My husband and I are have three nights to travel through Tuscany on the way to Florence from Rome. Suggestions have been to pick up a car in Orvieto leaving it in Florence, or is it just as easy to pick a car up in Rome? There are so many options, within the cities of Rome and Florence to pick up and drop off a car, I don't know which would make the process easiest. HELP! Thanks.

We just returned from Italy two weeks ago.

We took the train from Rome to Chiusi (one and one half hours) and rented a car there. We used EuropeCar and their office is two blocks from the train station.

We drove all over southern Tuscany and returned the car to Chiusi as well. It is about an hour and a half train ride to Florence from Chiusi.

I would rent the car there, do your Tuscanny driving, and then train into Florence.

Hello eznmomma

We just got back from italy 3 weeks ago, we got our car rental thru Auto Europe. We picked up our car at 9:00am in Downtown Rome, we drove to Montalcino and stayed there for 3 nights, then we stayed one night in Florence close to the highway and the next morning drove to Venice where we dropped off our car in Piazzale Di Roma. Everything went perfect no problem getting out of Rome or getting in Venice, the great thing about it was the beautiful drive through the country side.

eznmomma,

The first thing to take into consideration are what days of the week you plan to pick up and drop. This could limit your town options as the smaller towns' offices are usually closed part of Sat and Mon and all Sunday.

I've picked up in Siena (needed taxi to office from train station) and the larger highways around Siena are a bit confusing.

Picked up in Chuisi and that was super easy.

Dropped in Orvieto and Foligno, both very easy.

Driving in the countryside is great. Haven't tried Rome, maybe someday!

Good point tribi. I plan to pick up on Saturday and drop off on Tuesday.

We have driven in and out of Rome several times, and it was a nightmare every single time. We are both intelligent, educated, and DH has exceptional spatial skills. Rome manages to defeat us every time.

Last time, we had printed directions with pictures copied from slowtrav.com, and still it took us forever, backtracking, and asking directions in my fractured Italian. My advice is don't do it.

An excellent place and a town that I love is Arezzo. It is an easy train ride and car rental places are near the station. Puts you in a slightly different but a great part of Tuscany.

I agree...don't drive in Rome. It's a madhouse. We were doing it at the end of our rental. To start out in Rome...well, that's my idea of a nightmare!

I think you'd be fine with Orvieto, Chiusi, or any of the other suggestions. Driving in Tuscany is a breeze.

I'll second the Arezzo suggestion- the car rental office is quite near the station & there are frequent trains to Florence taking 30min-1 hour. And Arrezzo is on the Piero della Francesca trail, if you are interested in his work. The Legend of the True Cross has been beautifully restored & is only a short walk from the station. Trotsky

Pick up & drop off at the airports, getting the train out of/into the city.

Caroline,

I'm not sure I would want to have the extra expense and time to train from Rome to FCO to pick up a car (plus added FCO pick up fee) when FCO isn't on the way.

Also, while I haven't done it myself, I've heard car rental lines at the airport can be very long. I've never had a line at all at the small offices.

We find it the easiest, find it saves driving in cities and it's not been any more expensive. We've never had more than one or two people in front of us in a queue, and often nobody at all.

Some people have suggested training to Sienna as well, seeing it, staying over and then picking up a car. I thought though I might want to stop along the way, thus Orvieto would be better.

As long as I'm asking, we4 have three nights in the countryside before going to Florence. How is the drive to Cinque Terre? Is it too far out of the way and it is worth trying to do the walk to the five towns in one day?

We just got back from a week in Tuscany, with Rome, Florence and Venice also. We flew into Rome , stayed 2 days and took the train to Chuisi and rented a car for 6 days from Avis(Hertz is closer to the station). We were going to spend 4 nights in Montalcino but wound up spending only 2 because the village is too far from everything else (Beautiful but very winding roads and switchbacks). We spent 2 nites in Siena and 3 in Montecatini up north, returning the car in Lucca.
Cinque Terre is too far and the weather is not good in November.

Barney, Thanks that is really helpful. Did you book your car ahead? And should I assume from your post that you were able to change your hotel at the last minute? Did you book any hotel ahead? I'm wondering if it is necessary given we are traveling in November.

You really need to decide what part of Tuscany you want to see (CT isn't in Tuscany). You can't see everything in only 3 days. I would limit it to the southern Tuscany hill towns (pick up car in either Orvieto or Chiusi) ending in Florence.

I would skip the CT on this trip. Not only is it way out of the way, but your enjoyment will be weather-dependent.
I would hate to have you drive all the way there and hit a rainy patch that would lessen the enjoyment of the walking.

You will find lots of great walking in rural Tuscany, in the ares you are considering.

If you really want to include CT, think of heading for Lucca after Rome..

I can't over emphasis how easy it was to pick up the rental car in Chiusi. It was a snap.

Then I recommend focusing on southern Tuscany. As others have said, trying to do too much or travel to far is often a recipe for an unpleasant experience.

We found the best rates for rentals through www.Kemwel.com. They are an auto rental broker and placed our rental with AutoEurope, which is a short two block walk from the train station. No hidden charges and everything went off smoothly with the rental car.

Since the best sites in Tuscany are all west and northwest of Chuisi, I would pick up the car in Chuisi and drive west to see Montepulciano and Pienza. Then drive west to Montalcino for one night. The following day drive to Sienna for 2 nites which you will use as a springboard to also visit San Gimignano, Volterra, and Monteriggioni. Return the car in Sienna and take the train to Florence or drive to Florence with a stop off in Greve.

That sounds great Barney. I will set it up first thing in the morning. Can I get Pisa in there on the way to Florence? It may be tacky but how can I not? Should I book hotels as well, or given the time of year and I wait until I get there?

Book your hotels on line before you go. Lucca and Pisa are both worth seeing but they are northwest of Siena and you really don't have time
if you visit all the villages I mentioned in the South.