My husband and I are going on a short trip to Tuscany over Thanksgiving. We will be spending 2 nights in Florence, then renting a car and driving to Siena, where we'll spend another coupld of nights before flying back to the States. My question is, does it make more sense to rent a car in the city of Florence, since that will likely be closer to where we'll be staying the first couple of nights, or at the airport, since that will be more convenient for a drop off? I know that sounds like something we should figure out on our own, but not sure if anyone has insight about craziness at the airport rental locations, issues with renting in-town, etc.!

We're staying at the Hotel Calziuoli, and planning to rent through Thrifty, if that makes any difference.

Thanks for any advice!
Caroline

My brain must not have been working earlier, as it just now occured to me that I can rent in one place and drop off in another. Perhaps I should stop drinking so much wine (just getting in the Italy mood!)!

Unless you're unalterably wed to renting from Thrifty, take a look at AutoEurope. A lot of people on the board have used this company (a broker) and sing its praises. We've had five flawless rentals with AE. I like the convenience of paying with USD as opposed to Euro. I especially like having a US toll free number to phone 24/7 in case of problems. I'd rather try to iron out a problem in English than in Italian. Check out the website at autoeurope.com, but phone their toll free number if you decide to make a reservation. They'll fax or email you a voucher to take to the rental agency, which is usually Avis or Europecar. There won't be any last minute add-on charges other than a daily road tax of about two Euro; this is a fee charged by all the rental agencies.

One fact you should know about renting at an airport location in Italy is that a 12% charge will be added to your entire rental for the "convenience."

Betsy,
Thanks so much for the advice--very helpful! I am going to go check out AutoEurope right now.

Betsey, don't you have to pay in full when you reserve with AutoEurope? I am also thinking about them for Italy this winter.

I'm not sure about AE's payment policy. Some people have posted that they paid up front, others report a partial payment is needed at the time of rental. I'm don't know what the variable is, but I've always paid up front willingly and have never had any problem if adjustments are needed. If you decide to return the car early, or extend your rental, AE will make adjustments to your credit card. If you want to investigate further, just type Auto Europe into the search box at the top of the page and read the posts of others who have used AE.

I rented a car in central Florence and made a day-trip to Pisa-Sienna-San Gimignano. I picked up the car a couple of blocks from the Ponte Vecchio. It's tough driving into and out of the city if you aren't familiar with the streets.

Hi,
I don't know much about car rental in Europe, I just thought I'd suggest not renting a car at all? There's not much use for one in Florence proper and I took a bus tour/trip to Sienna and San Giminiano that was great-so I'm sure it's easy to get there by public modes of transportation. Plus I even fit in a half a day in Pisa which is a relativley short train ride away. That way you wouldnt have the hassle of renting and returning the car etc. Whatever you choose-have a great trip!