Going to Italy in a couple of weeks. I'll be taking the train from Rome to Cinque Terre, then train to Florence. After that, I will be taking a long day trip to Vicenza (family connection) then spending 5 days in Tuscany, then returning to Rome.

Clearly, I want a car while in Tuscany. However, the way I see it, I have to options for which I'm weighing the advantages:

1) Pick up the car immediately after Florence and use it for the trip to Vicenza and drop it off just before Rome. (Advantages: more flexibility, might cost the same when factoring in train fares)

2) Take the train from Florence to Vicenza, then take the train from Vicenza to Siena (or thereabouts) to pick up the car and just use it for Tuscany. Return the car to the original pick up point. Take the train to Rome. (Advantages: no parking challenges in Vicenza, might be cheaper depending on rental rate, cheaper to pick up/drop off in same place)

Any thoughts on which one makes more sense? Thanks in advance!

Well... I was ready to read that your second choice would be to get the car in Vicenza and drop off in Tuscany.

For me, that would be a better use of time than taking the train back to Tuscany from Vicenza, and then getting the car. Just get it in Vicenza and scoot out of there.

The only thing I don't like about option 1 is the driving out of Florence. The issue of the no-drive zones has been enough to make me never go near Firenze with a car, ever again. Of course, you could rent the car outside of the city, say at the airport, and then you would avoid that problem.

So now option 1 sounds better. Pick the car up somewhere outside Florence at a location that couldn't possibly put you through the no-drive zones, and go.

So I don't like your option 2. Now I like option 1 (with caveat) and my own suggestion.

Gads, does this help at all?

It does help! I like the third option. The train from Florence to Vicenza is much more direct than the train from Vicenza to Tuscany.

So the suggestion is to train from Florence to Vicenza, pick up the car in Vicenza and keep it until Rome (will drop off at airport and then taxi to city center). Right?

No advice on the car/train, but you sound not too excited about Vicenza. I want to tell you it is such a lovely little city (town, not sure of the classification), with beautiful architecture and good food. I like it much more than some other highly touted places.

Thanks for the encouragement on Vicenza! I think the only reason I'm not-too-excited is that it's a rather lengthy side trip in my itinerary. But I feel compelled to go since my parents were married there and my sister was born there. I've read great things about the architecture, and I'm sure it will be fun to see where my parents spent their first years together! Thanks again!

<<After that, I will be taking a long day trip to Vicenza (family connection) then spending 5 days in Tuscany,>>

Do you plan to train to Vicenza, visit family and then drive to Tuscany, all in one day? If so, I recommend you spend the night in Vicenza and head to Tuscany the next morning.

I love Vicenza and am going next week for the nth time. It is a wonderful place to walk around. There is a car hire place in Vicenza rail station, Hertz I believe.