Need Help with Rome-Florence Car Rental
 

I am renting a car to drive from Rome to Florence. I plan to arrange it on the web...but I'm not sure which pick-up / drop-off locations to choose as I am not at all familiar with these cities. In Rome I am staying near the Spanish Steps. In Florence I am near the Duomo. Any advice?

We rented from Auto Europe and are picking up the car at Hertz' downtown office in Florence and dropping it off at the train station Fumincio(sp?) in Rome.

This is interesting. I posted earlier re picking up a car in Florence for day use to tour Tuscany. I was going to drop it back off and train to Rome. Should I keep it and drive to Rome? If so, where do you recommend picking up and dropping off? I've never been to either city, so am not familiar with the lay of the land. I am staying at the Westin Excelsior in Florence and Westin Excelsior in Rome. Thanks!

trigo - we just returned from our honeymoon 3 weeks ago and did the opposite (and stayed at the Grand in FLorence and the Excelsior in Rome). There is an AutoEurope office around the corner from the Excelsior; we rented directly from Hertz though and picked the car up at the train station in rome, which is a 10 minute walk from the Excelsior. Driving in Rome is fine so long as you stay out of the historic center. You can drop your stuff off at the hotel, drive to the train station, drop off the car and walk back. We dropped our car off at the FLorence airport but i'd drop off near the train station in Florence if possible - it too is only a 5-10 minute walk from the hotel (the Grand and the Excelsior are right next to each other in Florence.) Be on the lookout for my trip report to be posted this weekend - it may help you with your Tuscany plans. ciao!

We've used Autoeurope in Tuscany and found them very helpful. We weren't disappointed.

jodalahh: Thanks! I can't wait for your trip report. I rented through Avis and saved alot over AutoEuro and Avis. The pick-up is Via Ponte Sospeso, 19. I have no idea where that is, but we'll find it. Still haven't decided about driving to Rome. We may just do Tuscany hill towns for a day and train to Rome. How did you like the Grand and Excelsior? We are staying at the Grand when we return to Florence for our flight home.

Congratulations on your wedding! :)

We just got back from Europe and did the same trip. Rented in Rome and drove through Siena and San Gimignano to Florence. Avis gave a cheaper base rate, but when the one way drop off and taxes were added they came out $10 more then AutoEurope. Our one way, one day AutoEurope rental was $152. A few notes: Avis in US told us we might need international drivers licenses so we got them here ($10) but were told in Rome that we did NOT need them. Avis in Florence closes at 5pm with no late drop-off. AutoEurope closes at 7pm and does have a late drop-off which was another reason we went with them. AutoEurope handled our reservation, but they actually booked us a EuropCar vehicle (a little confusing). We picked up in Rome at Termini. It was tough getting out of Rome so get very clear directions at the office before you go. Gas stations also close early in Italy so plan accordingly. There are some closed gas stations which still dispense gas automatically so make sure you have smaller Euros for this just in case. (they do not give change). Please let me know if you need more info or want to chat on the phone directly. We only got pulled over by the Italian Police once! They spoke no English. It was definitely an adventure.

Jeremy:If you look at the insurance AutoEurope gives you that Avis doesn't you'll see that AutoEurope is much cheaper. They cover you for liability, physical injury, fire, theft and many many more. CDW that is required in Italy is only collision. If you got all the insurance from Avis that AutoEurope gives you, you'd be paying a fortune. We always use AutoEurope. Also if you have a problem, they're much easier to deal with.

Hi Chrissy,

If the only purpose of the car is to drive from Rome to Florence, I suggest that you take the train. Much cheaper 1 cl on the ES*.

If you are planning to drive through Tuscany, you might save money by picking up the car in Florence.

Trigo - Excelsior and Grand are wonderful. The rooms are drop-dead gorgeous and the bathrooms are luxurious. We found the concierge at the Grand better than at the Excelsior, but both are very helpful. The maps of Florence and Rome that each hotel provide are outstanding - we didn't need anything else. The Excelsior bfast is a rip-off unless it's included in your room rate (ours was in Florence, but not in Rome.) The bar attached to the Excelsior has a lovely sidewalk cafe that is excellent for a pre-dinner/post-dinner drink. The bar at the Grand is unbelievable - definitely have a drink there. Have the BEST time - i'm so jealous!

Thanks for all the good advice. I have booked the car through Auto Europe and it ended up being only 17 euros more, with the increased insurance. The first time I tried, the guy said they didn't do one day rentals (we just want to tour Tuscany on our own), but I called back a little later and someone else said they had a few cars available for one day. So it all worked out. Glad to hear the hotels are nice! We leave one week from today! :) I'm trying to finalize my packing and debating about the "little black dress" and heels. My husband is not taking jacket/tie (too heavy and bulky), so maybe we'll stick to more casual evenings. Any thoughts?

trigo - i brought the essential "little black dress" but skipped the heels. I went with kitten heels instead b/c they're easier to walk in. We were there during the height of the heatwave so i was lucky that i brought pretty much all little slip dresses for night (And daytime too). My husband never needed his sportjacket - although we took it with us anyway. The most important thing is your feet - make sure you have great shoes for day and night. I lived in my slingback canvas keds during the day (didn't think i'd ever wear keds again after college - but these were a lifesaver, and they looked quite fashionable too!) I have to say that my husband and i were probably 2 of the best dressed people i saw while in Rome and Florence - Venice though was another story - everybody dresses to the nines in Venice, day and night. Let me know if you have any other questions. :)

Thanks so much, JeremyLA. I have booked a car through Avis, which I am to pick up at the Crowne Plaza hotel (Via Aurelia). I was told this is located in the north part of the city, so getting out of Rome should be easy.

ira, we are planning to spend two days in Tuscany on our way to Florence. We want to visit wineries, baths, etc. and take pictures of the gorgeous scenery of southern Tuscany. After the craziness of Rome, I think it will be a nice break. We spend two nights in Florence, then take the train to Naples and on to the Amalfi coast.

Have a great trip chrissy.