smtran978

Hi All-

We're leaving for Italy in 2 weeks and need to rent a car for when we're in Tuscany. So far it looks to be easier to pickup in in either Florence or Siena and then dropping off in Siena. We're training in from Venice and staying in San Gimignano for 4 days. My only concern is that we're dropping the car off on a Sunday but the car rental places are closed on Sundays. The Siena location (Kemwel) has a drop box where you can leave the keys. Has anyone done this? Was there any problems with dropping off with no one to check or inspect the car?

Any info would be helpful!

StCirq

I've dropped off many sets of keys (and the insurance papers) at car rental outfits in Europe after hours or on a Sunday. Probably done it at least a dozen times. Never a problem. Just make sure to take pictures of the car, inside and out, when you return it.

smtran978

Really? That's reassuring...I will go ahead and book then. Thank you StCirq

StCirq

Yes, really. The ONLY time I ever had a problem was in Périgueux, where for some reason the car rental place's drop box was removed and I went to drop off on a Sunday. Had a train to catch, and didn't know what to do, so took the train to Paris and the next day mailed the keys and the insurance package back to the agency. Called them a couple of days later and they thanked me, but said "Why didn't you just leave the keys and insurance package with the café across the street?" Well....duh...that would never have occurred to me. We Americans are more risk-averse than people in small French cities.

grandmere

We almost did have trouble returning in Siena but cannot remember which rental company. As it turned out, we returned it a day early and discovered that there would have been no place to leave the car the next day (Sun) b/c the gates to the parking lot would have been locked. We would have been hesitant to leave it on the street. Maybe you should call when you get to Siena and ask where you should leave the car.

We've had difficult times returning cars over the years, so maybe it's just our bad luck!

smtran978

@Grandmere- thank you for the info. I think I will call them and ask them where I can park it. Poor planning on my part, I forgot that most places are closed Sundays in Europe but I cannot change my plans at this point...

May I ask if you have taken the bus or train out of Siena? We plan on returning the rental and then catching either the train or bus to Rome that very day...

Mimar

Kemwell is a broker. They'll send you a voucher which names the actual car rental company from which you're renting. It's that company to ask about Sunday drop-off parking.

kybourbon

What company and where is the return?

To Rome, the Sena bus departs from Piazza Gramsci and you don't have any changes. The train requires changes. They take the same amount of time to reach Rome.

grandmere

We took the train to Rome and did have to change at Chiusi. It's a tiny little station.
Happy travels!

smtran978

thank you all!! I think I will change my plans and drop off the car at the Florence airport just to be safe. It will be our first time in Italy so we will just return the car at the Florence airport then take the bus back to town to catch the train to Rome. Thank you all for your help

bobthenavigator

Good idea---it will not take any longer than the Siena scenario. The train station location in Siena is hard to access by car from the north. And, the train trip is 93 minutes.