since all of you have been so helpful with my other questions about an upcoming italian vacation, i thought i'd seek your advice on this issue - renting a car. my husband and i had planned on taking the train with the exception of a day trip from aviano to bolzano and when we are going to be in the chianti region. for the second trip, we planned to pick the car up at the termini station in rome and drop it off on via borgo ognissanti in florence 4 days later. when my husband called to make reservations for the bolzano trip, he was warned that driving in italy is challenging and should be avoided, especially in rome. now my husband is concerned...

we will be taking our GPS with italy maps and will be immediately driving out of rome and to panzano. while in panzano, we plan to take a couple of day trips before heading into florence where we will immediately drop off the car. we will not be driving IN the cities - just between them.

what is the opinion? avoid driving in italy at all costs or enjoy the adventure? we both drive manuals here in the states, so that's not a concern...as always, thanks in advance for your help!

I would not drive in Rome nor in Florence. Train to Orvieto to get your car, unless you are picking up on a Sunday. For Florence, it is very tricky to find that location--I would drop it at the airport. Here is more:


DRIVING IN ITALY & SOUTHERN EUROPE

Q. SHOULD WE DRIVE IN ITALY?
A. Of course you should if your driving skill & confidence would allow you to drive a rental car in Vermont, Colorado or California. But, be advised of these tips:
* Avoid driving in the major cities except for picking up or dropping cars
* Have good maps—study them in advance—and have a GOOD NAVIGATOR.
* Stay in the right lane except when passing and use your rear view mirrors

Q. WHAT CAR SHOULD I GET AND WHERE DO I GET IT?
A. It is best to rent your car before you leave for Europe. The best source we have found is www.autoeurope.com [800-223-5555] who is a broker for several car vendors. They will quote you prices to include the variables that are often omitted by others, such as unlimited mileage, mandatory insurance coverage with some deductibles, and VAT taxes. It is wise to compare prices and coverage with their sister company at www.kemwel.com. Autoeurope will match any comparable quote, and are famous for their customer satisfaction if problems do arise with the vendor. The best model will depend on your needs, but for best value we suggest you select a compact car with manual transmission. Automatics are available but will cost you about 30% more and may limit your model options & pick up locations.

Q. ARE ITALIAN DRIVERS AS CRAZY AS I HAVE HEARD?
A. Yes & no! They are certainly aggressive, but they are also more skilled than many USA drivers—both are a function of necessity. Italy is one of the most crowded countries in the world and the drivers have evolved these characteristics
* They are notorious tailgaters. If that bothers you, pull over and let them past.
* On the AUTOSTRADE they will drive fast, but will stay in the right lane except when passing and will use their blinkers when passing—YOU SHOULD TOO !
* They will often pass on 2-lane roads with traffic coming. Frankly, they expect you, and the oncoming car, to adjust to the shoulder and make 3 lanes of traffic.

OTHER ROAD TIPS FOR YOUR DRIVING SANITY:
1. Learn the meaning of the sign “ SENSO UNICO” and take heed [ONE WAY ].
2. Be sure to get your ticket when you enter the AUTOSTADA system & be prepared to pay the toll when you exit it [ rule of thumb—300 km=15 Euro]. You can use your credit card in the VIA lane at the toll both, or buy a debit VIACARD in advance.
3. Do NOT attempt to follow road numbers—that will frustrate you. But, do pay attention to the directional signs that point to your destination [ TO MONTALCINO]. And, be aware if that road leads eventually to a larger city [ ROMA—SIENA ETC.]
4. Unless you have a diesel car, you will want to fill the tank with benzina from the green pump. Most stations will pump gas for you and will take credit cards.

NOTE: As of 2005, an International Drivers Permit[IDP] is required in Italy.
You can obtain them from your local AAA office. You will need a valid US driver’s license, two passport photos, and $15. The photos can be taken at the AAA office.

Last summer we picked up a car at the Rome airport and drove north to Cortona. We made day trips to Florence, Pisa, Deruta(hard to find but great place for ceramics),Sienna and Farneta. It was a challenge finding road signs (nonexistent), but we didn't have really have any trouble. We are going back next summer for my daughters wedding in Certaldo and I'm certainly driving again. We live in Texas and I drive here alright so I'm not worried and you shouldn't either. Don't have great expectations for GPS. It was hard to get it to recognize places. We just went to AAA and got the license.

I don't think the Florence drop off location (Avis?) on Borgo Ognissanti would be difficult coming from Chianti. It's a straight shot through the Oltrarno, cross the Santa Trinita bridge and then three quick turns. It's less than half a kilometer from the bridge to the rental office. As long as you turn left immediately off the bridge, you'll be fine. Just have good maps that show road orientations (one ways) and turn-by-turn directions to the rental office.

But I agree with bobthenavigator about picking up the car in Orvieto rather than at the Termini station in Rome.

bobthenavigator, you are a god. ...you've reassured and informed me about an upcoming short road trip in Italy. Grazie.

ttt

Jean, Actually I agree about Florence if you are an experienced driver in Italy as we are, but not everyone.

I agree with bob, my husband was always just fine driving in Milan, Florence, Rome, Naples etc. The one time his son attempted to do so when he and the family went to Italy it almost ruined their trip. After that they have always used trains, taxis etc.

If you are confident drivers Italy should not be a problem. Locals take driving more seriously than we do and follow the rules of the road (no dawdling in the left lane!!!). Rome is a little more difficult since you are trying to exit an ancient city (no grid pattern) with mostly one-way streets and few intersections have traffic lights - so it sort of operates on the chicken principle. But as long as you have the route out of town to the autostrada mapped out in advance (DO NOT depend on a GPS, get a real street map and plot a route in advance) you should be fine.

I love driving in Italy, and have no problem in Rome - but then I'm used to driving in NYC - and sometimes even scare cabbies.

My husband has driven us around Italy twice before and will be doing so again next week! He is a confident driver and has not had any issues. He has driven into Florence once and out of it twice (both exits from the Rental place on Ognissanti. We find the GPS very very very helpful mostly because it reduces stress related bickering - you know, the kind when the navigator is frantically reading a map in a foreign language and the driver is shouting out what streets they think they are passing and noone is enjoying themselves etc etc. On both occasions we have dropped off the car at the Rome Airport (FCO) which is very easy and then had a driver take us into Rome. I would agree that I don't know that I would brave driving to Termini.

i am a confident, mostly unflappable driver but my husband isn't...and he's really not all that confident in me either i never thought about picking up the car in orvieto - i'll look into that. we definitely want a way to get around tuscany and think depending on a bus system could be a headache. thanks to all for your suggestions!!!

oh and any suggestions for the best maps? AAA or michelin or something else?

Margie and I have often used Nova Car Hire, http://www.novacarhire.com/. They've generally turned out to be cheaper than Kemwel/AutoEurope.

I don't exactly understand the relationship between Kemwel and AutoEurope - one of their reps once told me that one of them bought the other a few years ago. There are discussions on travel sites in which people talk about an agent for one refering them to an agent for the other. In my experience with them, any agent for either of them can order a car from either company - it's all on the same computer system. I've called a Kemwel agent and had him offer me an AutoEurope rental at the price on the AutoEurope web site (or maybe it was vice-versa).

I once asked one of their reps why, if they are the same company, they often quote different prices on their web sites for the same cars. He said that before they merged, they had negotiated differing contracts with different suppliers, and these contracts were still in effect. But this same thing is now going on years later, when one would expect the contracts have all been renegociated, so I wonder if it might all just be a marketing gimmick.

Speaking of marketing gimmicks: if I get a better price from Nova, a Kemwel/AutoEurope always immediately offers to match it (and it's sometimes a substantially lower price). I actually find this rather irritating. If they were willing to accept that price, why didn't they offer it to me in the first place? It's an explicit admission that they have no intention of giving me their best price unless I force them to do so. Now, I know that any company has their own best interest at heart, not mine. But if Nova gives me a better price, Nova's going to get the order from me. I want to encourage companies that give me a better quote in the first place.

I've never had a problem with any rental, be it from Kemwel/AutoEurope or Nova. They are all just agents - the actual car comes from someone else, such as Europcar or Alamo or Budget.

Car rental is quite a bit more expensive in Italy than in France, because Italy requires you to take the insurance. In France, you can get away with using the coverage that comes with your credit card (be sure to check the terms before you leave). Hence when renting a car in Italy, be sure you know what insurance is included - you will have to pay for it at some point. Be clear you know what's prepaid and what you'll owe when you pick up the car.

Now: Rome. I once got lost for an hour in Rome, a very difficult city. It was an overcast day, so there were no clues from the sun, and I had accidentally packed my compass (oops). But I now use a GPS, and I doubt you would get lost with a GPS guiding you. I've never had trouble with either Italian or French drivers. The language occasionally gets me in trouble, if I hit a word I don't know. At a turnpike entrance in Italy, I once waited behind a few trucks to pay my toll, because the other tollbooth lane had a sign that said "<i>solo autovetture</i>", and I had no idea what that meant. "Only <i>something</i>", but what? I later looked it up, and discovered that <i>autovettura</i> simply means "passenger car".

My favorite Italian road sign? "<i>Strada sdrucciolevole</i>" <i>Sdrucciolevole</i>, what a word! I looked it up later - the sign just meant "Slippery road".

- Larry

As for maps, you can use the Michelin #563 for planning and overview[ at 400K to 1] but you will want the Touring Club Italiano map of " Toscana" for your actual touring[200k].

just got back from Italy where we rented a car from Hertz (with AAA). Everything fine but the car light didn't work, which disabled the GPS. That made us actually navigate and we did just fine. Street signs are fairly non-existent. The Autostrada is really simple - stick your credit card in and wait for the gate to open! Thing of beauty. Had to fill up at the airport before returning the car, no problem, plenty of gas stations right there.

For trips to Italy, I wait 8mos after returning to make sure I did not get a ZTL ticket before declaring "fine."

just got our FOURTH ticket - 14 months after returning!

I don't know how to find out where not to drive in the "historic centers" but try to get that info.