Help with returning rental car in Rome
 

My family and I are spending our last 4 days in Rome and are driving to Rome from Greve. Should we try to return the car in Central Rome to save the fee from the airport or just bite the bullet and return the car to the airport and pay the shuttle fee? My concern about driving into Rome is A. it scares me to death and B. I can't figure out which location to return it. Please help!
Sincerely,
Cinzia

My feeling is that it's not that hard to drive into Rome (as long as you don't have to park), but other people will undoubtably disagree.

Since it scares you to death, it might be worth it to just return it to the airport and have one less thing to worry about.

I agree that driving in Rome isnt really that bad - its just like most other big cities - so long as you dont attempt to cross through the centre. Therefore, coming from Greve (I presume its the one in Chianti?) anyway - coming from the north, drop off your car somewhere north of the centre. A number of hire companies have drop off points at Villa Borghese. Dont attempt to drop off near Termini 'because its nearer to your hotel'. The taxi drivers will make the trip through the centre look easy, but it isnt.

You still need a good navigator and there are a couple of tricky parts, but if you miss the turn off you just take a side road, turn around and do it again. Just keep an eye on where the 2 way roads turn into one way roads and plan the trip beforehand. Obviously a good map is essential, that being a map showing the streets between the GRA and the centre, not just a tourist map showing the centre.

To get from the GRA to Villa Borghese probably doesnt take that much less time than it would to get to the airport, but obviously you then need to get from the airport to the centre and the cost (from the airport) is higher.

Having said that - to get to the airport from the A1 is very simple, you hop on the GRA and follow the very well signposted exit. If you are a stressful driver/dont trust your navigator/might have a little tiff with the other occupants, then the additional money involved with the airport drop off may well be very worth it.

I agree with ctdO2, you can also buy a map at a gas station, last year we payed 6 euros but it was worth it!! We arrived easily, as if we knew where we were going.

Have lunch in Orvieto, drop the car, train in to Rome. Good luck !

Thank you for your input. I was told to return the car to the Villa Borghese area. Auto Europe says it doesn't have a location there. Unusual as they are such a large rental company. Maybe I'll book with Hertz. Any car company that you all prefer? Also, which road map do you find the best? Thank you again!

Yes they do--perhaps by a different name. Go online and look at their Rome locations--it is in a parking garage close to the Borghese gardens. But, I would still drop at Orvieto.

Hi Cinzia -
If you decide that you want to return the car in Rome, what I've done in the past is try to time it so that I arrive between noon and 2 - (and Sunday if I can swing it). Traffic is less...
Dona

Cinzia, The Villa Borghese location might be listed as Galoppatoio. I think that's how it was for Hertz, anyway. I believe that's the name of the road it's on.

I dropped off my rental car at the carpark in Villa Borghese(a.k.a. Via Galoppatoio). My agent was Eurocar. I was coming from Naples. I got off the Rome-North exit on A1 and just followed Via Salaria all the way to the Villa Borghese (follow the signs that say Via Veneto). You can get a good map from the Via Michelin website. Just remember to stay on the street that runs along side the Villa Borghese Park. When you see the turn off for Via Veneto on your left (which goes through an old Roman gate), continue right alongside the park and there will be a sign directing you into the carpark . Do not go into the park by mistake like we did :)

Also the rental car dropoffs near termini station are also easy access from the highway.

Hi Cinzia!!!

Saw your post, so decided to send you a copy of our map, showing you how to get into Villa Borghese (Galoppateio). It looks good if you just stay to your right, as follows: via salaria, via pacini(shortdistance) via giovannelli, via pinciana, continue right and you will see a sign showing, parking garage GALOPPATOIO. I am going to copy our map for you, and I will send it off to you, so you will see what I am talking about...talk to you this week, your skiing companion. Cheryl

What are the best locations for PICKING UP a rental car on way out of Rome? First thought was to train to Orvieto, but so far, the companies I've checked online either have only compact cars or some other problem that gives me an error on the inquiry. We're a family of four, so need something big enough for 4 people and 4 bags. We'll be heading toward either Cortona or Assisi (haven't decided for sure yet). Is there a Rome pick-up location that isn't too scary?

Oh, I just found a thread on this. I'd still be interested in picking up the car in Orvieto, since it would be a nice place to stop and have lunch, anyway.

Check out www.maporama.com. You can enter your start & finish addresses & it gives directions with a map that you can zoom into. I'm dropping off near St Peter's because it's near my hotel, but I'm told that you can drop off at any location in Rome.