bells_on

We will be renting a car for 3 days to drive through Tuscany. Here's the plan as we have it now:

May 31st: take the train from Monterosso to Pisa, see the Leaning Tower, pick up rental car (probably around 10 am or 11 am), drive to Volterra, sightsee at Volterra, then leave to check into our hotel outside San Gimignano

June 1st: drive to Montepulciano and Montalcino, come back to the same hotel in San Gimignano

June 2nd: drive to Orvieto, come back to the same hotel in San Gimignano

June 3rd: drop off rental car in Rome

Here's our confusion/problem:

We will be in Rome from June 3rd to June 6th. We don't want to drive in Rome so we're thinking it's best to drop the car off at the airport? and then take a taxi to our hotel in Rome.

Then we started thinking would it be better to cancel our last night at the San Gimignano hotel and stay in Orvieto so we don't have to drive the 3 hours from San G. to Rome the morning of June 3rd (a waste of precious Rome time). We could then drop the car off in Orvieto first thing in the morning and take a train into Rome.

However, I just discovered June 3 is a holiday in Italy. Plus, the 3rd is a Sunday so the drop-off location in Orvieto is closed.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Is it confusing/hard/stressful to drive to the Rome airport for a car rental drop-off?

flygirl

Fiumicino was pretty easy to find and park. Is Chiusi available on Sundays?

Another option is to drop the car in Orvieto Sat night and train to Rome that night. You'd need to make hotel reservations ASAP though - June is pretty close.

flygirl

or - duh - drop the car in Orvieto Saturday night and stay overnight there - you shouldn't need the car that evening, right?

progol

I agree with Flygirl's second suggestion; drop the car in Orvieto, and stay there overnight. Then take the train to Rome.
Paule

lovisa

If you drop the car in Orvieto on Saturday, check to see what times the rental car location is open. A lot of places close at 12:30 or 13:00 on Saturday.

bobthenavigator

Forget Orvieto until you drive toward Rome---drop there if you can.

flygirl

On June 2, why not go to Siena instead? It's closer...

bells_on

Siena?

We are booked at a hotel in Rome for June 3rd so I'm thinking it will be better to be closer to Rome the night before.

The car drop off place in Orvieto is closed on June 2nd (the Saturday) because it's a holiday and closed on June 3rd because it's not open Sundays.

So I think we'll stay somewhere in Orvieto on June 2nd and then drop the car off at the airport in Rome. Which one would you recommend? Ciampino or Fuimicino? Our apartment in Rome is by the Colosseum.

flygirl

during the day, June 2 - if you are staying in San G that night, why would you drive to Orvieto then back again?

flygirl

Actually I misspoke - I think it's Ciampino that was easy to get to, sorry. I didn't drive to FCO. I literally just headed south to Rome then followed airport signs. easy-peasy. if you get close you can see easyJets flying in, too.

I suggested Siena during the day of June 2 since it's closer to San G.