late. Nice to have a gentleman waiting for you holding a sign with your name on it when you've just completed 10-22 hours of flying! The cost was €37 and worth every bit of it.

http://www.limoservicerome.com/
[email protected]

Riffic

current prices in Germany for lowest grade gas (out of three grades) is about 1.03 Euro/liter. With the current exchange rate, that approx. 4.70 USD/gallon.

When possible, always rent a diesel. Diesel is always the cheaper route (except maybe in Swizerland). In Deutschland it's only 0.85 Euro/Liter, so you save a good 60-some cents per gallon.

GSteed

Suggestion: Check license requirements. One driver or two?

ingridshawn

There will be one licensed driver, who has finally gotten his international driver's license. Thanks for the info on the diesel that will be really helpful. So should I would it be cost effective for two people to simply rent a car 5 days at $282.15 plus tolls, gas, parking, etc or should we train it and then rent in florence? Recommendations... How is getting around in Florence?

Patrick

"when possible always rent a diesel". That is not necessarily a good recommendation. Although I often lease a diesel knowing I'm going to be driving a lot on an extended lease period, you really need to compare prices. Usually a diesel will cost a lot more to rent. You have to drive a whole lot of miles/kilometers to make up the cost difference with the savings both from the lower cost of the fuel and with the usually increased mileage. I think I did a rough estimate on a 17 day rental and discovered I'd have to drive something like 4000 miles to "get my money back" from the extra cost for renting the diesel.

travel3773

We just returned from Italy...we rented a car through AutoEurope and it went so smoothly, I would highly recommend them. We paid about $350 for 10 days which included everything but gas and tolls. We picked up the car in Rome and had no problem driving out of the city.