Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Car Renting in Tuscany

Fodor's Travel Talk Forums (https://www.fodors.com/community/)

- Europe (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/)

- - Car Renting in Tuscany (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/car-renting-in-tuscany-122949/)

Car Renting in Tuscany

Hi good morning everyone. I gathered from previous threads that in order to explore the Tuscany countrysides, it is best to rent a car. My questions are: 1.Do I have to get an "Internation Driver's License"? Would they accept a North American Driver's license? 2.Approximate how much would a small (there are only 2 of us) car cost per day? 3.How is the traffic and how easy it is to find our way with a good map? 4.How do I reserve one here or should I just reserve one when I get there? Are there any good sites for this? Quite a few questions, it's only because I've never done it. Many thanks for you help.

Hi Stephen Driving in Tuscany is fun. Get a detailed map when you get to Italy--mine is a Touring Club Italiano 1:200000. We have driven in Europe many times and never have needed an international driver's license, although you can get one from AAA for about $10; it is a translation of your US license. It's much less expensive to reserve before you get to Italy. We always use Auto Europe (www.autoeurope) and have had excellent experiences with them. Note that reserving at an airport (and maybe a train station) will add about 12% to your total rental cost, so reserve in town if you can. When and where are you going? Buon viaggio

Thanks Betsy for your advise. This site is great, I've got so much info here and that helped me so much in planning my trip. I am flying in Venice on June9 and leaving out of Rome on June 24 and will be spending time in Venice, Florence and Rome, plus one or two side trips in each cities. It's my first time in Italy, and can't wait to go. Trouble is I have an exam a week prior, so.. :(

Stephen: Italian law requires that you have either an international driver's license or a certified translation of your American license (you can call the Italian embassy to comfirm this). Getting the IDL is a lot easier. Many people are unaware that the IDL is a requirement - the car rental agency won't mention it to you, and so unless you get stopped by the police, you might never know the law. But if you do get pulled over, and you don't have it, you will be fined. You must also have your U.S. driver's license with you. I, too, rent from Auto Europe, but I prefer to call them and speak to a human being (1-800-223-5555). Check the website for prices. It will depend on a number of factors - stick shift or automatic, number of days you're renting, whether you're taking the collision damage waiver, etc. Navigating in Italy is fairly easy. Traffic on the autostrade can be intimidating at first - just keep to the right and always use your turn signal. Get a good map and plan your routes carefully before you take to the roads.

Don't get too small a car. hills are very challenging and it's good to have a bit of power to enter main roads. My wife and I got a volvo S60--so comfortable and quite nice to have stuff in a real trunk. Another thing-----italian drivers can be prone to tailgate slow cars, so it's good to keep up to speed on hills. Good luck