• CONTACT US if you have any problems registering for the forums.

Car rental drop-off question

braindoc

100+ Posts
I’m hoping one of the more logistically inclined members might have some thoughts about where to . . .

We will not be driving for the Venice (duh), Bologna, and Rome segments of our eagerly awaited October trip. After Bologna, we are probably headed to San Gimignano. We plan on a couple of day trips to other towns and at least a couple of winery visits, hence a car rental. Assuming we stay within the wall, I’ve already identified the parking lot closest to the elevator. No ZTL fine for me.

Since we need an automatic, the pickup will almost certainly be in Bologna from Hertz. I checked some towns in Tuscany and none were available. We will rent thru Chase using points to pay because of a bonus available to us. However, if a compelling reason exists to use a rental agency not connected to Chase I’d certainly consider it.

I do not relish driving into Rome. Hertz has a location extremely close to the Orvieto train station and the funicular. I’m thinking we drop off the car and head up to the town for a short visit before getting on the train to Rome. Does this sound reasonable? Any better ideas?
 
Another option for drop off is Chiusi in Tuscany. The car rental offices are at the train station. On SlowTrav this was a frequent recommendation and on one trip we drove to Chiusi, to the train station. It was easy to get to and you are not far from Montepulciano.

Orvieto is a good choice too and would give you the chance to see the town. The frescoes in the church are magnificent (judgement day).

For pickup Bologna is probably easiest but you could also look at Florence train or airport (if it is easy to get to the airport) or Pisa. They would be short drives to San G.

Something that we have done a couple of times is return the car to Rome airport FCO and take a taxi, or train, into Rome for our last few days. To avoid driving in Rome.
 
You might be able to rent in Florence, may even at the airport. With the tram service from the train station to the airport it makes the transition a bit easier (or you can take a taxi). You just need to take a bus from the airport to the car rental area which is pretty much right on the highway.

We have rented from the Hertz in Orvieto - very close to the trains station and tram.
 
If you leave the car at Orvieto and then visit the town, I'd wonder if you have plans to leave luggage, since generally only the biggest stations have left luggage services. I see that a service near the station is described here:
 
Well, a few minutes ago we decided against rushing around in Orvieto for a couple of hours. When I had looked a few weeks ago at renting in Florence, there were no automatics available. After reading the suggestion from GailS I looked again and there is availability. Thank you GailS.

We’ve decided to take the short train ride to Florence from Bologna, rent the car in Florence, drop it off at the same location, and then take the train to Roma from Florence for the final leg of the trip.
 
Well, a few minutes ago we decided against rushing around in Orvieto for a couple of hours. When I had looked a few weeks ago at renting in Florence, there were no automatics available. After reading the suggestion from GailS I looked again and there is availability. Thank you GailS.

We’ve decided to take the short train ride to Florence from Bologna, rent the car in Florence, drop it off at the same location, and then take the train to Roma from Florence for the final leg of the trip.
We've rented in Rome a few times and there's always a story involved. And, so, only marginally connected to your post and probably without any use to you is the one where we meticulously reserved an automatic (clearly stated in the contract) and, when we went to pick up our car, we were handed keys and instructions for finding it in the garage. Luckily, when I took the keys, I casually said "automatic, right?" to which she replied "no, we don't have any". I explained that I cant drive a manual to which she said "cant you try"? After a stand off of a half hour or so, they "found" one for me. I'm sure its better in Florence. :rolleyes: Have a great time.
 
Will note that we taught our kids how to drive stick using rental cars in Italy -- figured that their clutches would be much better to grind away at rather than on our own cars at home. Put them in a stick drive car in the middle of a big, empty parking lot and let the fun commence. It really doesn't take long to learn.....just sayin'.
 

How to Find Information

Search using the search button in the upper right. Search all forums or current forum by keyword or member. Advanced search gives you more options.

Filter forum threads using the filter pulldown above the threads. Filter by prefix, member, date. Or click on a thread title prefix to see all threads with that prefix.

Sponsors

Booking.com Hotels in Europe
AutoEurope.com Car Rentals

Recommended Guides, Apps and Books

52 Things to See and Do in Basilicata by Valerie Fortney
Italian Food & Life Rules by Ann Reavis
Italian Food Decoder App by Dana Facaros, Michael Pauls
French Food Decoder App by Dana Facaros, Michael Pauls
She Left No Note, Lake Iseo Italy Mystery 1 by J L Crellina

Share this page

Back
Top