Hi all. I'm looking for suggestions on how best to spend 4 nights in Tuscany by rental car, and in particular the logistics of how to arrive from Venice and leave for Rome. Here's our dates:

Oct. 20-22 (2 nights): Venice (about 40 hours)
Oct. 22-26(4 nights): Tuscany (with rental car, definitely)
Oct. 26-30 (4 nights): Rome

Should we arrive/leave Tuscany by train, and only use the rental car in Tuscany? Or rent the car from our departure from Venice to our arrival in Rome? I have driven in Italy before and while I don't relish the idea of driving into Rome, I think I can handle it. We plan on spending all our Tuscan time in small towns and agriturismos rather than, say, Florence or other larger centres.

Thank you!

If you've driven in Italy before then I assume you know about ZTL's so you couldn't take the car into any area with ZTL perimeters. By all means use the car around the Tuscan countryside but leave it somewhere in/near Florence and take the train to Rome.

We had a car in Rome.
Doable but not worth the hassle for normal people. Driving is tough but you get used to it but parking is a nightmare.
If you keep the car keep your hotel receipts as in a lot of places cars are forbidden unless you live or sleep there

Venice the car is a liability.
Mvg

if there are only two of you then catch the train into Tuscany and dump the car at a station before you go onto to Rome.

I would rent the car in Venice and drive it to Tuscany. It's faster, easier and cheaper than paying for the train and renting the car all on the same day. We drove from Tuscany to dropoff in Venice and it was pretty easy. Fun to stop at the expressway cafe along the way (or jump off into one of the towns for lunch). Have fun!

Yon don't have to drive in Rome. You can drop the car someplace en route like Chiusi or Orvieto. The latter is a Fodors favorite, perched on a high mesa with a notable cathedral. But check the availability of rental car offices, their location and open hours. Or drive the car to Fiumicino airport.

We rented car at the Naples airport, drove to Tuscany.....stopped in Montepulchiano for a side trip wine and cheese tasting and then to Radda in Chianti Region. Easy to drive, we toured Tuscany by car and then drove to the Florence airport to drop the car off. It was great!