Car rentals from Venice to Rome - worth it?
 

We need to end up in Rome , but, considering that there are 4 of us and we want to do day trips in Tuscany, we thought about renting a car when leaving Venice and driving to Florence for a few days, then dropping off the car in Rome .

Given drop off fees, parking in Florence, and gas, do you think it pays to do that, versus training it from Venice to Florence to Rome, and having to hire a driver or rent a car for day trips?

Also, any recommendations as to private drivers, or hotels in Florence with parking, or car rental companies in Italy would be much appreciated! Thanks, all.

First off, there shouldn't be any drop-off fees unless you leave the car in a country other than Italy.

Second, you absolutely do not want a car IN Florence, as parking will be costly and you are likely to find yourself in a no-traffic zone and get an expensive ticket mailed to you a year hence or so.

Third, you likely don't want to use an Italian rental car company; your best bet is to rent from the States from AutoEurope or Kemwel. And it really isn't cost-effective to rent for less than three days.

I've never hired a driver and never will, so can't speak to that, although many people seem to do that. I want to be in charge of where I go and at what pace and when I feel like stopping to investigate something.

Why don't you just rent a car outside Venice and drive to Tuscany and find a place to say that's outside Florence but with some sort of public transport to get yourself into the city for sightseeing? That way you can enjoy having a car to explore Tuscany but also get a taste of the city without worrying about parking and tickets. Then you can drive to Rome or leave the car in Tuscany and take the train.

What StCirq said.
I would stay near Siena for a good mid-point for Tuscany.

We did just the opposite of your trip, picked up the car on the outskirts of Rome and dropped in Venice. We stayed outside of Florence in SanDonato and took the train into Florence for the day. Was very easy and worked out perfectly to have the car to explore Tuscany. We were also 2 couples and rented through Auto Europe.

Although I have never personally used him (we have someone else do all the driving on our trips), Lucca of www.hillsandroads.com is highly recommended on this site and other travel sites for day trips in Tuscany from Florence. Personally, I would want to stay IN Florence and do day trips to Tuscany by private driver (who would go according to your pace, not their schedule). I would not want to spend precious vacation time getting the car, gassing up the car, figuring out parking, getting lost, etc. I also feel that taking public transport is part of "getting to know" a country. But different strokes, as they say!