Driving from Rome to Abruzzi
 

I am interested in renting a car in Rome to travel to a small town in Abruzzi this Spring as a side trip. Here are my questions:
1. How old must you be to rent a car in Italy?
2. What is the driving like from Rome to Abruzzi (i.e. complexity, travel time, etc.)
3. Do you recommend any particular companies to rent from?
4. Can you rent a car for just one night?
Any other information you can contribute would be greatly appreciated, thank you!

Meg - Minimum age for rental is usually 21 or 25, depending on the company. Many companies will make a surcharge for drivers in the 21-25 age group.

2. There is an autostrada from Rome through Abruzzo to Pescara - so this route is very good and fast. But it's impossible to give you driving time without knowing where you're headed in Abruzzo.

3. We've regularly used Maggiore and Avis without problems.

4. Yes. Be aware, though, that a one-day rental is the highest rate.

Hope this helps ...

Steve

Hi Steve,

Thank you for your response. I will be 24 when we are going, so I am hoping that it will not be a problem. I will be traveling to a small town named Orsogna. Are you familiar with this town? I believe it is about an hour outside of Chieti. On a map, Orsogna appears to be the same lattitude as Rome. Thanks again and if you think of anything else, please let me know! :)

Hi Meg,

No I've never been to Orsogna.
Rome-Chieti is about about 2.5 hours I think, so I guess your driving time will be maybe 3.5.

I know Avis charge a supplement of approx € 13.00+tax per day for drivers under 25. Not sure which companies (if any) don't, - maybe someone else can advise you on this if you post a new question.

Hope this helps ...

Steve

Hi Meg. http://www.autoeurope.com now does 1 day rentals I heard and they always have the best total price(including all required coverage).

As for what driving is like, the biggest problem that I see here is that those coming from North America don't know the road signs or the rules of the road. Check out my site http://www.cristinasweb.com where I have a whole section on it (with pictures and translations of all of the signs). You could also email me at [email protected] and I will send you a printable version (MS Word doc.) of the info to take with you.

Hi Annie - I see this is your first post so ...
- Welcome to Fodors :)

This post dates from 2003 - and Meg hasn't posted much since then, so it's unlikely you'll get a reply from her.

So you really need to start a new post with your specifc questions.

That way you have more chance of getting help from others here who know Abruzzo.

Hope this helps ...

Steve