Travel
girlinchicago
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Rec a Website for Renting a Car in Italy
in Travel
Looking to rent a car, preferably automatic, for four days. We'll pick it up in Florence the morning we leave for Tuscany...not sure where we'll drop it off yet. Won't be driving in any big cities, just taking it around the Tuscan hilltowns.
We'll likely be in Montepulciano and will take the train from (?) to Naples after our stay in Tuscany.
Anywhere you've used that's reputable and fairly priced?
Thanks!
Re: Rec a Website for Renting a Car in Italy
Have you driven in italy before? It's total insanity. When we lived there, my H ended up refusing to drive anywhere because it was so scary. Italians don't really agree with road rules. They think of them more as guidelines.
That being said, we only rented from Avis, but there is Europcar as well.
May the force be with you. Carry a vat of holy water.
Wedding stuff.
Never...and I'd never want to! Consensus seems to be that it's the way to do things if you're going to be in the Tuscan hilltowns. H isn't too excited about it - he's the one who will be driving - and he's adamant about getting the automatic even if it costs an arm and a leg more since he's expecting it will be a little chaotic.
I may not show him this post for fear he'll see your response and chicken out! I appreciate how candid you always are!
Well, you could check the trenitalia website to see if you can get from town to town. Generally you can't, so with the vacation you have planned, you're going to have to drive. And as Carisle said, you can reserve, but it doesn't mean it will be there.
Also? don't trust the nav. It will send you through the center of towns that are illegal to drive through without special passes. You won't find out until months later (if they have cameras) that you got a ticket. It's a toootal pain in the ass.
Wedding stuff.
We rented one only for our days in Tuscany in July, but plan to go nowhere near the autostrada or near the no-drive zones in the city with it. I checked the following sites based on advice from several people at Virtual Tourist that frequent Italy or live there:
http://www.autoeurope.com/http://www.kemwel.com/
http://www.sixt.com/
Honestly, I ended up looking on www.kayak.com and still got a more affordable rate through Dollar car rental. Europecar is on there too, along with all the of the other agencies.
We wanted an automatic too, but they are virtually unheard of over there and it is CRAZY expensive- both to rent and drive due to gas prices. Manuals are more fuel-efficient too, as gas in Italy is currently close to $9 a gallon! For example, for three days in July, our car rental is costing us approximately $140.00 while an automatics was going to cost us $540.00 for the same days. I don't even know how to drive a manual, but I am guess I am going to learn. Good luck!
I so agree with Snippy and wish you luck! Coming from Los Angeles and having driven all over the world, through potholes in Costa Rica etc, nothing and I mean nothing was more scary than driving in Italy. I was so naive thinking it wouldn't be a big deal! Yes, I made it through Rome getting yelled at by policemen and not sure what I had done wrong and drove down to Napoli but I don't think I would attempt it again and I am usually very brave.
Saying that, besides Rome, there were definitely parts that were quite easy and there were very nice people that even led the way for us once all the way to the car ferry. Have fun!
We usually rent from Autoeurope. Rates have always been the best we could find and we have had no issues.
**You have a PM!**
To the bolded: that's because they don't! Speed limits are merely suggestions to be laughed at by Italians; lines demarking lanes? what's a lane again, and why should I stay in it?; pedestrian has the right of way? Not here my friends! I live in Sicily and it took quite some time for me to feel comfortable on the roads. They can turn 2 lane highways into 4 lane highways (because the real rule of Italian roads seems to be "if my car can fit, then it can go there!" And parking in the middle of the road? Totally acceptable to the locals (I wish I was exaggerating)! Seriously, there's some crazy going on on these roads. My suggestions: drive slowly and defensively (if there were ever a time to take the lessons you learned in driver's ed seriously, now's the time); take what your GPS says with a grain of salt (because it WILL tell you to go the wrong way down a one way street) and just have fun getting a little lost; even if the locals aren't obeying the signage, you need to; and stay in the slow lane and let them pass you freely. They are used to driving with the crazy, you are not - do not, I repeat DO NOT, attempt to drive like an Italian while in Italy. You'll only end up in the hospital. Other than that, have fun
It strikes me as seriously ironic that the Italians drive the way they do. They've got the whole "stop and smell the roses; lets linger over a 4 hour meal with 5 bottles of wine" thing totally down. Here in Sicily, we joke that everything happens "domani" (that means tomorrow). The Italians just aren't in a rush - unless they're behind the wheel of a car
Europcar is what our friends use.
And just to weigh in on the driving drama-- yeah, driving in the cities is tough. However, Tuscany really and truly isn't THAT big a deal, if you've driven in mountains/hills in the States. Driving in Montepulciano is absolutely nothing like driving in Rome or Naples.
[FWIW, I've lived in bella Napoli for 3yrs and driven to and through Tuscany since May '09, so I've ridden this ride a time or 20. Not saying I'm special, just saying I've done it... alot].
we rented a car for our 3 days in Tuscany, and I think it was a great idea. I don't know if there is public transportation between the little hill towns. sure, driving was a bit of an adventure, but you'll be okay. we rented the navigation system, and I highly recommend it!
we used an american company (Hertz, I think). we were coming from cinque terre, so we rented the car from La Spezia, drove it for 3 days around Tuscany, and then drove it to Naples and returned it there. Driving in Naples was... interesting, to say the least... but we did it and lived to tell about it - and have some great stories to tell.