jmq21

We are traveling from Cinque Terre to Tuscany and staying in Tuscany for 7 nights. We then proceed to Venice after that.

Our base hotel is in a semirural location and is 4 km away from Terricciola and Peccioli, about 30 mins south of Pisa airport.

We will be renting a car to drive during that week we are in Tuscany.After Tuscany we need to get ourselves to Venice.

I am trying to figure out where it makes more sense to pick up the rental car and whether or not we return it at the same location we pick it up or at a different location and save the money of the train tickets. My specific questions are:

Do we rent a car in La Spezia or in Pisa? If we rent in La Spezia then we don't have to worry about train tickets to get to Pisa.

Do we keep the car to drive to Venice or would it be better to take the train from Pisa to Venice?

What is a good car rental provider in Europe?

What kind of insurance do I need to purchase when I rent the car?

Any help with this topic will be greatly apprecitated!

Jeannette

bobthenavigator

Get the car in Pisa and keep it until you arrive in Venice.
Should be no surcharge for that.
Use Kemwel or Autoeurope for your car. Both are consolidators and have several car vendors from which to choose. Get the " no insurance extra" coverage which means no deductibles.

How did you pick that location in Tuscany--not typical.
It would not appeal to me.

europhile

bookmarking..

ira

Hi J,

Ditto Bob.

You will need an International Driver's Permit in Italy.

See https://www.aaa.com/vacation/idpapplc.html

jmq21

bobthenavigator,

The location is where the Hilton Grand Vacations Club Borgo Alla Vigne is.
We are Hilton timeshare owners and with a lot of planning, we were able to get a 2 bedroom apt at this place for a week.

ira,
Regarding the permit, how long does this permit take to get?

greg

International Driver's Permit, at least at AAA offices where I live, is a walk in basis. Depending on how crowded it gets, perhaps 15 minutes. What I don't like are their hours. Where I live, it is Mon-Fri 8am-5:30pm.

ColtonJ

In terms of insurance, CDW (collision) and TP (theft) insurances are mandatory in Italy so make sure your quote includes them or you may be required to pay extra for the insurances at the desk. As stated before, all quotes through Kemwel and Auto Europe will include CDW and TP in Italy; what will be optional, though, is going with a zero or refundable deductible (which will cost extra up front but will free you of being responsible for paying anything in the event of a collision or theft).

If you do plan on dropping off in Venice just be wary that dropping off at a downtown office may incur an additional parking fee of around 35EUR. As far as I know pretty much every major company with offices in downtown Venice charge this for dropping off there but you can avoid it by dropping at the Venice rail station or airport instead.

As always, read the terms and conditions on your quote or contract to be sure you understand all the details and fees of the rental company you end up booking with

Happy travels!

Dukey1

IMO if you are simply going to use that car to get from Tuscany to Venice then I would return it and take the train. This eliminates any parking charges in Venice or the issue of where in Venice to drop the car.

Getting from Pisa to Venice by rail may require a change of trains in Florence and that is easy to do.

If you are willing to buy your train tickets in advance you could get a considerable savings.

There is no need to justify your chosen location to anyone.

sunnymonkey

One thing to note is whether or not you drive automatic. Not all locations will have automatic cars available. I can't remember if I checked Le Spezia, but I rented from Hertz at the Pisa Airport because I needed an automatic. It did require some transferring around but doable. From Cinque Terre, took the train to Pisa Centrale, then a bus transfer (buy ticket from the newsstand to avoid surcharge on the bus) and go out the West (I think) exit. The car rental offices are about 500 yards from the Arrivals area which you can either walk or take a shuttle.

sunnymonkey

Oops, I meant to say, "one thing to note is whether or not you drive stick shift/manual. Not all locations will have automatic cars available."

zoecat

I suggest renting the car in La Spezia (take a taxi from the train station to rental office, usually a 5-10 minute ride) and return it in Pisa; then take the train to Venice. That drive to Venice is not fun (IMHO) and the train would be relaxed and probably faster, even with a change in Florence.

I find that Kemwel has the best prices with zero deductibles (no access). Be sure to check the car rental office hours- they sometimes close for a long lunch. If renting or returning on a Sunday, you will need to use an airport location. You can always call Kemwel if you have any questions. They are very helpful and they will beat any price on a competitor's comparable rental.

tuscanlifeedit

I also think you should rent the car in La Spezia, and see no reason to try to drive out of Pisa, which I don't think is a day at the beach. The idea of taking the train to Pisa, then transferring to the Pisa airport to rent an automatic also sounds, to my tastes, like more trouble than you need.

If it were me, I would rent in La Spezia, have the car for your week, then drop it at Pzle. Roma in Venice.

I can't say that the drive to Venice is fun, but neither is it hell. What would be worse for me would be driving in to Pisa, dropping the car, getting a train to Florence, transferring trains in my not favorite Italian train station, then training to Venice, getting on a vaporetto and going to my digs.

I would much rather hop in the car at my rental in Tuscany and drop it in Venice.

Be aware that these are purely my preferences.

tuscanlifeedit

Adding: Italian highways are nice.

jmq21

zoecat,

I'm curious. Can you tell me what's "not fun" about the drive to Venice. By the way, we would be leaving from the place where we are staying, which is in Terricciola. It's kind of rural and about 40 minutes south from the Pisa airport.

It seems like picking up the car in La Spezia is very limited. We are not finding cars available to pick up there.

bobthenavigator

With 4 people and luggage I would drive to Venice.

You can get cars via Kemwel in La Spezia but your options for models and auto will be greater at the airport in Pisa.
Call them for best advice.