Is it safe to rent scooters in Florence/
 

Haven't been able to find much info regarding scooter rentals in Florence. Any suggestions? We would love to spend half a day cruising around Florence. It is our first trip to Italy and I'm not sure if this is a crazy activity to even attempt.

Susan: IMHO, not a good idea. Too much to keep track of, pedestrians, (native and tourist), unfamiliar signage, tons of one way streets,very busy intersections, etc. Maybe out in the countryside. Cruising around Florence on your two feet is enough of a challenge. Walking is the way to go. Have a great trip either way.

Sounds crazy to me. One word comes to mind: roadkill.

Hi susan,

It is perfectly safe to rent a scooter in Florence or anywhere else in Italy.

The danger is when you take one out on the road or street.

Unless you are well skilled on motorcycles or scooters, I strong;y suggest that you do not attempt to learn in Italy. Those folks grow up with them. You didn't.

Have you tried riding a scooter in heavy traffic before or at all even? If so, then it should be okay in Florence. Although Florence is smaller than Rome the potential dangers are stil there. I saw a car run into a scooter in Rome and although no one was hurt the guy on the scooter was impacted enough to have his helmet fall off. And there was alot of cursing and carrying on too.

Got the message! Sounds like the scooters in Bali. Enough said..thanks

I saw the way people drive and ride scooters in Rome and there is NOW WAY I would rent a scooter. I was scared riding one in Key West. Yikes!!

This topic came up on Slowtalk a couple of weeks ago. A mom posted looking for the name of a top orthopedic surgeon in Florence because her son, on a rented scooter, was hit by a truck. Go to the Slowtalk.com website and read that thread and I'm pretty sure you won't want to rent a scooter.

All I can think of is when "lunch time" was over in Florence and we saw thousands and thousands of scooters with people heading back to work! YIKES! :)