My wife and I will be travelling to Italy at the end of Sept. -- flying into Rome, leaving out of Rome. Here is what we're planning on doing:
2 nights Rome
3 nights Tuscany (by car)
2 nights Florence
3 nights Venice
4 nights Ligurian Coast
1 last night in Rome again b/f leaving.

We're concerned about the difficulties getting a car for our Tuscan adventure -- wondering how easy it is.

Also, curious to find some interesting, yet affordable (under 100 EU) lodging for the entire journey. If anyone knows of any "gems," we'd love to hear about them... Thanks.

I wouldn't suggest a car for just three days in Tuscany - you can get a driver / tour guide for less and prolly see more...and less stress, hassle & frustration (not to mention finding your way through winding hilly country roads!) Some may disagree but that's my opinion...

Try Dario Castagno or Peter Kilby. Have fun!

Do others out there second this notion? Also, please help with my lodging dilemma...

You havent secured your lodging yet? Wow you are living on the edge !!
There are alot of good sites for finding lodging. Venere.com is one.
Renting a car in Italy is no big deal.
Why fly in and out of the same city and backtrack?

I will be in Italy at the end of Sept. too and have my hotels all taken care of several weeks ago. I am the nervous type when it comes to planning vacations. I want all my ducks in a row as soon as possible.

I can recommend some hotels: Pensione Panda in Rome (if they're full ask about Pensione Paradiso), Hotel Casci in Florence and Hotel Galleria in Venice. There are all relatively popular, so I would get on their websites ASAP. Ciao.

I think I'd do 3 nts Rome, then Venice (by train) and pick up a car leaving Venice to drive to Tuscany & Florence via Verona (had to get a plug in for one of my fav cities) and keep the car (you can probably get a car for a week for the same price as 3 days) to get to the coast (I assume you are training back to Rome?)...or maybe just turn it back in at the airport so you could spend the last night someplace "lighter" than Rome -- like Ostia Antica. You really should try to reserve rooms in Rome & Venice before you leave...the other places you may be able to do more easily on the fly. Consider basing somewhere in Tuscany close enough to daytrip into Florence maybe. Just my opinion.

We won't be staying until October but we're staying at Albergo La Scaleta in Florence, Frances Lodge in Sienna and Albergo Aberdeen in Rome. All were around that pricerange and had good reviews on this board.

hmmmm-- considering you are planning on going w/o hotel reserves, you really should consider keeping a car as long as possible so you don't find yourself at a train station with limited choices of where to sleep. AutoEurope has been excellent for us. It is cheaper to reserve before you leave than to wait until you get there.

My husband and I will be in Italy the same time as you. We're renting a car in Rome, and driving through Tuscany, staying three nights in Chianti. We chose to drive so that we can have a little more flexibility in what we do - if we decide we want to spend more time in Monticello than planned, we can!

I already rented the car via Autoeurope.com, which many people on this site recommend. For 4 days it was about $200 (it's a manual with A/C).

I have seen several people on this site recommending renting a car in Orvieto rather than Rome, so you don't have to drive in Rome. You may want to look into that option. We chose to rent in Rome b/c we're getting the car on a Sunday, and it seems that only the car rental place in Rome is open.

We're staying at the Hotel Italia in Rome. I think it's about 120E per night (that includes an extra charge for A/C). I used venere.com, romeby.com, florenceby.com and this website to research hotels in our price range, etc.

Have a great trip!

You don't say where in the Ligurian Coast you would like to stay, but if it's Santa Margherita Ligure, then I can pass on a recommendation from both my parents and my daughter, who have stayed at this hotel and enjoyed it very much. It is the Nuova Riviera Hotel. High season rates are 94 euros, including breakfast. It's a non-smoking hotel, and requires that you stay at least three nights. I don't believe they have their own website, so google it. There is another hotel in Santa Margherita of a similar name, so be careful while looking so as not to confuse the two.

I would definitely go for the car in Umbria and Tuscany. It gives you so much freedom to see all the little gems along the way. From Orvieto to Pienza to Siena to Volterra, there are many places you might fall in love with and want to spend more time. With a car, you make the schedule. With a train, they make the schedule.

Whatever you decide, all of us who love Italy envy you and demand a full trip report upon your return.

You might even run into us (figuratively, not literally with car, I hope) at the Cinque Terre the first couple of days of October.

Eat Pecorino. Drink Brunello. Have Fun.

Thank you all. Keep the suggestions coming if you can...Still need those hotel gems...

You might check out Rick Steves' books or a budget travel book for hotel recommendations and then e-mail the ones that interest you pronto.